Patty’s Blog: “” posts

Beneficial microbes and birth

How do antibiotics in labor and cesarean deliveries affect the microbes needed for the infant to survive? Interesting article by Martin J. Blaser. In his article, “The way you’re born can mess with the microbes you need to survive,” Blaser states: “Throughout the animal kingdom, mothers transfer microbes to their young while giving birth. Different species of tadpoles acquire specific skin bacteria from mother frogs even though they all live in the same pond with the same bacterial background. Emerging chicken eggs get inoculated with microbes from a bacteria-filled pouch near the mother hen’s rectum. And for millennia, mammalian babies have acquired founding populations of microbes by passing through their mothers’ vagina. This microbial handoff is also a critical aspect of infant health in humans. Today it is in peril.” Read the full article.

Posted by Patty Brennan on June 12, 2014 • Filed under
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Key Facts about the “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” Law

We know that workplace lactation support is a win-win, benefiting families, employers and the economy, yet one of the major causes for the drop-off in breastfeeding rates is the lack of effective, reasonable workplace accommodations when mothers return to work. Read this blog from the International Lactation Consultant Association that includes key facts about break times for nursing mothers.

Our bi-weekly Birth & Parenting News Blog highlights the latest news items, research results, consumer alerts, and legislative action alerts of interest to expectant and new parents and the professionals who work them.

Posted by Patty Brennan on June 5, 2014 • Filed under
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