Why are diabetes cost are going through the roof? According to an article in the New York Times, it is costing us $174 billion dollars a year to cover the health costs of people who have developed diabetes in their life time. More and more of our population is developing diabetes. "“Diabetes is the noninfectious epidemic of our time,” said Dr. Ronald Loeppke, vice chairman of U.S. Preventive …
Working and Breastfeeding: What do Mothers Need?
When a breastfeeding mother returns to work she actually doesn’t need very much from her employer to be successful. Really, working and breastfeeding requires at a minimum; time to remove milk from her breasts, a place to do this, and a way to do it. An employer does need to provide the first two necessities, time and space. However, most mothers expect to provide the means, ie, hands or a …
Working and Breastfeeding in the United States
Many mothers in the US return to work when their babies are quite young. If they are breastfeeding and want to continue to exclusively provide breastmilk for their babies, it can make things more complicated. In most industrialized countries there are laws and governmental policies that help mothers of young children. In Canada for instance, mothers receive 15 weeks of paid leave. After that, …
Breastfeeding is Green in Ann Arbor!
From 6-9 this Friday, June 11th, Ann Arbor will be hosting our Green Fair on Main Street. This exciting event celebrates and shares what businesses and organizations are doing to help our environment. I heard about this fair last year. One of my neighbors, John Harding has an electric scooter business and he was going to have a booth at the Green Fair. I thought the idea of a “green fair” was …
Breastfeeding: What does the Research say?
Wow! Who knew that feeding a baby could be so controversial! I want to make sure it is clear that it is my job to help mothers feed their babies in the manner of their choosing. I get calls all the time from families who want to/need to wean, and from formula feeding families who have questions about appropriate feeding for their babies. There is not much support out there, period, and I …
What Formula Feeding is Costing US
Lately, there has been quite a bit of reporting in the news about artificial baby milk (formula) feeding. The costs of our mothers choosing to feed their babies formula is tremendous. According to one recent study, if mothers breastfed their babies for six months we would save staggering amounts of money each year. “The United States incurs $13 billion in excess costs annually and suffers 911 …
What One Doctor Says About Breastfeeding Training in the United States
So, why are mothers and babies having such a hard time with breastfeeding? I just received a link to this blog which I thought was very interesting. In the blog, this doctor admits she really knew nothing about breastfeeding until she took a special course on breastfeeding. Is she unusual? I don’t think so. When I think about all of the things a doctor would need to know about a baby, about …
Breastfeeding Rates in the US
What has gone so wrong with breastfeeding in our country? The United States lags behind most nations around the world in our breastfeeding initiation rates. However, more importantly perhaps, is how short our breastfeeding duration rates are. The majority of US mothers are all for giving breastfeeding a shot. The percentage of mothers who “ever breastfeed” after birth is between 48.3% in …
Hello world!
My blog...What to say? First of all, a disclaimer. This blog is not to be used in place of medical advice from your health care practitioner. I will try and be clear about what is my opinion and what is based upon medical research. I am hoping to have many links to articles for you. OK? Now that that is clear, let's continue! Barbara D. Robertson, MA, IBCLC …
Why do I have a job?
One of the things I think about a lot is why do I have a job? If breastfeeding is so natural, why do people need me to help them get started with breastfeeding or continue when their babies are older. There are many reasons for this in my opinion. (Remember, this is where I get to just say what I think! I may be right or wrong. If there is research to back things up, I'll share that too when …