The Knesset economic committee met this week to discuss the law limiting formula marketing in Israeli hospitals. Last Friday, Haaretz published an article by Ruti Levi on the arrangements between formula companies and hospital maternity wards. Currently, the companies pay large sums in order to ensure sole distribution of their products to new mothers. Israel is a signatory to the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing Breast-Milk Substitutes, abbreviated to the WHO Code. According to the Code formula companies may sell their products, as long as they don't market them to new parents through giveaways, coupons and the like. Health professionals may not accept perks … [Read more...]
New Barrier for Mothers: Don’t Feed Baby on the Bus
August 14, 2011 by 41 Comments
Update: See clarification below. The head of Beterem, the Israeli organization for child safety, has issued a warning that will strike fear into any young mother who relies on public transportation: Breastfeeding while riding on a bus puts your baby in danger. And bottle-feeding will likely to be next (or will it?). In a tragic incident, a Jerusalem baby suffered brain damage after choking while breastfeeding on a bus. The report seems odd but there has been no further information. (Update: The baby apparently suffocated.) Haaretz interviewed the director of Beterem, Orli Silvinger, about parents who forget children in cars. At the end, they ask Silvinger about the bus … [Read more...]
Links: Eulogies, Period Parties, Breastfeeding and Fasting, Shawls, Shidduchim
August 7, 2011 by 4 Comments
I hope you are all having a wonderful summer. This picture is from a boat ride we took on the Yarkon a couple of weeks ago. First, a post in honor of World Breastfeeding Week: According to this report by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), implementing the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) can help stem alarming rates of obesity and save the U.S. billions in health care costs. It seems we're not the only ones with inconsistent breastfeeding support. My niece, Shifra, has been updating a memorial page for my father z"l. There's some interesting stuff there on the history of the Dead Sea Scrolls controversy. If you like, you can go directly to my eulogy. Rafi … [Read more...]
Whose Babies Are They Anyway? Breastfeeding Twins in an Israeli Hospital
July 31, 2011 by 91 Comments
Rachel Gurevich left a comment in response to the proposed law requiring parental consent for feeding formula to newborns. When I wrote to her about publishing it as a new post, she asked to expand it. What follows is quite harrowing. I included a few short comments. Rachel writes: The proposed breastfeeding bill is extremely important and may be part of what is needed to give back rights to breastfeeding mothers. I say this as a mother who gave birth here in Israel, wanted to breastfeed, and was sabotaged over and over again at the hospital. A bill like this may have been able to protect me and my babies. I am tired of reading all the objections to this bill, from people who are … [Read more...]
Is the “Breastfeeding Doll” Tznius?
July 18, 2011 by 21 Comments
The breastfeeding doll has arrived in the US. First produced in Spain, it has become quite popular in Europe. The doll is made by Berjuan Toys, a company out of Spain. It comes with a special halter top that has two flowers where nipples would be. When a little girl puts on the top and holds the baby doll up the flowers, it makes suckling sounds. As you might imagine, some outspoken Americans are up in arms about this product. I guess they are worried that little girls might start thinking about what their breasts are designed to do instead of whether they are big or perky enough. People who find it offensive might ask themselves why it's okay for children to play with dolls … [Read more...]
Breastfeeding Basics with Christina Smillie
June 14, 2011 by 16 Comments
Many years ago I was asked to visit a new mother having trouble breastfeeding her baby. Not having much experience, I called a colleague for advice. The instructions she gave me for the mother went something like this: Sit in a straight-backed chair, with a pillow behind your back. Rest your feet on a thick book on the floor, so your knees rise above the level of your hips. Place a pillow on your lap to raise the baby to the height of the nipple. And that was only the beginning. In earlier generations, no one had to explain to mothers how to feed their babies. Women grew up seeing their mothers, aunts, cousins and sisters breastfeeding. But once formula feeding became prevalent, … [Read more...]
Breastfeeding in Synagogue Just Fine, Says Rabbi Aviner
January 16, 2011 by 19 Comments
I have written about breastfeeding in the synagogue many times, including a guest post on DovBear that earned over 200 comments. One of the main arguments against nursing in shul is that it is somehow improper—even though I've never seen a source prohibiting it. Eating is prohibited in shul because of kedushat beit haknesset, the sanctity of the synagogue. But I've never been in a shul that enforced the no-eating rule for small children. Aside from bottles, just think how much candy is passed out in your average synagogue. The alon put out last week by Machon Meir, Be-Ahava Uve-Emunah, published a rabbinic ruling by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner on breastfeeding in the women's section … [Read more...]
Tipat Chalav Finally Adopts Growth Charts Based on Breastfed Babies
November 29, 2010 by 6 Comments
In 2006 the World Health Organization published growth charts based solely on breastfed babies who received solids at age 4 to 6 months. The Israeli health ministry has finally gotten around to providing them to Tipat Chalav, Israel's well-baby clinics. The babies measured for the new charts were healthy singletons, living in a safe and affluent environment where their growth wouldn't be compromised. Breastfed babies grow at slightly different rates than bottle-fed babies, and tend to be leaner. This is important for monitoring obesity, which begins early. Now parents of bottle-fed babies that are growing too quickly can take steps to watch their babies' intake. Similarly, the moms of … [Read more...]
Rabbi Eliyahu Against Breastfeeding in Bathrooms
October 19, 2010 by 12 Comments
The alon Olam Katan has a regular feature called shu”t cellulari, or responsa via SMS. Readers can text halachic questions and get answers fairly quickly, from either Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu or Rabbi Shlomo Aviner. My daughter alerted me to one of last week’s questions: Is there a problem of tumah (impurity or uncleanness) to nurse in a public bathroom, when there is no other place, or is it better to nurse where there are passersby and cover up? Rabbi Eliyahu: It's preferable to cover yourself well and nurse in a place with passersby. I don't know what he would say about nursing in public even if there are other options. But at least he made it clear that a bathroom is not a place to … [Read more...]
Why I’m in Favor of “Breastfeeding” Breaks for Spanish Dads
October 1, 2010 by 5 Comments
Image via Wikipedia Ridiculous, right? According to an article on CNN, Spanish men will get breastfeeding leave equivalent to that of women: The European Union Court of Justice has ruled that working fathers in Spain have the same right to breastfeeding leave as do moms. Thursday's ruling grants Spanish dads the same rights as the mother of their child to leave work up to twice a day for a total of an hour or to shorten their workday by 30 minutes for the first nine months of the baby's life. Guess what? I'm all for it. By the way, this workplace benefit is part of Israel's law too. I don't know if the European court's ruling will affect it. The article doesn't make it … [Read more...]
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