alexist

Last week we got one of those pacifier clps for Aliza. This is a Dr Sears no-no (although I think he can be unfairly hard on pacifiers--I've developed a theory that bottlefed babies need them because they don't get to comfort suck, and I've had other mothers agree) because it encourages you to be lazy with the pacifier. However, Aliza's latest game is "fling it" and I got sick of having to fetch pacifiers from under the sofa. It was one thing when she just dropped them, but having to search on my hands and knees is another matter.

anyway, she's discovered that the clip/ribbon is a great toy. As is her muslin...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/opinion/nyregionopinions/13CIzajfe.html

1) Free samples violate the WHO Code on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. The US is one of the few countries not to adopt the code. (The EU has.)

2) She admits it reduces breastfeeding rates, but thinks they should be kept for convenience!

3) The need for formula within the hospital could be reduced by increased milk banking and donation. It's not a full solution to the formula issue the way some lactivists pretend (not least because of babies with medical conditions) but it would definitely help when babies require initial supplementation the way Aliza did.

Formula should not be given out in hospital unless medically necessary--the same way it's done on the NHS. The fact is that if we make bottle feeding the easy, acceptable option, a lot of women will do that. Breastfeeding needs to be promoted as the norm. If you NEED to bottle feed, then you do. That's what I did and that's what formula is for--it's a backup for when breastmilk isn't available. Simply giving out formula to healthy mothers helps reinforce the image of bottlefeeding as a normal alternative.

(On the other side, I've got lactivists justifying calling formula poison--I've pointed out that they're effectively saying that FF mothers are poisoning their children. All that does is upset mothers who didn't have a choice, and make mothers who did think all lactivists are nutters. Which I'm not. I'm in favour of breastfeeding being promoted as the normal way to feed a baby and more importantly, mothers being supported and helped to do what's right for them and their babies.)

http://www.ou.org/abstinence
(or http://www.negia.org/)

Co-opting right-wing Christian abstinence education :-(

Now, let's be clear. I'm not in favour of teenagers having sex. If this were abstinence-first education, I'd be all for it (though of course I don't expect the OU to go past the abstinence stage--the halacha is clear). But this kind of abstinence-only crap that tries to scare teenagers into not having sex by using dubious facts is not cool. And more importantly, it doesn't work. It just means that kids who decide to go ahead with having sex don't take precautions because they've been misled to believe they don't work.