Hand Expressing Breast Milk

"Until recently hand expression of milk has been an under-utilized skill in our institution. But there are many benefits of knowing how to express milk from the breast without the use of expensive or cumbersome pumps. In this video, Dr. Jane Morton demonstrates how easily hand expression can be taught to mothers."

Hand Expression of Breastmilk

An instructional video by the Stanford School of Medicine

While watching this video I was impressed by how much early hand expression can boost breast milk supply. Some women's bodies don't respond well to breast pumps, and this is an important skill to know and be able to teach to others. There is no special equipment required.

Breastmilk Changes During the Day and Helps Infants Sleep at Night

"Breast milk should be drunk at the same time of day that it is expressed. Credit: SINC.

As reported on physorg.com

"The levels of the components in breast milk change every 24 hours in response to the needs of the baby. A new study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience shows, for example, how this milk could help newborn babies to sleep.

"Breast milk contains various ingredients, such as nucleotides, which perform a very important role in regulating babies' sleep. The new study, published recently in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, confirms that the composition of breast milk changes quite markedly throughout the day.

"The scientists looked for three nucleotides in breast milk (adenosine, guanosine and uridine), which excite or relax the central nervous system, promoting restfulness and sleep, and observed how these varied throughout a 24-hour period.

"The milk, collected from 30 women living in Extremadura, was expressed over a 24-hour period, with six to eight daily samples. The highest nucleotide concentrations were found in the night-time samples (8pm to 8am).

"'This made us realise that milk induces sleep in babies', Cristina L. Sánchez, lead author of the article and a researcher at the Chrononutrition Laboratory at the University of Extremadura, tells SINC.

"'You wouldn't give anyone a coffee at night, and the same is true of milk - it has day-specific ingredients that stimulate activity in the infant, and other night-time components that help the baby to rest', explains Sánchez.

"In order to ensure correct nutrition, the baby should be given milk at the same time of day that it was expressed from the mother's breast. 'It is a mistake for the mother to express the milk at a certain time and then store it and feed it to the baby at a different time', points out the researcher.

The benefits of breast milk

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) says breast milk is the best food for the newborn, and should not be substituted, since it meets all the child's physiological requirements during the first six months of life. It not only protects the baby against many illnesses such as colds, diarrhoea and sudden infant death syndrome, but can also prevent future diseases such as asthma, allergies and obesity, and promotes intellectual development.

"The benefits of breastfeeding also extend to the mother. Women who breastfeed lose the weight gained during pregnancy more quickly, and it also helps prevent against anaemia, high blood pressure and postnatal depression. Osteoporosis and breast cancer are also less common among women who breastfeed their children.

"More information: Sánchez, Cristina L.; Cubero, Javier; Sánchez, Javier; Chanclón, Belén; Rivero, Montserrat; Rodríguez, Ana B.; Barriga, Carmen. "The possible role of human milk nucleotides as sleep inducers". Nutritional Neuroscience Vol. 12(1):2-8. 2009.

"Source: FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology"

Two Hundred Hospitals Nationwide Will Replace Formula Sample Bags with Breastfeeding Support Sample Bags

"This month, 200 hospitals across the country are replacing their formula discharge bags and samples with the country’s first breastfeeding support promotional discharge bag.

"The “Healthy Baby Bounty Bag” contains product samples, coupons, and information that support and encourage breastfeeding without a packet of formula and without conflicting and contradictory messages about breastfeeding. Hospitals including UCLA Medical Center, Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and Exeter Hospital are among the first to distribute Healthy Baby Bounty Bags to new moms."

Click here for the article on growingyourbaby.com and for a list of the items in the bags.

Visit www.cottonwood-kids.com/gift for all the details.

Click here if you want to contact Cottonwood Kids They're a small company, and they can use lots of support and word of mouth to spread the word about the good work they're doing!

Breast Milk Contains Stem Cells!

Admittedly, I don't know a lot about stem cell research. I know that stem cells could eventually provide vital support in treatments for serious diseases. I also know that stem cell harvesting has been a controversial subject because of the practice of harvesting stem cells from embryos, and I have stayed out of that debate as much as possible.

More research has found that breast milk contains stem cells, and this is a ground-breaking discovery. Dr. Mark Cregan has made some amazing revelations about the properties of breast milk:

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,”

"He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled."

“We already know that babies who are breast fed have an IQ advantage and that there’s a raft of other health benefits. Researchers also believe that the protective effects of being breast fed continue well into adult life."

The discovery of stem cells in breast milk could provide a whole new array of options in harvesting stem cells and using them to treat serious illness.

To read the whole news article, please click here: Breast Milk Contains Stem Cells

I found this article through a fellow childbirth blogger: Doula Surround