It’s an exciting time for breastfeeding mothers in Toronto! The City of Toronto has launched a public breastfeeding intiative to encourage public breastfeeding. Check out the National Post article about this new breastfeeding intiative to get the goods. Yaaay Toronto!

City campaign pushes public breastfeeding

‘Support Rights’; Restaurants encouraged to welcome women

Matthew Coutts, National Post  Published: Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The city yesterday launched a new campaign to encourage public breastfeeding, complete with information packages mailed to the city’s 6,100 restaurants and a window decal available in 20 different languages.

With several breastfeeding new mothers in attendance, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health said the city wanted to normalize public breastfeeding by asking restaurants to promote themselves as places where it is welcome, and to display a decal proclaiming “Breastfeeing Friendly. Anytime. Anywhere.”

“Women who are breastfeeding shouldn’t have to fight for their rights,” Dr. David McKeown said from Bay Street’s Commensal Vegetarian Restaurant, the first restaurant to join the city registry.

“Restaurants and other public places should be the kind of places that welcome women who are breastfeeding and support their rights, as well as the opportunity for their children to have the healthiest start in life.”

There are approximately 31,500 babies born in Toronto each year, with 90% of mothers choosing to breastfeed.

Dr. McKeown recommends children feed on breast milk for the first six months of life. Unfortunately, he said, the stigma associated with publicly exposing one’s breast for the intention of breastfeeding means many parents do not follow that suggestion.

On Friday, Toronto Public Health mailed out packages to the city’s restaurants, complete with information sheets, registration instructions and the window decal. A cost for the program was not available yesterday.

“This program helps to create a comfortable, supportive environment for mothers to breastfeed whenever and wherever they choose,” Dr. McKeown said.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission has already ruled that women can breastfeed anywhere they like in Toronto, but mothers at yesterday’s launch said it is hard to escape the fear of judgment.

First-time mother Clare Sullivan said the window decals are a good way to show mothers that the restaurant is a welcoming place, while warning other customers who may not be comfortable with the idea.

“I’m very confident with it, but I know some people who aren’t,” said Ms. Sullivan, the mother of nine-week-old Sofia. “Having signs up is a great way to let people know what to expect.”

First-time mother Leila Monib said she was nervous about how others perceived her when she started breastfeeding her now 11-week-old daughter Nomsa.

“I was very timid at first when I tried breastfeeding. I ended up in the stall of the washroom for over 30 minutes because I was too nervous and anxious of all the stares at the restaurant to actually breastfeed at the table,” the 33-year-old mother said. “Being able to go into a restaurant and breastfeed in a supportive environment means a lot, and it means that I’ll be able to breastfeed longer.”

In June, 2007, the City of Toronto made all city-owned facilities breastfeeding friendly, including swimming pools, libraries and community centres. Dr. McKeown said they are planning on turning their attention on shopping malls and similar centres in 2009.

It’s a sad day in Burnaby, BC.  The CBC posted an article today detailing the resignation of two lactation consultants. I’ve copied the article below in whole just in case the paper takes it down. Freaking Nestle!

Breastfeeding consultants resign to protest formula training
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Two lactation consultants have resigned from Burnaby General Hospital because they’re concerned that hospital employees are being influenced by an infant formula company.

Renee Hefti-Graham and Linda Good quit after hospital staff received e-mails sent by managers that invited them to attend an educational seminar on infant feeding organized by Nestle.

Hefti-Graham led a protest earlier this month against the seminar.

The company ended up cancelling it but Hefti-Graham told CBC News she quit Tuesday because of what she described as corporate influence.

Good had already quit the day before.

Hefti-Graham said staff at the hospital were invited to the Nestle training seminar through e-mails forwarded by hospital managers on behalf of the company using the hospital e-mail system.

The seminar violates a World Health Organization order that regulates the marketing of breast milk substitutes, said Hefti-Graham.

“They are not the people that should be giving information about infant feeding. It’s biased. Yes, health professionals need information about infant feeding, but not from a formula company,” said Hefti-Graham on Wednesday.

Catherine O’Brien, Nestle’s manager of corporate affairs, said the seminar is conducted by dieticians who work for Nestle.

“It’s a science-based and completely unbranded program which provides education on the full range of infant feeding issues,” said O’Brien.

The Fraser Health Authority said staff may have been told about the seminar by e-mail, but the health authority did not sponsor it and is not connected with the Nestle in any way.

“The debate about breastfeeding and formula feeding is passionate for those that are wanting to provide women with the proper information,” said Kim Williams, the director of planning and development for prenatal care.

For now, there is no lactation consultant at Burnaby General, but Williams said other hospital staff are trained to teach women how to breastfeed.

If you are interested in human milk banking, The Calgary Herald posted an article offering a brief explanation about how human milk banking works. I’ve copied the entire article below just in case the Herald removes it  from their site.

Buying mother’s milk?

Dr. Andrew Weil, For The Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, June 16, 2008

Q: Is human milk from milk banks really safe?

A: Breast milk is the best food for babies for at least the first year of life. It provides all of an infant’s nutritional needs and transfers antibodies from mother to baby that protect against a long list of infectious diseases.

Over time, breastfed babies are less likely to develop such chronic conditions as diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma and allergies. And breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight than their bottle-fed counterparts.

However, for various reasons, not all women can nurse their infants. Human milk banks (both nonprofit and for profit) are now working to fill the gap. In addition, thanks to the Internet, women have been making their own arrangements to share breast milk or to hire wet nurses.

The milk available from some of these sources may be less than ideal. Even healthy-looking milk donors who you know well may have asymptomatic viral or bacterial infections they could pass on to babies through their milk.

According to La Leche League International, the best resources for human milk are the nonprofit milk banks accredited by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. These banks screen donors and then pasteurize, laboratory test and freeze milk according to strict standards. (The donors are women who have an oversupply of milk or who have lost a child and are still lactating. They are not paid for the milk they donate.) To get milk from one of these accredited milk banks, you need a physician’s prescription or a hospital purchase order. You’ll pay about $3 per ounce, plus shipping charges.

I would be wary of more informal arrangements and of the for-profit milk banks. When you consider the screening process the Human Milk Banking Association of North American maintains (full medical histories, blood work that is repeated every six months, release forms from a woman’s physician and her baby’s pediatrician), you can see how difficult it would be to put those safeguards in place in a less rigorous setting.

Donors to the association’s banks are required to remain drug- and alcohol-free and are not permitted to donate any milk collected while they, or any of their family members, are ill. They also must avoid a long list of medications while donating. (I’ve read that if a woman takes just one Tylenol she cannot donate any milk for the next 24 hours.)

If a woman can’t breastfeed her baby, banked human milk is the next best thing. But make sure that you get it from a reputable source operating under strict safety standards. Your baby deserves nothing less.

Dr. Andrew Weil is director of the program of Integrative Medicine of the College of Medicine, University of Arizona. He is an internationally recognized expert on medicinal plants, alternative medicine and the reform of medical education.
© The Calgary Herald 2008

For Immediate Release:

June 9, 2008

Demonstration against Nestlé to go ahead in Burnaby

A demonstration is being planned for Thursday, June 12 at 6 pm outside the Waterford Hotel in Burnaby to protest the unethical marketing practices of the Nestlé Nutrition company. The demonstration is in response to Nestlé’s recent attempts to bias British Columbia’s health care workers and use the health system to promote its infant formula products.

Nestlé has been known for its aggressive marketing of infant formula for decades. In 1990, charges were brought against the company for violating the consumer protection laws of 9 US states. In 2006, the CBC discovered that the research behind some of its advertising claims had been falsified.[i] In 2007, independent monitoring found Nestlé to be the leading violator of the World Health Organization’s guidelines for formula marketing worldwide.[ii]

One of Nestlé’s most aggressive tactics is advertising its products directly to health professionals who have close and frequent contact with mothers and young children. The company recently invited local health professionals to an event at the Waterford Hotel, ostensibly to “educate” them about infant feeding, but doubtless the event was designed as a way to promote Nestlé’s artificial feeding products. Nestlé’s logo appears on the invitation, and on the agenda is “a comparison of infant formulas.” It is not hard to imagine which brand of formula would be the most favourably compared.

Canada’s leading health agencies, including the Canadian Pediatric Society and Health Canada, have recommended exclusive breastfeeding for six months as the optimal way to feed infants. Artificial formula has been shown to increase babies’ risk for obesity, asthma, heart disease, gastroenteritis, and cancer, and only breastmilk contains immunological components to protect infants from illness.[iii] As such, the aggressive advertising carried out by Nestlé must be seen as an impediment to providing infants with the highest attainable standard of health.

Mothers have the right to feed their children any way they choose, but they also have the right to health professionals who are unbiased. It is impossible to imagine that any health workers who attended this event—which included a free dinner at a downtown restaurant—would remain impartial to Nestlé. Health professionals do need information about infant feeding but it should not come from a biased source such as Nestle. Promotional events like this create conflicts of interest for the health professionals we trust with the wellbeing of our infants. They also violate the WHO/UNICEF’s International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, which outlines appropriate practices for marketing infant formula. 

While Nestlé has denied that this event does not violate the Code, the Honorable George Abbott, BC Minister of Health, disagrees. The Ministry of Health has endorsed the Code, and the Hon. Mr. Abbott stated in a letter to pro-breastfeeding activists that “The Code recognizes that the unethical marketing of breast-milk substitutes undermines breastfeeding and therefore, the public interest. By targeting health professionals as invitees for the June 12, 2008 “wine and dine” event, it is clear that Nestle is violating the Code’s sub-section, 7.3.”[iv]

Last year, Nestlé attempted to stage a similar event in Burnaby but was obliged to cancel it after receiving letters from health workers, breastfeeding activists, and concerned citizens. This year, Nestlé has decided to ignore the opinion of the minister of health and the hundreds of letters sent to the company asking them to refrain from aggressive advertising. Instead of declaring that it will no longer seek to influence BC’s health workers, Nestlé is circulating a letter saying that they are not in violation of the Code and that they have made arrangements to provide the “information” to Burnaby’s health professionals in an alternate manner.  Organizers of the demonstration have not been informed about the “alternate manner.”  This could mean a change of venue or date, and there are no signs Nestle plans to abide by the Code.  For these reasons the demonstration will go ahead at the Hilton Metrotown Hotel at 6pm on June 12, and will give voice to all those who feel that Nestlé’s marketing tactics are unacceptable. A discussion of how to stop Nestle’s aggressive and unethical practices will follow the demonstration.

Breastfeeding rates in British Columbia are relatively high, thanks in part to the fact that formula advertising in the province has been limited in recent years. But since Nestlé’s recent arrival to the BC market, the company has reintroduced marketing tactics that many thought had been done away with in the province a decade ago.

Organizers of the demonstration are grateful for the encouragement received by the Minister of Health, who stated “I understand that community groups and breastfeeding champions have and continue to influence the outcomes of events that do not meet the standards of the Code. I encourage you to continue in the provision of this influence in order to promote and support breastfeeding.”[v]

Nestlé must not be allowed to bias our province’s health care workers and undermine the health of our infants.

Contact:

Renee Hefti-Graham

Demonstration organizer (Burnaby)

renhefti@…

Ben Spurr

Infant Feeding Action Coalition (INFACT Canada)

647 400-5566 (Toronto)

ben@…

www.infactcanada.ca

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[i] “The Secret Life of Dr. Chandra,” The National (CBC), January 30, 2006.

[ii] Breaking the Rules 2007, Penang, Malaysia: IBFAN, 2007.

[iii] The Risks of Formula Feeding, Toronto: INFACT Canada, 2006.

[iv] Letter from Ministry of Health, June 6, 2008.

   International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Geneva: WHO/UNICEF, 1981.

[v] Letter from Ministry of Health, June 6, 2008.