Dr.Jack Newman

Here is my latest one hour long zoom talk. This one is on Breastfeeding Myths Even Many Lactation Consultants Believe which covers topics like: 1) What to do instead of nipple shields to help mothers with sore nipples or babies who do not latch 2) How to handle hypoglycemia or jaundice without disrupting breastfeeding and using formula 3) Why sore nipples cannot be called "normal" during breastfeeding And much more...... https://youtu.be/_gF5Pi0WA8k See more

Children do not need encouragement to stop breastfeeding. Much less to be forced. Doing so implies that there is something wrong with their continued breastfeeding. There is not. Here one mother's experience as written by her in an email to me: "I wanted to write and say I have living proof that everything you say about breastfeeding is absolutely true! My son is nearly 5 1/2 years old now and still breastfeeds (from one breast.) I still produce milk, even though I am 49 yea...rs old. Isn't the human body incredible? He calls it "mommy milk" or "snuggle milk". He has even verbalized to me, in his own words, that when he is hurt or scared, mommy milk helps him feel better. Typically he has a bit in the morning when he wakes up and definitely before bed at night. Do I share this with many people? No, unfortunately, no, but this is a decision for my son and me. He enjoys it, I am fine with it, so it works for us. One day he will decide to stop of course, but I would prefer it to be his decision. My son is confident and independent. He dresses himself, he washes his own hair in the bath (with supervision, of course), he's taking swimming lessons and asked the instructor (voluntarily) to teach him to dive as well. In his senior kindergarten class, he has been encouraged by his teacher to be a leader and role model for his classmates. You and your clinic do AMAZING work and we are so fortunate to have support for breastfeeding in Canada. So thank YOU!" My new book Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents contains an inspiring chapter on breastfeeding older children and self-weaning: https://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Empowering-Jack-New// See more

Saving the lives of premature babies goes hand in hand with making every effort for their successful breastfeeding. The technology sometimes needed to keep premature babies safe and healthy is not in conflict with the babies' breastfeeding. On the contrary, breastfeeding is an important part of their treatment plan. One should not wait for premature babies to become bigger, heavier, older in order that they "are allowed" to start breastfeeding. The standard of care for premat...ure babies should be Kangaroo Mother Care during which mothers provide skin to skin contact to their babies. And breastfeeding should be the norm for premature babies. When a premature or sick babies latches on to the breast and breastfeeds, it re-assures the mother that her baby will be okay and that she has a role to play in the scary world of tubes and beeping machines. Instead mothers of premature babies are often told their babies cannot breastfeed "YET". That they must wait for them to get stronger. And so mothers wait thinking there is no other way and thinking that those health professionals telling them this know what they are talking about. It is only much later that they come to mourn the loss of breastfeeding. There are so many mothers and babies who through no fault of their own had breastfeeding taken away from them. They were never given a chance. They were told they should be glad their baby survived. They were not shown that Kangaroo Mother Care is possible. They were not shown how to make breastfeeding really work. This video is a signal of hope for all future mothers of premature or special babies - it shows a baby with Noonan Syndrome breastfeeding and drinking breastmilk from the breast directly. The mother of this baby was told she had to give the baby bottles even though the baby was breastfeeding well and gaining weight well. #worldprematurityday #breastfeedingprematures #breastfeedinghelp #drjacknewman #Noonansyndorme See more

Those who decide to breastfeed are faced with a disturbing lack of good advice and "hands on" help. Their initial determination to breastfeed is too often lost in conflicting solutions being offered and not working. Something they at first imagined should be simple and natural turns out to be a distressing and frustrating experience which frequently ends in their rejecting breastfeeding entirely. This book is filled with new approaches to preventing problems and treating pr...oblems if they have already occurred. These approaches work because they have been tested for over 45 years of combined experience and with over 30,000 mothers and their babies. They are aimed at making breastfeeding work. This book covers questions which have stumped lactation consultants and doctors alike and which result in mothers frequently saying We tried everything, but I just couldn’t breastfeed. This usually means there was no one who could offer a real solution to a baby who was fussy, crying, rejecting the breast, not thriving and failing to gain weight or to sore nipples or the mother needing treatment. Frequently, the inability to provide real help is hidden in statements like It is important that the mother and baby are happy, don’t worry about breastfeeding. Even after years of helping mothers, some helpers still cannot tell by watching a baby breastfeed whether the baby is getting breastmilk. By reading this book, you will know how to know. Here are some of the questions you will find answered in this book: Why are there so many women having problems with breastfeeding? How does one start breastfeeding? Do mothers have milk in the first few days after birth or does milk come in later? What can be done to make breastfeeding work? Can premature babies be breastfed (at the breast)? Why is my baby rejecting the breast? Are modern formulas really similar to breastmilk? Is bottle feeding breastmilk really the same as breastfeeding? What is the real deal about tongue ties? Can mothers take medications and breastfeed? Can I restart breastfeeding if I stopped completely? When do I start my breastfed baby on food and how? Can I get pregnant when breastfeeding? When will my breastfed baby sleep through the night? Dr Jack Newman shares his expertise and experience of working at his Breastfeeding Clinic called The International Breastfeeding Centre in Toronto as well as Africa and Northern Canada, of listening to mothers and their stories and answering over a hundred emails from mothers every day. https://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Empowering-Jack-New// See more

Separating mothers and babies after birth instead of keeping them skin to skin after birth is still a prevalent practice in much of the world. It is common that mothers are told all sorts of false and even bizarre reasons for not being allowed to be skin to skin with the baby, whereas the breast crawl is the first step in making sure the baby latches on well. The standard of care for all mothers and babies, healthy or sick, full term or premature, stable or unstable, born vag...inally or via c-section, born in warm weather or cold weather, should be uninterrupted, continuous skin to skin contact. It is then that the 9 stages of baby behaviour will become manifest, as described in a study by A-M Widström and others. Here are Widström's 9 Stages during skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. 1. The birth cry is a distinct and specific cry as the baby's lungs expand for the first time. 2. Relaxation is a time immediately after the birth cry ends, when the baby becomes still and has no visible movements. 3. Awakening begins as the baby opens the eyes for the first time, blinks, has perceptible mouth movements and limited hand and shoulder movements. 4. Activity involves larger body movements, including whole arm motions, specific finger movements, shoulder movements, head lifting, and stable open eyes. 5. Rest could happen at any point during the first hour, interspersed between stages or as a transition between stages. 6. Crawling involves the baby moving purposely towards the nipple and breast. It could be accomplished through sliding, leaping, bobbing, or pushing. 7. Familiarization is a stage at the mother's nipple where the baby licks, tastes, touches and moves around the nipple and areola area. 8. Suckling involves the baby self attaching to the nipple and initiating breastfeeding. 9. Sleeping is an involuntary activity of the baby around 1.5 to 2 h after birth. www.ibconline.ca See more

The key to understanding breastfeeding is knowing whether the baby is really drinking breastmilk from the breast and whether he or she is getting enough breastmilk. This can be done easily by observing breastfeeding and watching for the "pause in the chin" which tells you that the baby just got a mouthful of breastmilk. Watching the baby at the breast gives you the answer in real time. No need to weigh the baby before and after breastfeeding. No need to count wet diapers. No... need to pump and feed the breastmilk in a bottle to know how much the baby got. No need to be surprised that the baby is on the breast but not gaining weight. You will be able to tell that the baby is or is not getting breastmilk from the breast immediately and you will be able to make necessary changes right then and there. The photo shows a baby at the breast at two different points of his getting breastmilk from the breast - one where the chin is up and then chin drops down and hold and you know the baby just swallowed a mouthful of breastmilk. You can get a detailed description together with ideas for how to get the baby to drink more milk from the breast in my ebook: https://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Empoweri//ref=sr_1_2 See more

Did your doctor support and help you with breastfeeding? What is your experience when you sought breastfeeding help from health professionals? Health professionals often play a huge role in whether breastfeeding starts out effortlessly for women or whether they experience difficulties. Whether they offer evidence based advice or they just repeat what they heard about breastfeeding somewhere. Whether they help women get real medical solutions to their breastfeeding problems or... whether they just say "it's fine to give formula" without even making an effort to help. Whether they see a woman's need for medication or treatment as a way of reassuring her that she can continue breastfeeding or whether they take it as an opportunity to tell her to stop simply because breastfeeding is not seen as worthy of consideration. In case you are wondering: In medical school at the University of Toronto, during our one and only 1 hour lecture on infant feeding, the pediatrician stood in front of the class and said "Breast is best because it always comes at the right temperature and comes in such cute containers" (this was considered funny in 1969). Then he went on to say "Now I will tell you about infant formula" for the rest of the hour. How's that for education about breastfeeding? Medical students graduating in 2020, when asked, stated "About the same as we got about breastfeeding". See more

How the formula companies sabotage breastfeeding: - Formula companies are rich, they are an industry with sales worth US$70 billion a year in 2020 and they use their abundant funds and collaborators in the medical system to convince parents and health professionals to use formula unnecessarily. - They know that mothers are a vulnerable group of consumers who worry about whether their babies are getting enough nutrition. - They play on mothers' fears and prey on their insecuri...ties, fears and insecurities made worse by health professionals ignorant of how breastfeeding works. - They exploit the fact that mothers are not getting practical help with breastfeeding and offer formula as a solution instead. - They present themselves as saviours - they make claims about supporting breastfeeding while saving those babies who cannot be breastfed. - They are unscrupulous in taking advantage of any current issue and pretending they are helping with a current problem - most recently COVID-19 as shown in this article published in the Lancet. Please read it, it's less than a page long. - Worst of all, the advertising and marketing strategies of formula companies are not intended to be helpful or support as they purport to be, they are solely aimed at selling formula to those parents who do not need it. - Take note: No parents need advertising to be able to buy formula. See more

The longer women breastfeed the more they hear comments suggesting that breastfeeding is depleting their nutrients and contributes to their fatigue. The opposite is true. Continuing breastfeeding is good for female health. Here is one recent example from a study done by Dr. Ramos-Roman (published in Diabetes in August 2020) which discusses ways in which breastfeeding plays a role in protecting women from Type 2 diabetes even many years after they have stopped breastfeeding. B...reastfeeding changes the insulin sensitivity of organs that supply or demand sugars and fat in the breastfeeding women's bodies. This protects women against insulin resistance not only at the time when they are breastfeeding but long after they have stopped. This study suggests that it is prolactin - the hormone that is involved in breastmilk production - that causes breastfeeding women to have lower levels of fatty acids in their blood and lower amounts of fat in their livers. See more

The photo shows a premature baby born at 26 weeks gestation, now 2 weeks old. He is latched on and breastfeeding very well. Posting to let Portuguese/Brazilian speakers that we now have several of our blogs translated into Portuguese/Brazilian. Here is the link for these blogs: https://ibconline.ca/category/portuguese-blog/ Blogs that have been translated so far and posted on our website: 1. The right to breastfeed 2. Formula is not breastmilk 3. Low blood sugar ... 4. Early onset jaundice 5. When the baby does not latch on 6. Breastfeeding and maternal medications 7. What is a good latch? 8. What is a good latch quiz 9. Breast compressions 10. Not enough milk 1 11. Not enough milk 2 12. Painful breastfeeding 1 (nipple pain) 13. Painful breastfeeding 2 (breast pain) 14. Who transfers milk (baby or mother) 15. Breastfeeding in unusual circumstances 16. Inducing lactation 17. A little girl breastfeeding We are hoping that all the English blogs will be translated before the new year Thank you so very much for the translations: pediatrician Dra Maria Luisa Silva Quintino (Brazil) See more

Is breastfeeding expendable? Definitely, for sure. Here is just one example: a breastfeeding mother of a 2 year old is pregnant and requires medication. She is prescribed medication and while neither her doctor and often neither she worries about the developing new baby she is pregnant with. She is either told to stop breastfeeding because of the medication or she worries about her breastfeeding child because of the medication. How odd is that? Aside for some medications (ve...ry few) that do not cross the placenta, in most cases, medications are potentially more worrisome in pregnancy when the baby is still developing and the baby in the uterus will usually get larger doses of most drugs. Indeed drugs to which the baby is exposed in the uterus may cause developmental abnormalities. When breastfeeding, the baby or child is fully developed and in the vast majority of cases only receives clinically insignificant amounts of medications in breastmilk or none at all. See http://ibconline.ca/maternal-medications/. Yet, in pregnancy mothers are told just take the medications if they need them. When breastfeeding they are told to stop. It is time we realized this is not done because someone is worried about the medication and the breastfeeding baby. It is done because the advice to stop breastfeeding reflects how breastfeeding is not seen as important. It is considered expendable. It showcases how supporting breastfeeding is often just lip service but when it comes to real support and really standing up for breastfeeding, for many, formula is seen as the ever-present answer to every breastfeeding question. www.ibconline.ca See more

Every day, I receive questions from breastfeeding mothers who ask about conflicting, inconsistent information about breastfeeding at a critical time when they need to know what to do immediately. Everybody sounds like an expert - from their own mothers to friends and health professionals. But it is no easy feat to distinguish helpful advice from well intended non-sense. Here is a selected collection of recent unscientific and illogical advice from health professionals. On re...ading them collected, they have the cumulative effect of being almost unbelievable. And yet, time and again, bad advice comes up: from the traditional "you dont have any breastmilk yet in the first few days" and "your nipples are flat or otherwise unsuitable for breastfeeding" and "its normal to have sore nipples" to the following I have gleaned recently: 1. My son (3.5 years old) had been sick 5 times in 5 months while staying at home. My daughter has not been sick once. Could my breast milk still be protecting her? The paediatrician did not think that at this point breast milk helps with immunity. (My comment: Why would there be a time limit to how long the immunity of breastfeeding lasts?) 2. My 9 month old baby is still very dependent on breastfeeding, does not show any sign of self weaning. However, my doctor only wants the baby to have breastmilk as a "snack" and not his main meal. (My comment: I cannot even imagine how one differentiates a "snack" from a "main meal") 3. I am having a CT Scan of my neck with contrast dye. I have asked a local lactation consultant and they werent sure if I needed to wait before breastfeeding and the radiologist had conflicting answers initially saying I could feed immediately after and then stating I should pump and dump. My 20 month old son still breastfeeds on demand and he feeds at night. (My comment: Yes, she can breastfeed, no need to "pump and dump".) 4. Almost every time after latching, the baby vomits a lot. My doctor explained that it could be because the baby is not able to handle the multiple holes from our nipple as there is only one hole in the milk bottle. (My comment: Seriously, is this a joke and someone is having me on?) 5. My baby is soon to start solids. A local pediatrician told me that mixing solid foods with my breastmilk can be dangerous since it can break down nutrients in solid food, therefore, making it of no value. Is this true? Is it safe to mix breastmilk with for example pureed sweet potato? (My comment: Seriously, is this a joke and someone is having me on?) #breastfeeding #jacknewman #breastfeedingclinic

This story describes how a hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has been keeping premature babies with their mothers immediately following their birth. This is done instead of the "usual" care which tends to involve whisking the baby away immediately and the parents being left desperate wondering how their baby is doing in an incubator. We need more hospitals like this so that there is no separation of mothers and babies, including premature babies. All babies n...eed to be skin to skin with their mothers. The technology needed for premature babies can be added to skin to skin contact. Skin to skin contact and technology are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, babies in skin to skin contact are more stable and at the same time their breathing can be supported, they can have an IV lines with, say, antibiotics or glucose, and they can be monitored if necessary. The baby in the photo was born at 31 weeks and is on a ventilator while skin to skin contact with the mother. You can read more about skin to skin contact as well as breastfeeding premature babies in my new book called Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents:my eBook https://ibconline.ca/ebook/ See more

When breastfeeding mothers get sick, have a migraine or a fever or are in pain, they need help. Many people imagine that recommending stopping breastfeeding and giving the baby bottles is a way to help sick breastfeeding mothers. Giving the baby bottles or stopping breastfeeding is often seen as a solution to everything. The idea seems to be that breastfeeding is what is making the mothers life difficult and that her rest and recovery will be made easier by taking away the ...burden of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is not a burden or it should not have been if mothers had received good help and advice when initiating breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a way mothers take care of their babies. And life situations can be worked around the mothers and baby s need to breastfeed and be breastfed. It just requires a different mindset. It takes seeing breastfeeding as essential. Indispensable. Breastfeeding is not the reason the mother is sick. It is not making her illness worse. It is not making her life difficult. A sick breastfeeding mother has the right to rest, to sleep, to get relief, to get time to herself, to take medications if needed to get better. So, when a breastfeeding mother is sick, it is time for family members to step up and provide help that works around making sure breastfeeding is maintained. Being able to continue breastfeeding reassures the mother. Bottles will make her breastfeeding complicated or impossible in the long run. How can you help a sick breastfeeding mother? 1. Make food for her. 2. Ask the mother what she needs. 3. Help with the baby diapering, playing with the baby, carrying the baby in a baby carrier or baby wrap and putting the baby to sleep and then placing the sleeping baby next to the mother. 4. Help the mother hold the baby when breastfeeding if the mother is unable to do so. 5. Help the mother at night so the baby can breastfeed, and all the care of the baby except the breastfeeding is being done by someone else. 6. Help the mother breastfeed lying down with the baby beside her and breastfeed side by side. In this way, the mother does not have to get up. You can read a lot more about breastfeeding and maternal illness and reasons to continue breastfeeding in my new book called Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents: my eBook https://ibconline.ca/ebook/

Cant breastfeed because you have an infection? For a fuller discussion, see: http://ibconline.ca/maternal-illness2/ Infectious illnesses, even COVID-19 and influenza, are not reasons to interrupt breastfeeding. On the contrary, breastfeeding helps protect the baby from becoming sick since breastmilk is full of anti-infective agents. Not just antibodies, but also a whole host of other anti-infectious agents that help to protect the baby. Most infectious diseases, whether the...y are due to a bacterium or a virus, are most infectious before the person with the infection feels sick. Thus, the breastfeeding baby or toddler is exposed to the bacterium or the virus for days, even weeks in the case of some infections, before the mother has any symptoms such as fever or rash. Even if it were a good idea to interrupt breastfeeding (IT IS NOT!), by the time the mother has symptoms, the infection has already been passed to her baby and continued breastfeeding is best for both mother and baby. Even human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), once considered a contraindication to breastfeeding in affluent societies, is now considered compatible with breastfeeding. Mothers with HIV should take anti-retroviral drugs during the pregnancy and after the birth and breastfeed normally, exclusively. See the World Health Organization website regarding HIV and breastfeeding. Antibiotics do not require a mother to interrupt breastfeeding. Even doxycycline, for years considered contraindicated because it was wrongly thought to stain the childs teeth has always been safe because of the way it is bound to the calcium and other elements in breastmilk and thus not absorbed by the baby. But now parents can feel even more reassured because it has been shown that doxycycline given to children directly, usually to treat malaria, does not have the effects on teeth previously ascribed to it. So now there are additional reasons for doxycycline to be considered compatible with breastfeeding. The mother feels really unwell? We recommend taking the baby to bed with her and continued breastfeeding. Want more information on breastfeeding and inducing lactation? See my eBook https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

Can’t breastfeed because you have an infection? For a fuller discussion, see: http://ibconline.ca/maternal-illness2/ Infectious illnesses, even COVID-19 and influenza, are not reasons to interrupt breastfeeding. On the contrary, breastfeeding helps protect the baby from becoming sick since breastmilk is full of anti-infective agents. Not just antibodies, but also a whole host of other anti-infectious agents that help to protect the baby. Most infectious diseases, whether the...y are due to a bacterium or a virus, are most infectious before the person with the infection feels sick. Thus, the breastfeeding baby or toddler is exposed to the bacterium or the virus for days, even weeks in the case of some infections, before the mother has any symptoms such as fever or rash. Even if it were a good idea to interrupt breastfeeding (IT IS NOT!), by the time the mother has symptoms, the infection has already been passed to her baby and continued breastfeeding is best for both mother and baby. Even human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), once considered a contraindication to breastfeeding in affluent societies, is now considered compatible with breastfeeding. Mothers with HIV should take anti-retroviral drugs during the pregnancy and after the birth and breastfeed normally, exclusively. See the World Health Organization website regarding HIV and breastfeeding. Antibiotics do not require a mother to interrupt breastfeeding. Even doxycycline, for years considered contraindicated because it was wrongly thought to stain the child's teeth has always been safe because of the way it is bound to the calcium and other elements in breastmilk and thus not absorbed by the baby. But now parents can feel even more reassured because it has been shown that doxycycline given to children directly, usually to treat malaria, does not have the effects on teeth previously ascribed to it. So now there are additional reasons for doxycycline to be considered compatible with breastfeeding. The mother feels really unwell? We recommend taking the baby to bed with her and continued breastfeeding. Want more information on breastfeeding and inducing lactation? See my eBook https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

Can’t breastfeed because you will have your baby by adoption or through a gestational carrier? This post was first published on this site in August 2019, but is added because of the series this month on Can’t breastfeed. The photo below shows a mother breastfeeding her adopted baby after inducing lactation. Here is an article that outlines our approach: http://ibconline.ca/induction/. This article is expanded in my eBook. The process involves the mother-to-be taking a com...bined birth control pill as well as domperidone, a drug which increases prolactin levels. Please read the article for more details as well as this article on domperidone http://ibconline.ca/domperidone/. Note that the birth control pill is taken without taking the placebo pills, so that the levels of estrogen and progesterone are maintained as they would be during a pregnancy.. Although most of the issues that come up are about how to produce more milk, if, I may say so, what is truly the issue is breastfeeding, not breastmilk. Not all those who induce lactation will produce all the milk the baby will need. But even if not, they can still breastfeed. They can supplement with a lactation aid at the breast http://ibconline.ca/lactation-aid-at-the-breast/, using donated breastmilk if available, but even using formula. Because if they are supplementing at the breast, they are still breastfeeding. Want more information on breastfeeding and inducing lactation? See my eBook https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

Cant breastfeed because you will have your baby by adoption or through a gestational carrier? This post was first published on this site in August 2019, but is added because of the series this month on Cant breastfeed. The photo below shows a mother breastfeeding her adopted baby after inducing lactation. Here is an article that outlines our approach: http://ibconline.ca/induction/. This article is expanded in my eBook. The process involves the mother-to-be taking a com...bined birth control pill as well as domperidone, a drug which increases prolactin levels. Please read the article for more details as well as this article on domperidone http://ibconline.ca/domperidone/. Note that the birth control pill is taken without taking the placebo pills, so that the levels of estrogen and progesterone are maintained as they would be during a pregnancy.. Although most of the issues that come up are about how to produce more milk, if, I may say so, what is truly the issue is breastfeeding, not breastmilk. Not all those who induce lactation will produce all the milk the baby will need. But even if not, they can still breastfeed. They can supplement with a lactation aid at the breast http://ibconline.ca/lactation-aid-at-the-breast/, using donated breastmilk if available, but even using formula. Because if they are supplementing at the breast, they are still breastfeeding. Want more information on breastfeeding and inducing lactation? See my eBook https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

When the baby does not latch on. Part 2: what to do. For a more complete discussion and helpful videos see: http://ibconline.ca/not-latching/ 1. Have patience, dont rush in to intervene straight away after birth and rush in with solutions such bottles and a nipple shield. 2. Skin to skin contact, as much as possible. The baby may find the breast and latch on, sometimes without any help at all. A nurse or other qualified health professional should be with the mother and ba...Continue reading

Video shows that a baby with a cleft of the soft palate can latch on and breastfeed. The baby is receiving expressed milk through a lactation aid at the breast. Cant breastfeed because the baby does not latch on? For a fuller discussion including references, see: http://ibconline.ca/not-latching/ The whole notion of a baby unable to take the breast really seems completely contrary to assuring survival of the baby and a baby not latching on must have been a quite uncommon pr...Continue reading

Can’t breastfeed because your nipples hurt too much? This is the third in a series of Can’t breastfeed. First in the series was on medications on July 24, and then premature babies on July 30. The mother in the attached photo could be the mother in the case study as the baby is very young and fixing the latch resulted in an immediate relief of pain (but she’s not the same mother).... Case study: I see a mother and her 24 hour baby. The mother has toe curling nipple pain every time the baby latches on. I help the mother improve how the baby latches on and the mother has virtually no pain. Furthermore, the baby drinks well at the breast for the very first time even though my milk has not come in yet. How a baby latches on is critical to making sure breastfeeding goes well. See: http://ibconline.ca/the-asymmetric-latch/and http://ibconline.ca/latch-quiz/. The earlier the latch is improved, the better. But what happens far too often? Many mothers, instead of receiving help with the baby latching on, are given a nipple shield (the cure all for every breastfeeding problem http://ibconline.ca/nipple-shields/), or are told to take the baby off the breast and bottle feed the baby for a few days until the nipples heal. The trouble with the nipple shield, the trouble with the taking the baby off the breast for a few days is that these treatments only appear to help. Neither a nipple shield, nor bottle feeding the baby for a few days improves the baby’s latch. Do they help sometimes? Yes, on occasion, but with the result in many cases that the milk supply decreases, and the baby prefers the nipple shield or bottle. The older advice don’t worry, just keep breastfeeding and the pain will go away in 2 to 3 weeks also works sometimes. But why should mothers suffer for 2 or 3 weeks? Many new mothers know how excruciating nipple pain can be. But breastfeeding should not hurt! Want more information on preventing and treating sore nipples? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

Cant breastfeed because your nipples hurt too much? This is the third in a series of Cant breastfeed. First in the series was on medications on July 24, and then premature babies on July 30. The mother in the attached photo could be the mother in the case study as the baby is very young and fixing the latch resulted in an immediate relief of pain (but shes not the same mother).... Case study: I see a mother and her 24 hour baby. The mother has toe curling nipple pain every time the baby latches on. I help the mother improve how the baby latches on and the mother has virtually no pain. Furthermore, the baby drinks well at the breast for the very first time even though my milk has not come in yet. How a baby latches on is critical to making sure breastfeeding goes well. See: http://ibconline.ca/the-asymmetric-latch/and http://ibconline.ca/latch-quiz/. The earlier the latch is improved, the better. But what happens far too often? Many mothers, instead of receiving help with the baby latching on, are given a nipple shield (the cure all for every breastfeeding problem http://ibconline.ca/nipple-shields/), or are told to take the baby off the breast and bottle feed the baby for a few days until the nipples heal. The trouble with the nipple shield, the trouble with the taking the baby off the breast for a few days is that these treatments only appear to help. Neither a nipple shield, nor bottle feeding the baby for a few days improves the babys latch. Do they help sometimes? Yes, on occasion, but with the result in many cases that the milk supply decreases, and the baby prefers the nipple shield or bottle. The older advice dont worry, just keep breastfeeding and the pain will go away in 2 to 3 weeks also works sometimes. But why should mothers suffer for 2 or 3 weeks? Many new mothers know how excruciating nipple pain can be. But breastfeeding should not hurt! Want more information on preventing and treating sore nipples? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

Cant breastfeed yet because your baby is premature? There are many obstacles put in the way of breastfeeding premature babies. See also Cant breastfeed because you are taking medications? Posted July 24. The attached photo shows a premature baby born at 28 weeks gestation and breastfeeding at the age of 10 days....Continue reading

Cant breastfeed because you are taking medications? See: http://ibconline.ca/maternal-medications/. Chances are you are not getting good information. This link gives you considerable information on drugs and breastfeeding. One of the commonest reasons mothers are told they cannot breastfeed is that they need to take medication. Unfortunately doctors generally are so poorly educated on breastfeeding, that many automatically reply to mothers that they must stop breastfeeding. ...This misinformation is backed up by the drug companies warnings in the package insert in order to protect themselves, not the mother or baby. If parents read the short statement in medication package inserts under Breastfeeding, they will generally learn: Most medications will pass into the breastmilk. Do not take while breastfeeding. In fact, the vast majority of drugs taken by the mother are safe for the baby. Why? Because so little of the drug gets into the milk. And therefore, the real question is: which is safer for the baby, breastfeeding with minuscule amounts of drug in the milk or artificial feeding? Given the risks of not breastfeeding for both the child and the mother, it is almost always safer for both the mother and the baby to continue breastfeeding. It is important to know, as many doctors do not, that in order for a drug to get into the milk, it needs to get into the mothers blood. If its not in the blood, it cannot get into the milk. One of the drugs I am asked about most frequently, almost daily, is botulinum toxin (Botox). Botulinum toxin is used to treat, amongst many other problems, painful muscle spasticity, migraine headache, and, of course, it is used for cosmetic purposes. But botulinum toxin stays, one hopes, where it is injected and does not get into the blood stream. It is also a very large molecule, too large to get into the milk, even if it did get into the mothers blood stream, which it does not. Want more information on drugs and breastfeeding? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-/1515933490

Even more important, in the long run, than the pandemic with COVID-19 is the issue of the climate emergency. Every year 130 million babies are said to be born in the world. A significant proportion are not breastfed at all, and most are not breastfed for what the WHO considers the ideal time period. The WHO recommends that mothers breastfeed exclusively for 6 months and continue breastfeeding (along with added food) to two years and beyond. Why is the fact that very few of ...the 130 million babies born every year are not fed as the WHO recommends a problem for global warming? 1. Formula is usually made from cow milk which requires large numbers of cows to be raised and fed and much land is taken up for this purpose. Soybeans for formula also "eat" in the form of fertilizers, and harmful pesticides are used in quantity, and acres and acres of land are used to grow soybeans. 2. Transportation of cow milk or soybeans to factories requires energy. 3. Transforming cow milk or soybeans to formula requires energy. 4. Infant formula is packaged with significant amounts of throw away products including plastics to keep fresh. 5. Infant feeding bottles are usually made from unrecyclable plastics. 6. The manufacture of the plastics used for packaging of infant formula and bottles require significant amounts of energy. 7. The advertising of infant formula requires large amounts of printed materials sent to mothers. In some countries (including Canada and the US) almost every mother receives this "information" either in the mail, in doctors offices, often before even the mother gives birth, or in hospital before discharge. 8. Breastfeeding following the guidelines recommended by the WHO decreases the need for artificial birth control. A mother following the recommendations of the WHO would, on average, without artificial birth control have a baby every 2 to 3 years. This would decrease the yearly births significantly and help control our burgeoning population. Why are not more mothers breastfeeding according to the WHO guidelines? There are many reasons, but principally: 1. The medical system undermines mothers ability to succeed at breastfeeding their babies. 2. Societys belief that artificial infant feeding is as good as breastfeeding and pressure on mother not to breastfeed or breastfeed only for a short time, is huge. 3. Advertising of infant formula is also a huge factor. Want more information on breastfeeding? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca//Dr-Jack-Newmans-Guide-t/1515933490

From a mothers email: I am still breastfeeding my almost 4 year old son. I am receiving all sorts of advice, including from my parents and husband that it is not necessary to keep breastfeeding him, that he does not need to continue breastfeeding and even that it is harmful. My son loves to breastfeed and I feel pressured to stop. Yet, I dont understand why everyone is on my case. The photo that accompanies this post is of a 20 month old boy who loved to breastfeed and in f...act, breastfed until he was almost 4 years old. What do people mean when they say He does not need to breastfeed any more? I suppose that from a nutritional point of view, this is, in a very superficial way, true. However, the nutritional value of breastmilk cannot compare to any other food. A child of 4 years can get the protein, carbohydrates and minerals, as well as the liquid he requires from other foods. But from an immunological point of view, other foods do not provide what breastfeeding provides. Especially during the present pandemic, when researchers all over the world are trying to find a vaccine for COVID-19, why would we say that a child does not need the immunological protection of breastfeeding? The health effects of breastfeeding dont just have to do with immunity, there is a host of other effects on the health of the child - in terms of brain development, getting stems cells in breastmilk, etc. But breastfeeding is much more than breastmilk. Breastfeeding is a relationship, a close, intimate, physical and emotional relationship, a GOOD intimate, physical and emotional relationship between two, or more, people very much in love with each other. And this relationship, ultimately, is what freaks out so many people when a child of even a year, never mind 4 years of age still breastfeeds. Many interpret this as having sex with children, unlike kissing and hugging of a child of the same age does not. Because in Western society, breasts, for many people, are strictly sexual, good for selling beer and cars, and the titillation of childish men, but not for our children. Want more information on breastfeeding? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca/search

Two very young exclusively breastfed babies with blood in their bowel movements. Doctors diagnosis cow milk allergy. Information from a lactation consultant and the other from midwife. Baby #1s story was published on this Facebook page yesterday. Baby #2: Four days old, admitted to hospital with blood in bowel movements. NEC ruled out, bowel rest and antibiotic regime initiated. Gastrointestinal specialist pushing for formula with the theory that newborn allergy to milk p...rotein. Initial stool after birth at 22 hours of age. Other three at 25, 26, and 27 hours of age. Appear transitional. Blood in third stool minimal with dark green, fourth more brown-orange with more blood, and last one prior to referral yellow orange with increased red. No nipple trauma. Comment: Again, cow milk allergy? Again, very unlikely. The first and most logical thing that should have been done before the baby is admitted to hospital, before IV, before the baby is taken off the breast and put on formula was to have to have tested the babys bowel movements with the Apt test. This very simple and rapid test tells you whether the blood in the bowel movements is the mothers blood or babys blood. It can be done on babys vomit also. Chances are its mothers blood, either due the mother having rusty pipe syndrome or the baby having swallowed blood during the birth. And after my suggestion to do the test on the babys bowel movements, it turns out the blood is from the mother. Why the epidemic of cow milk allergy in exclusively breastfed babies? Because formula company advertising has convinced pediatricians that cow milk allergy is common and the answer is special formula at high prices. At every pediatric conference, there are the formula companies pushing cow milk allergy. Even at some conferences the formula company representatives give lectures, not just breakout sessions, but to the entire conference attendees, on cow milk allergy and their special formulas. Want more information on breastfeeding? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca/search

Late onset decreasing milk supply, a conversation between Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr Jack Newman, in Toronto https://youtu.be/Rtszg3aTnXs. When mothers milk supply decreases, the babies are often diagnosed with reflux (GERD) or colic, or allergy to something in the mothers milk, most often cow milk protein. These diagnoses usually end up in the mother and baby no longer breastfeeding. But late onset decreasing milk supply is preventable and treatable. See more information at http://ibconline.ca/decreased/. For in person help at our clinic, make an appointment by filling in and sending: https://ibconline.ca/book-an-appointment/

Here is todays discussion of breastfeeding issues with Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr Jack Newman in Toronto https://youtu.be/j1yp8_TXkTI. When the baby does not latch on. Also, there is a video of a baby, seen at our clinic, who latched on for the first time at just under 11 weeks of age. The video was published on my Facebook pages on May 15, 3 days ago. Next Monday: late onset decreasing milk supply.

Here is today's discussion of breastfeeding issues with Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr Jack Newman in Toronto https://youtu.be/j1yp8_TXkTI. When the baby does not latch on. Also, there is a video of a baby, seen at our clinic, who latched on for the first time at just under 11 weeks of age. The video was published on my Facebook pages on May 15, 3 days ago. Next Monday: late onset decreasing milk supply.

Some babies do not latch for some time after birth. At our International Breastfeeding Centre in Toronto we help mothers and babies to latch and breastfeed. The baby in the video taken at our clinic is 11 weeks old. He has never latched on in his life. This video shows him breastfeeding for the first time. This is because our skilled lactation consultants use methods described on our website https://ibconline.ca/not-latching/ to get babies to latch on, even babies others have... given up on. The sooner we get to see a not yet latching baby at our clinic, the better. Working with babies soon after birth is easier than helping older babies who have been using bottles for many weeks but it is possible with good hands-on help. If you want to learn more about how to resolve breastfeeding problems, read our comprehensive eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents": https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. See more

Here is a discussion about breastfeeding and sore nipples with Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr Jack Newman in Toronto Canada. Please watch https://lnkd.in/gXFKZYN (31 minutes). For further information on sore nipples, see: this article on the International Breastfeeding Clinic website: https://lnkd.in/gmQ_EqY

This video https://youtu.be/lj0xD9K7Bd0t; with Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr Jack Newman in Toronto. For more detailed information, see these blogs on the International Breastfeeding Centres website: http://ibconline.ca/painful-breastfeeding1/ http://ibconline.ca/the-asymmetric-latch/

Nothing particularly new in this article, the title of which is: "Health and nutrition claims for infant formula are poorly substantiated and potentially harmful". Only "potentially harmful"? Basically formula company advertising has been telling parents that formula is essentially the same as breastfeeding since commercial formulas appeared in about 1867. Well formula is not almost the same and this article emphasizes this truth. https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m875

Our team continues to work hard at helping and supporting breastfeeding families from all over Canada and the world in-person and via virtual consultations. . Thank you to @inksmith3d @kwawesome for providing us with much needed faceshields to keep us and our patients safe #staysafe #wraesome #covid19 #communityshield International Breastfeeding Centre

Please watch and listen to this video (https://youtu.be/0rqxqSlNGXU 29 minutes) on babies not getting enough from the breast; with Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr Jack Newman in Toronto. For more detailed information, see these blogs on the International Breastfeeding Centres website: http://ibconline.ca/not-enough1/ http://ibconline.ca/enough-milk2/

Listen to this interview (16 minutes only) on COVID-19 and breastfeeding with Nour Zaza in Kuwait and Dr. Jack Newman in Toronto: https://youtu.be/OJRh5tXhEpE. More discussions about other topics in breastfeeding to come in May.

How do we increase milk supply at the International Breastfeeding Centre in Toronto where I work? This text, published on Facebook yesterday, explains some basic principles of using domperidone to increase breastmilk intake by the baby: https://www.facebook.com//a.15977116417/1606826206135086/ In addition to suggesting a number of steps to improve breastfeeding we use domperidone starting with a dose of 30 mg (3 tablets) 3 times a day. If necessary, we increase the dos...e to 4 tablets three times a day and then, if necessary, to 16 tablets a day (6 tablets, 5 tablets, 5 tablets, total 16). The vast majority of mothers taking domperidone have no side effects. Some have headache, abdominal cramps or diarrhea which are usually mild and go away after 3 to 5 days. - Some doctors do not prescribe the above dose and many mothers are started on too low a dose of 1 tablet 3 or 4 times a day instead. I really doubt this low dose will help, but if it helps, the mother probably didnt need domperidone in the first place. Help with the latch, knowing how to know the baby is drinking at the breast, breasts compressions, and offering both breasts at each feeding might be enough. - We do very occasionally start with 1 tablet 3 or 4 times a day in mothers who took domperidone for a previous baby, and had severe headaches, severe abdominal cramps, or severe diarrhea). - The more times a day a medication is taken, the easier it is to forget a dose or even more than one dose. - If taken for decreased breastmilk intake by the baby or for late onset decreasing milk supply, we recommend taking domperidone at least until the baby is well established on solids. This means that the baby will be able to compensation for a potential drop in milk supply by eating more if hes still hungry (see our approach to food: http://ibconline.ca/food/). Domperidone can be taken for an extended period of time. People taking it for stomach issues (gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastroparesis), some of them, have been taking domperidone for many years, even decades. At our breastfeeding clinic we have 30 years of experience with mothers using domperidone for an extended period of time. - When stopping domperidone we suggest to stop it gradually, dropping no more than 1 pill a week. So, if you are taking 3 tablets 3 times a day, you drop one pill, so you are taking 3 tablets, 3 tablets, 2 tablets a day. Obviously, this takes a long time, 9 weeks, if you are taking 9 tablets a day to start, but its worth not going too quickly. Want to learn more about how help mothers when the baby is not getting enough from the breast? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca/search

Domperidone is a medication that can increase breastmilk production. However, domperidone should not be used without other measures to make breastfeeding easier and better for both the mother and baby: what other measures? Help 1. to achieve a good latch, 2. to know how to know a baby is drinking milk from the breast (and not just sucking without drinking). 3. to learn how to use breast compressions to increase the flow of milk to the baby. 4. to encourage the mother to offe...Continue reading

When the baby does not latch on. There is hope. Yesterday was a day of non-latching babies at our clinic. Almost every baby we saw was not taking the breast and being fed by bottle. And almost every baby was able to latch on with help. The baby in the photo is 17 days old and was not latching on and being fed expressed milk by bottle. With good hands on help from one of our lactation consultants, the baby latched on and drank beautifully. And the mother was able to get the ...baby to take the breast again on her own without hands on help. For all breastfeeding problems, not only for the baby not latching on, the younger the baby when seen, the easier it is to fix problems. The baby did have a tongue tie which was released. But the baby latched on before the tongue tie was released and after it was released as well. Why did this work? 1. Because the lactation consultant showed the mother the asymmetric latch, which gets the baby more milk. 2. The baby latched on with a lactation aid at the breast (tube alongside the mothers breast as the baby is brought to the breast and so gets milk from both breast and lactation aid). More flow means the baby is more likely to latch on. But once the baby latched on, in this case, he did not need the lactation aid any longer. 3. The more milk the mother has, the more likely the baby will latch on. We frequently use domperidone to increase the milk flow. The more milk there is, the more the flow, the more likely the baby is to latch on. That is why the lactation aid works also. To make an appointment at our clinic: https://ibconline.ca/book-an-appointment/ Want to learn more about how to prevent and treat the problem of babies not latching on? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca/search

You got your period back 3 months after birth, even though you are exclusively breastfeeding? Here is what is normal. A mother who breastfeeds exclusively for about six months, continues breastfeeding as the baby desires after six months and allows the baby to eat food as the baby desires, and continues breastfeeding into the second year of life, will get back her period, on average, 14 to 17 months after birth. This is an average but can vary widely. The photo is of a 200...0 year old Roman statue, showing a baby pulling at the breast. Why does the baby pull at the breast like that? See below. If you have had a decrease in your milk supply, your period did not cause your milk supply to decrease; your milk supply decreased and as a result, you got back your period. Why would you have had a decrease in your milk supply. Why would your milk supply decrease? 1. The babys latch is not as good as it could be (a baby with a tongue tie does not have a good latch, even if the mother has no nipple or breast pain and the baby is drinking well with breastfeeding alone). 2. Offering only one breast at a feeding frequently results in a decrease in milk supply. If the baby is full he may not take the second side, but the baby should be offered both breasts at each feeding. Note: A baby is not drinking milk just because the baby is latched on and making sucking movements. 3. Sleep training can reduce the milk supply significantly. 4. Babies should feed when they are showing signs that they are hungry, not by the clock. Exclusively breastfed babies are fussy, or colicky, usually because they want more milk. Even if they are gaining weight well, some babies just want more. A pacifier does not provide more milk. 5. Hormonal birth control can decrease the milk supply. Yes, even the minipill and the IUD with hormones can decrease the milk supply. 6. Using bottles, even with breastmilk in it, can decrease the milk supply because the way a baby drinks from a bottle teat is different from the way a baby latched on to the breast. This article http://ibconline.ca/decreased/ discusses late onset decreasing milk supply. Want to learn more about how breastfeeding? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/. New! An audiobook of my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to breastfeeding. https://www.audible.ca/search

The audiobook version of Teresa Pitmans and my book Dr Jack Newmans Guide to Breastfeeding is now available. For a sample of it, https://www.audible.ca/search

So, Center for Disease Control, do what your name says you are supposed to do. You too, American Academy of Pediatrics, get with the right programme.

The audiobook version of Teresa Pitman's and my book Dr Jack Newman's Guide to Breastfeeding is now available. For a sample of it, https://www.audible.ca/search

We are here at the International Breastfeeding Centre, Newman Breastfeeding Clinic @ibc_toronto to provide in-person lactation support to breastfeeding parents and their babies. . Under present circumstances, making breastfeeding work is more important than ever. Not only for the usual reasons, especially protection against infection, but also because formula may not be as accessible. . We are here for you! Book your appointment, we will help you with your breastfeeding issu...es . . Book your appointment at http://ibconline.ca/book-an-appointment/ See more

About coronavirus (COVID-19) IN ENGLISH. Dr Jack Newman, a breastfeeding expert, and an author of an article in Scientific American on breastfeeding and immune response, explains why mothers should continue breastfeeding at the time of the coronavirus pandemic, even if they are suspected of having coronavirus or have tested positive for coronavirus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izAkCEGkHlE

Another video from a breastfeeding mother who developed the illness with COVID-19. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXZDUXQxoG0&feature=youtu.be

The International Breastfeeding Centre is open to help mothers with breastfeeding problems. All precautions to prevent spread of the infection are in place. To make an appointment https://ibconline.ca/book-an-appointment/. See the interview with me about breastfeeding and COVID 19 (coronavirus). The message? Protect your baby. Keep breastfeeding. Herei is the link: https://youtu.be/LZ12jYyJPtQ

Who transfers milk? The baby or the mother? Watch the video. Surely, it is the mother who transfers milk to the baby. After all, the mother has the milk, the baby receives it. Think of what the the baby transfers milk really means. It means, essentially, that the baby sucks milk out of the breast. Does the baby really suck milk out of the breast? No. The baby, of course, does his or her part. I am not saying the baby is a passive receptacle. The babys sucking stimulates ...the mothers milk to flow, but in fact, it is the mother who transfers the milk. This is not simply playing with words. Saying the baby transfers the milk has consequences, negative consequences. The belief that it is the baby who transfers the milk, that the baby sucks milk out of the breast, results in the common, incorrect, belief that breastfeeding takes a lot of energy. And in neonatal units all over the world, premature and sick babies are prevented from breastfeeding. The mothers are told that the baby will tire out because breastfeeding is hard work. Also, in pediatric cardiology departments all over the world, the mother is told she cannot breastfeed because the baby cannot tolerate breastfeeding, because the babys heart would have to work too hard. It is obvious, the baby falls asleep at the breast even though the baby is still hungry and look, we then give him a bottle and he gobbles it up. Babies, particularly young babies, fall asleep at the breast because the flow of milk is slow. And why is the flow slow? Usually, because the baby is not latching on well. This belief also leads to the mistaken idea that the more the baby sucks, the more milk the mother will make. A baby can sit on the breast nibbling for hours and that will not increase the mothers milk supply. Quiz: How else can the idea that it is the baby who transfers milk rather than the mother affect how we advise mothers about breastfeeding? Need an appointment at the International Breastfeeding Centre? We are open and seeing mothers and babies. To make an appointment, fill in and send: http://ibconline.ca/book-an-appointment/ Want to learn more about how breastfeeding? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/.

Maria Romeu. Laura Patterson

IMPORTANT: The International Breastfeeding Centre remains open to help mothers and babies with breastfeeding problems. We have been making sure all precautions are taken to keep everyone safe from infection. Keep breastfeeding. Even if you believe that you may have the virus, breastfeeding is the best protection for the baby to prevent the baby from getting sick. As well, our lactation consultants who do home visits will continue to do so during this time.

The International Breastfeeding Centre, Toronto, is now offering a class on introducing food (solids). Pediatric recommendations have made introducing solids unnecessarily complicated. It should not be complicated at all. Learn about adding food to breastfeeding Register here: https://ibconline.ca/startingsolidsclass/

Posting again on Coronavirus-In order to say that the Center for Disease Control had got it wrong!!! Do not separate mother and baby as the CDC apparently stated. But it seems that they changed their recommendation and now encourage breastfeeding. The point is that breastfeeding helps protect. The photos below show how, when a mother is exposed to an infection, her body reacts to produce immune factors in her milk in order to protect the baby from getting sick. The whole arti...cle, written by me, is in Scientific American from 1995 https://www.dropbox.com/s/4v85fdtjv5u7o3j/Scientific American 1995%2C how bf protects.pdf?dl=0 There is a lot of concern about what to do about breastfeeding when either the baby or the mother has been exposed to coronavirus. The answer is to continue breastfeeding and keep the mother and baby together. Indeed, one can sense a panic about this virus which is new, and therefore few if any people in the world has been exposed to it. And many breastfeeding mothers have been told that they should not breastfeed if they have been exposed or actually have the infection. Other than being new, there is nothing particularly special about this virus and the same principles apply as with other viruses. And mothers or babies who have been exposed to it should continue breastfeeding. Mothers and babies spend time TOGETHER. They are exposed to viruses and other pathogens TOGETHER. When either the mother or the baby is exposed to a virus, there is an incubation period before the onset of symptoms. In other words, the mother or baby are already infectious without knowing they are sick or feeling sick. And breastmilk with its dozens if not hundreds of immune factors (not just antibodies) are present to protect the baby. It seems that the first reaction to any new virus is to separate mothers and babies and to tell them they cant breastfeed. The same happened a couple of years back with SARS, H1N1 and other viruses. But the safe course is to keep breastfeeding. The reaction we dont know, so the mother should not breastfeed, just to be safe is not good practice. So, THERE IS NO REASON TO SEPARATE THE MOTHER AND BABY. And no reason to stop breastfeeding. Indeed, there are lots of reasons for breastfeeding to continue. Want to learn more about how breastfeeding protects babies against infection? See our eBook "Breastfeeding: Empowering Parents". The eBook contains videos, links to scholarly articles and more: https://ibconline.ca/ebook/.