Articles and Essays

ProMoM's large collection of articles and essays is divided into several categories. Click on the name of a category
to display the available articles.

• Misc Articles
  
• ProMoM "Top" List
  
• Articles
• Dr. Jack Newman Articles and Handouts
• Essays
• Medela Articles
  
  
• Links (other resources on the Web)

Newest Articles

• Pumping Iron -- Expressing Breastmilk for Your Baby
  This excerpt is from a book chronicling one working mom's journey of breastfeeding.
• Formula for Disaster
  Many new parents think infant formula is the next best thing to Mom, but nothing could be further from the truth.

ProMoM "Top" List

• Top 25 Breastfeeding Myths & Realities
  Does breast size matter? Is nursing clothing just as expensive as formula?
• Top Ten Ways to Promote Breastfeeding
  What you can do to promote breastfeeding in your community and around the world.
• 101 Reasons To Breastfeed Your Child
  Promom 101 Campaign.

Articles formerly part of
From J. Rachael Hamlet's Breastfeeding Advocacy Page.

• The Original Breastfeeding Advocacy Page
  An introduction to J. Rachael Hamlet's award winning Breastfeeding Advocacy Page.
• Why Is Breastfeeding Important?
  An enormous and still-growing body of medical research demonstrates that breastfeeding is the optimal means of exclusively feeding babies.
• Breastfeeding and Feminism
  Breastfeeding is an important women's issue, human rights issue, and feminist issue, since breastfeeding empowers women and contributes to gender equality.
• If Breastfeeding Is Great, Why Are the Rates So Low?
  The top 5 reasons mothers fail at breastfeeding.
• What If Breastfeeding Were Advertised?
  A humorous look at breastfeeding.
• What Can Be Done To Support Breastfeeding?
  Large and small scale steps to improving breastfeeding rates locally and nationwide.
• What Can You Do To Help?
  There are some specific things that you can start doing today to bring about a change in the bottle-feeding culture.
• How To Find Help With Breastfeeding, NOW
  Help with breastfeeding: addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and websites.
• Breastfeeding and Returning To Work
  There are several options open to mothers who wish to continue breastfeeding while working at a job that requires separation between mother and baby for several hours a day.
• 10 Things Expectant Parents Need To Know About Breastfeeding
  Compelling reasons to breastfeed your child and red flags to watch for - before they happen.
• (Preliminary) Growth Charts For Breastfed Babies
  Charts are based on data gathered by the World Health Organization Working Group on Infant Growth.
• The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
  The joint World Health Organization/UNICEF document published in 1989 by WHO, Geneva, Switzerland and the 10 steps to successful breastfeeding.
• Information on 2 recent books on the cultural and political context in which infant feeding decisions take place.

• Breastfeeding -- Starting Out Right
  How to get breastfeeding started right.
• Colic in the Breastfed Baby.
  Tips for dealing with the colicky breastfed baby.
• Sore Nipples
  Tips for avoiding and treating sore nipples.
• Is My Baby Getting Enough Milk?
  Ways and guidelines to monitor your baby's intake.
• Using a Lactation Aid
  When and how to use lactation aids.
• Using Gentian Violet
  When and how to use the over-the-counter anti-fungal, Gential Violet.
• Breastfeeding and Jaundice
  Feeding and treatment of the jaundiced baby.
• Finger Feeding
  An alternative to bottlefeeding for the breastfed baby who needs supplemental feeds.
• You Can Still Breastfeed
  The do's and don'ts of breastfeeding while taking over-the-counter or prescription drugs, and overcoming mother and infant breastfeeding problems.
• Breastfeeding and Other Foods
  When and what other foods should baby eat?
• Some Breastfeeding Myths
  Common misconceptions about breastfeeding.
• More Breastfeeding Myths
  More misconceptions about breastfeeding.
• Still More Breastfeeding Myths
  More misconceptions about breastfeeding.
• More and More Breastfeeding Myths
  More misconceptions about breastfeeding.
• Breast Compression
  Enhancing flow through breast compression.
• How Breastmilk Affects Newborns
  A discussion of why infants who are breast-fed contract fewer infections than do those who are given formula.
• What to Feed the Baby When the Mother is Working Outside the Home
  A few helpful hints on feeding the baby when the mother cannot be with him.
• How to Know a Health Professional is not Supportive of Breastfeeding
  All health professionals say they are supportive of breastfeeding. But many are supportive only when breastfeeding is going well, and some, not even then.
• Domperidone
  A drug that can help some mothers with low supply.
• Fluconazole (Diflucan)
  A drug that can help some mothers with treatment-resistant thrush.
• Breastfeed a Toddler - Why on Earth?
  Breastfeeding to 3 and 4 years of age has been common in much of the world until recently, and breastfeeding toddlers is still common in many societies.
• Blocked Ducts and Mastitis
  Recognizing and treating blocked ducts and mastitis.
• Breastfeeding Your Adopted Baby.
  Learn more about this wonderful - and growing - trend
• Treatments for Problems
  Tips for treating various breastfeeding problems.
• Risks of Artificial Feeding
  Risks to child, mother, & society.
• Breastfeeding and Guilt
  One of the most powerful arguments many health professionals, government agencies and formula company manufacturers make for not promoting and supporting breastfeeding is that we should "not make the mother feel guilty for not breastfeeding".

Essays

• If Breastfeeding Is So Wonderful, Why Are So Few Women Doing It?
  The nitty gritty of why so many women have problems breastfeeding and how they can overcome some of the major barriers.
• Human and Mammal by Jay Ann Cox, Ph.D.
• Pumping Iron -- Expressing Breastmilk for Your Baby
  This excerpt is from a book chronicling one working mom's journey of breastfeeding.

Medela Articles
Medela (http://www.medela.com) is a company that provides breastpumps and breastfeeding supplies to nursing mothers and health care facilities.

• Working and Breastfeeding
  Go back to work and continue to breastfeed? Yes, you can!
• How to Collect, Store, and Freeze Breastmilk
  Collecting breastmilk--guidelines for normal newborns.