Breast-feeding advocates gather By BROOKE RUTH, Digital Media News Editor
Thursday, July 24, 2008 11:11 PM PDT
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
Naomi Jepson holds 7-week-old Soren Kai Dorantes during a breast-feeding support group meeting at the Imperial Public Library.
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
Naomi Jepson holds 7-week-old Soren Kai Dorantes during a breast-feeding support group meeting at the Imperial Public Library.
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
The shirt of 7-week-old Rafael A. Bernal proudly advertises his last meal.
IMPERIAL Imperial County has the lowest breast-feeding rates in the state, said April Hale, registered nurse and lactation consultant at Pioneers Memorial Hospital in Brawley.
Breast-feeding has multiple benefits for both mother and child.
It decreases an infant’s risk of developing respiratory infections and gastrointestinal infections, Hale said. It also helps prevent diabetes later in life and studies show that infants that are breast feed have less of a chance for developing childhood cancers, she said.
“If we increase breast-feeding rates, we will increase kids’ health,” said Hale.
It decreases a mother’s risk of developing ovarian and breast cancer, said Christina Toten, also a registered nurse and lactation consultant at Pioneers Memorial Hospital. It also decreases the severity of post-partum depression, Toten said.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding for a minimum of a year, and most women in our county stop breast-feeding within two weeks,” said Hale.
Both Toten and Hale lead a lactation support group on the second and fourth Thursday of the month at 10:30 a.m. at the Imperial Public Library.
The group is a mother-to-mother network that gives new and expecting mothers a place to address their concerns about breast-feeding and caring for their infants.
Toten, whose shirt says, “Babies were born to be breast-fed,” and Hale weigh the infants to ensure they are gaining weight and assist mothers with their breast- feeding problems and problems in general.
The group has assisted with problems such as mothers with depression, and babies with weight problems, feeding problems and jaundice.
Michele Chalupnik, Brawley resident and mother of 6-week-old Connor, her first baby, said, “It is very informative and nice to hear what other women are going through. It is a great network of women getting together.”
>> Brooke Ruth, Digital Media News Editor, can be contacted at 335-4665 or bruth@ivpressonline.com
" REBEL, YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! THERE ARE MANY FULL TIME WORKING MOTHERS WHO QUALIFY FOR WIC. WIC ISN'T JUST FOR THOSE ON WELFARE. GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. "
diamonds wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:56 AM:
" First all I think breastfeeding is the best, I breastfed both of my girls for 1yr, being a full-time working mother and qualified and recieved WIC. So that tells you that not all of us who recieved WIC are lazy, I recieved WIC and never recieved formula, it was mainly for my nutrition and the nutrition of my daughters as they grew up. At the time I was breastfeeding they had a great breastfeeding lactitionist that helped me out alot with breastfeeding. IT was alot of hard work but I wouldn't change that for the world!!!! "
rebel wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:44 AM:
" Oh on the positive note, to all the mothers that do choose to breast feed, I have nothing but respect for you because I know it is a lot of work and I know it is a lot of satisfaction knowing that you can help your baby grow up to be healthy, heck I wish I could've breast fead my babies sometimes, I think it is a beautiful thing. "
rebel wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:38 AM:
" We have a low breast feeding rate because a lot of mothers here in the valley are too lazy, too lazy get a job and too lazy to feed their children breast milk. Like cheripies said, for the same reason, laziness, these mothers are actually the ones who qualify for wic and it is easier for them to give them formula especially when it doesn't cost them anything. My wife breast fead our babies while working, that is just because she is a good mother and a good working citizen. These lazy mothers have no excuse and we also resent the fact that these programs cater to the jobless, look at the times this support group meets, in the daytime, when me and my wife are at work. I tell you sometimes you are better off not working and living off the government. Once again the working middle class gets the shaft. "
cheripies wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:25 AM:
" if it wasn't for wic a lot of these mothers couldn't afford formula,and would have no choice but to breast feed their child,kudos to those moms who do breast feed their child,i nursed my daughter for nine months,i had to stop because she had teeth and it would hurt when she nursed ouch "
atfullcount wrote on Jul 25, 2008 11:08 AM:
" ...and it beats buying formula. Have you seen the cost of that stuff lately?? "
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ARMLESSALICE wrote on Jul 25, 2008 6:24 PM: