On June the 5th, the House finally passed a long overdue bill giving Federal working moms four weeks paid maternity leave. Of course there were those who were against giving women anything. A preposterous argument against giving women paid maternity leave was made by some opposed to the bill who alleged that this would induce women to become pregnant or adopt often to take advantage of the of the paid leave. (Anyone who has had children can attest to how difficult and costly it can be to feed, nurture and care for infants as if 4 weeks pay is such a huge amount.)
Previously the US was one of the five countries with no paid maternity leave. Now the US and Tunisia are the only two countries with only 4 weeks paid maternity leave for federal workers. Should we be grateful? No its really shameful ! In most other countries women get 12 weeks or more paid maternity leave and this is available not only to all women workers. Its really pathetic that the US is so backward in promoting measures to support maternal and child care.
Furthermore paid lactation leave is not available in the US while in most countries paid lactation leave is commonplace. In the US workers can get toilet and smoke breaks but object to lactation breaks. Could it be the influence of the formula industry which would prefer mothers to bottle feed and see lactation breaks as reducing mothers dependency on the formula. When breastfeeding mothers in the workforce are not allowed to express breastmilk their milk supply stops their breasts become engorged and in no time formula feeding ensues.
There is no question that exclusive breastfeeding is important for optimal infant growth and health. Furthermore women who get maternity leave are very loyal workers and businesses have found these women are more loyal, more committed workers, take less sick leave and don’t have to be replaced as the leave is temporary. Mothers have a right to work and breastfeed and nurture their infants.
The Women’s International Public Health Network (WIPHN) was started in Mexico City for the women in public health and related areas. Especially, they wanted to have a newsletter to share resources, programs, concerns and sisterhood. Women from over 67 countries world-wide, with a wide range of expertise, contributed to the newsletter. Below are scanned versions of these newsletters for all to see.
In reviewing the material, I find it evident that we have still have a long way to go, especially in maternal and infant health. Violence against women, maternal deaths due to lack of maternity care, infectious diseases, AIDS, and TB are all still rampant. Whist there is an International WHO/UNICEF Code for marketing of breastmilk substitutes, the infant formula companies still make millions with what is a mostly unnecessary product. Progress has been made in that we now know that infants on mixed feeding breast and formula have a higher transmission of HIV than those exclusively breastfed or exclusively formula fed. The refugee problem is increasing and few inroads have been made on poverty and malnutrition.
To view these newsletters, visit baumslag.com/wiphn
Corrupt governments and corporate greed have increased poverty and malnutrition. Handouts don’t help but income generating projects and the Grameen bank have helped raise some women out of poverty. This plus education and universal access to health care will go a long way to creating change.
Please send your comments and any information on new effective programs and ways to move forward.
Barack Obama has promised true change in America. The pharmaceutical industry is probably one of the areas in this country which needs this change most. In the United States, corporate profit is currently ahead of human health. We need the health priorities of our nation to be forefront in the health care policy of the FDA, HHS, and other health-related agencies — not the high profits of pharmaceutical and insurance companies.
Breastfeeding
In 1981 the US was the only country to vote against a voluntary World Health Code for the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, its stance being along the lines of “Breastmilk is good for babies but not for business”. Today, we still do not have a national code of this nature, despite the Clinton administration’s endorsement of the WHO/UNICEF code in 1994.
With some of the highest rates of both infant and maternal morality, the United States needs to promote breastfeeding — an action which will improve our infants health, decrease infant obesity, lower the number of hospitalizations, and more. Breastmilk fed infants don’t need the Rota-virus vaccine. Yet despite these proven advantages, the USDA’s WIC (Womens Infants and Children) Program provides nearly half of all US newborn infants with free infant formula. Not only does WIC give taxpayer money to infant formula companies, it promotes a product greatly inferior to breastmilk.
There are many instances where the infant formula industry has interfered and watered down breastfeeding promotion initiatives, such as those of HHS.
Breastfeeding saves lives and gives babies a passport to life. The health care cost savings of breastfeeding are tremendous. (See my book, Milk, Money and Madness, for details.) We need a strong program to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
Maternity Leave
Most industrialized countries have 12-weeks or more of paid maternity. The United States of America has none. The health of American mothers and their infants should be of first priority. Should America not be a world-leader in this area, as well? America should have a federal minimum of 12-weeks paid maternity leave.
When will women learn that there’s no substitute for breastfeeding? Everyone needs to understand that if you want the best for for your infants, just breastfeed!
In the past few years there have been 70-odd recalls of the so-called ‘infant formula’ (in reality a risky mix of chemicals without immunological protective factors). There is now an epidemic of kidney stones and deaths in Chinese infants due to what is believed to be excessive amounts of melanin added to milk to allegedly increase protein content of milk.
The FDA says 2.5 ppm is the most that can be safely tolerated by humans. Is this also the case for infants and why do they need melanin at all? It is outrageous that the melamine levels found recently in Chinese dairy products were astronomically high — as much as 2,500 ppm. Why it had to be added in the first place is worrying and why the FDA cant just say it should not be added at all is not clear. Melanin is not an essential nutrient for infants and is clearly harmful.
If you know anything further on the issue, do comment.
- Buy your tomato sauce in glass jars. Canned tomato sauce is likely to have higher levels of BPA because the high acidity of the tomatoes causes more of the chemical to leach from the lining of the can. Think beyond plain tomato sauce to any canned pasta—like ravioli and those fun-looking kids’ meals.
- Consume frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned. In addition to their BPA-free benefit, fresh and frozen produce usually have more nutrients, which often get lost in the process of canning. Eden Foods does offer canned beans that are BPA-free.
- Purchase beverages in plastic or glass bottles. Canned soda and juice often contain some BPA. You don’t need to worry, though, about disposable plastic water bottles. Most don’t contain bisphenol A, and those that do are usually marked on the bottom with a number 7 recycling code.
- Use powdered infant formula instead of ready-to-serve liquid. A separate assessment from the Environmental Working Group found that liquid formulas contain more BPA than powdered brands.
- Think in terms of moderation. You don’t need to avoid all canned foods. Just consult the chart below and follow a sensible approach, eating less of those foods that are high in BPA. Click here for the full report on canned foods.
SOURCE: http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/heart/2008/09/17/5-ways-to-keep-bisphenol-a-or-bpa-out-of-your-food.html
I agree with the above suggestions, except for step 4: just use breastmilk!