LLL of Broad Ripple, Nora, NW Indy & Downtown

Our November Morning Meeting will not be held at the library because the library will be closed that day.  Instead will be meeting at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 526 E. 52nd Street.  Enter through the doors off the parking lot and go down the steps to the basement.  Our meeting will be held at  our normal date and time, 10:15 a.m. on Friday, November 11.

We hope to see you there!

Sara, Jill, Ali, and Natalie
Broad Ripple LLL Leaders

We are pleased to announce that a brand new LLL Group that will be meeting in Noblesville on the fourth Wednesday of every month, beginning this Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 2051 Monument Street, Noblesville.  For more information, please see the LLL of Noblesville Facebook Page.    I know there are quite a few of you who are traveling a long way to get to our meetings — I hope for some of you this helps you find an LLL meeting that’s a little closer by.

I have gotten behind posting updates about LLL’s two online magazines, Breastfeeding Today (global perspective) and New Beginnings (USA focus).   Here are several back issues for you to read. I hope you enjoy them.

If you didn’t get a chance to read Amanda’s article in New Beginnings when it came out, this is your chance to read it!

• New Beginnings, Issue 4, 2010
• New Beginnings, Issue 5 & 6, 2010 (Featuring LLL Broad Ripple’s very own Amanda Berkey)
• New Beginnings, Issue 1, 2011
• New Beginning, Issue 2, 2011
• Breastfeeding Today, Issue 2
• Breastfeeding Today, Issue 3
• Breastfeeding Today, Issue 4
• Breastfeeding Today, Issue 5
• Breastfeeding Today, Issue 6
• Breastfeeding Today, Issue 7

More New Beginnings

At our meeting at Broad Ripple Park yesterday, we talked about babywearing, returning to work, and getting a good latch.   I just want to pass along some resources for you to explore in more depth about those topics.

Working and Breastfeeding

There were several new mothers at our meeting who were planning on going back to work after their babies were born.  I want to encourage you all to go for it — with the right information and support, it is absolutely possible to combine working and breastfeeding.  There are several experienced working/breastfeeding mothers in our Group who are available for you to ask your questions, big and small, about going back to work.   You can ask questions in our private Facebook chat Group (ask a moderator for permission to join) or at any of our Group meetings.

When you are planning to go back to work and breastfeed, you can avoid common working/bresatfeeding pitfalls such as decreased milk supply by reading up ahead of time about combining work and breastfeeding.  Two great places to for working/pumping info are the website Workandpump.com and the book (by the same author) Working Without Weaning. LLL’s Working Mother, Nursing Mother is also good.  Both of these books are available online or in our lending library.

Babywearing

Our slings in our lending library are from TaylorMade Slings, Wallababy and (I think) MayaWrap. These are all nice slings, but there are many brands of baby carriers, and we did not choose these brands for any particular reason — we just accept whatever people donate to our sling library.

Here is a video that I found very helpful in getting started using my ring sling with my newborn:  Ring Sling:  Infant Tummy-to-Tummy, Cradle Carry, Nursing.

For more info on babywearing, visit thebabywearer.com, the #1 babywearing website.  It hosts some very active forums and offers a wealth of information about choosing and using a baby carrier. If you’re already in information overload, thebabywearer might not be the place for you.

Whenever you’re babywearing, it’s a good idea to make sure you know how to baby wear safely — position your baby so his chin is off his chest and he has plenty of access to fresh air.  More on Correct Positioning for Safety and Comfort [with photos] [PDF]

Getting a Good Latch

A good latch is so important — with a good latch you and your baby are both comfortable and, just as important, your baby is able to remove milk much more effectively from the breast.  If you’re feeling desperate with a baby whose latch is painful, it may reassure you to know that the majority of babies eventually outgrow their bad latches and learn how to nurse comfortably and efficiently.  You do not have to settle for enduring pain throughout your breastfeeding career — pain is a sign of a problem that is fixable.   Here are some tricks that have helped other mothers find a good latch for their babies.  With luck one or two of them will work for you and your baby.

Try Switching Positions

Have you been nursing sitting upright on the couch?  If so, it may be time to try something else.   A lot of mothers have an easier time finding a nice deep latch in other positions.  One that is very popular is Laid-Back Breastfeeding, where you lie back comfortably and place your baby on your chest.  The advantage of this position is that it supports your baby’s torso, which allows your baby to control his head enough to skootch around and find his own position that works best for him.  That usually works better than you trying to find the perfect position for your baby.  You can watch a video of this technique in action here:  Biological Nurturing Video Clip.  And laying back on the couch is way more comfortable than sitting upright nursing.

This position may not work for everyone, including obese women and women with larger breasts. I tried it with my newborn and wasn’t able to get it to work (we ended up using mostly side-lying).  But Laid-back Breastfeeding is definitely worth a try.

Shore up your Latching Basics

Read On Latching by Jack Newman for some great tips for getting a good latch

Get Checked Out by an Expert

If you’re having latching difficulties, I would encourage you to get help from an expert before you reach the end of your rope.  There may be some very If you’re doing everything you can to get your latch going well, and it’s still not working, don’t hesitate to get help from an expert. An LLL Leader or IBCLC lactation consultant can watch you nurse your baby and give you hints about how to improve latch and positioning. She may also be able to detect if your baby’s latch problems are the result of something other than how you’ve positioned your baby.  For example, babies with tongue tie may have troubles latching in any position, and their latching problems need to be handled in a different way.

Did I leave anything out?  What tricks worked for you to get a good latch?

Since all of our Leaders will be at the LLL of Indiana Conference this Friday,our Enrichment meeting scheduled for Friday, April 15 will be cancelled.

We hope to see you at the conference or at one of our upcoming events!

At our meeting Tuesday night, Natalie and I promised to look up HIV and breastfeeding and get back to you with the latest recommendations.  This is an area of active research, and recommendations regarding breastfeeding for HIV positive mothers are constantly being revised in light of new research.

The rate of transmission of HIV through breastmilk is low, but it is possible to transmit HV through breastmilk.  In one study, a 14% HIV transmission rate was observed when HIV positive mothers breastfed their babies for 18 months.  Because of the risk of HIV transmission, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that mothers living in areas with good sanitation do not breastfeed their babies.

In areas of the world where sanitation is poor, however, breastfeeding is recommended. Babies in these areas who are not breastfed face elevated risks of infection, which presents more of a threat to the babies’ health than the risk of HIV infection through breastmilk.

Researchers have been working hard to come up with approaches to breastfeeding that will minimize HIV transmission to babies.  One crucial piece of information they have discovered is that babies who are exclusively breastfed (fed only breastmilk and nothing else) are much less likely to be infected with HIV than babies who are fed both breastmilk and other foods and liquids.  The reason for this is that when babies are exclusively breastfed, their gut mucosa remains intact, sealing the gut off from the rest of the body.   This makes it more difficult for the HIV virus to enter the body.  But when babies are fed mixed feeds, their gut mucosa may be breached in places, allowing the HIV virus to pass into the body.

Because of the gut of exclusively breastfed babies is tightly sealed, rates of HIV transmission are extremely low when babies are fed only breastmilk.  In one study, from birth to three months, HIV infection rates were equal between formula fed and exclusively breastfed babies.

The rate of HIV transmission increases once babies start adding other foods and liquids to their diets.  Because of this, mothers in underdeveloped areas were once encouraged  to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, then completely wean their babies.   That recommendation has since changed, because it was quickly found that early weaning of these babies caused a spike in infant mortality rates.  Even with the increased risk of HIV transmission after mixed feedings were introduced, it was still safer for babies to be breastfed.

So for babies of HIV-infected mothers, the recommendations are:  In developed areas, don’t nurse or donate your milk.  In developing areas with poor sanitaiton, nurse exclusively for as long as possible then continue to breastfeed.  If available, antiretroviral drugs should be given to these babies during breastfeeding.

Source:  Breastfeeding Answers Made Simple (2010) p. 742-45.

As those of you who have been attending our meetings know, we have been really excited about the LLL of Indiana Conference, which is coming up Friday and Saturday, April 15-16.  Conference registration is finally open, and you can find the registration form and a complete list of session descriptions here:  Registration page.

This is a great opportunity to expand your knowledge of breastfeeding beyond where the books take you, as well as to attend sessions on cloth diapering, birth, babywearing, attachment parenting, and more.  It’s also just really exciting to be in a place where there are so many other nursing mothers and children.

We hope to have a solid turnout from LLL Broad Ripple at the conference both days.  We’ll gather as a Group for lunch each day. We are thinking sack lunches, because the conference lunches are pricey.  We’ll reimburse all LLL members from our Group $20 of conference costs.

Babies and children are welcome participants at LLL conferences.  They are welcome in the sessions, although if they become disruptive we ask that you take them out until they quiet down.   There will be a room with toys and rocking chairs where you can go to take a break from the action.  On Saturday, there will be sessions for children and dads as well.

You can sign up for an LLL membership at our next LLL Group meeting and still get the member rate at the conference.  We offer two types of memberships: Standard Memberships ($30) and Benefactor Memberships ($50) (includes a copy of the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding).  Make your check out to LLL of Broad Ripple.

Please let us know if you have any questions!

Our evening meeting tonight will be cancelled due to the icy weather.   We hope to see you all at one of our other meetings or in March.

Here is another breastfeeding calendar with gorgeous photos:  2011 Nourished Naturally, Naturally Nourished Project.

Looking for a 2011 wall calendar?  Then make sure to visit beautyofmothering.com.   Beauty of Mothering has a produced a gorgeous 2011 wall calendar featuring beautiful nursing photos.  It’s awfully pretty, and such a positive way to support breastfeeding!