Proposed Law Promotes Breastfeeding in Israeli Hospitals

Likud MK Danny Danon has introduced a law preventing formula companies from advertising in maternity wards. If passed by the full Knesset, hospitals will no longer accept free formula and other gifts from manufacturers. Currently companies compete for the chance to "donate" formula and valuable … [Read more...]

Haredi Public Shortchanged by Formula Freebies

Q: How was the haredi public mekupach (shortchanged)? A: Because Superpharm, the drugstore chain, included only regular dairy infant formula in its giveaway for new parents. Haredi parents require mehadrin formula, produced under a higher level of kashrut supervision. Readers reported this … [Read more...]

In Which I Meet and Talk with the Mom of a Remedia Baby

I was talking with the mother of my daughter's friend the other day. It turns out that her daughter drank Remedia soy formula from the age of 3 to 6 months in 2003, until she learned that the formula lacked Vitamin B1. In the video I describe how the mother chose that particular formula, and the … [Read more...]

3 Times More ADHD in Kids Fed Soy Formula, Says Health Ministry

In my last post, I wrote about the problems faced by children who drank faulty Remedia soy formula as infants. It turns out that the Remedia children have a high rate of ADHD, three times higher than the general population. This came out in a study conducted by the Israeli Health Ministry, amid … [Read more...]

Reports: Widespread Damage to Remedia Babies 7 Years Later

In November 2003 three Israeli babies died after having been fed Remedia soy formula, which turned out not to contain the essential vitamin B1. Dozens of other children suffered severe damage, with a third dying just two weeks ago. (The article that mentioned the recent death said it was the third … [Read more...]

Supply and Demand in Breastfeeding at Green Prophet

I have a guest post up at Green Prophet, Breastfeeding and "Supply and Demand." If you know anyone worried about not having enough milk, this is a good place to start. … [Read more...]

Why Formula Marketing in Israeli Hospitals is Bad for Babies

My post on Green Prophet yesterday turned out different than expected:Why Baby's First Gift Shouldn't Be Formula from the HospitalBy Hannah KatsmanSoft drinks. Fast foods. Cigarettes.Companies that market these products are well-known for targeting children and teens in order to develop “brand … [Read more...]

Young and old in Ramat Gan

Haveil Havalim #181  is hosted at Tzipiyah. Now that my little one entered gan we are free on Fridays, the first day of the Israeli weekend. We decided to go out for breakfast, using the coupon my husband received as a birthday present from work. It's not easy to get out of the house for a morning … [Read more...]

Tipat Halav and Rugrats.

Today we visited Tipat Halav (lit. drop of milk), the well-baby clinic in our neighborhood. It was my five-year-old's final visit; they will soon transfer his file to the elementary school and he will get any further immunizations and checkups there (at least I hope so--the budget for school nurses … [Read more...]

"I waited and waited but they didn’t call me. . ."

Today I ran into an acquaintance who had recently given birth. She was waiting for her son to get off the school bus, and my kids had stopped to watch a bulldozer while walking home from gan. I wished her mazal tov and we chatted for a moment about schools. After a bit she asked whether a lot of … [Read more...]