1. Harmful bacteria in breast pumps could be putting your baby at risk of asthma
A recent large-scale analysis published on Wednesday, February 13 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe found that pumped milk has a greater depletion of oral bacteria and a higher abundance of potential pathogens compared with direct breastfeeding. Milk samples from 393 healthy mothers three to four months after giving birth were analyzed and found to have been affected by bacteria both from the baby’s mouth and from breast pumps and parts.
"To our knowledge, this is among the largest studies of human milk microbiota performed to date," says senior study author Meghan Azad, a researcher at Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and a Canada Research Chair in Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease at the University of Manitoba. “The results will inspire new research about breastfeeding and human milk, especially related to pumping."
The authors concluded that “increased exposure to potential pathogens in breastmilk could pose a risk of respiratory infection in the infant, potentially explaining why infants fed pumped milk are at increased risk for pediatric asthma compared to those fed exclusively at the breast.”
2. Richard Madeley demonstrates new breastfeeding pump for MEN on Good Morning Britain
On Tuesday, Richard Madeley of Good Morning Britain showed viewers how to use a male breast pump by placing the cup over his chest. The new prototype for a 'chest-feeding' kit which claims to make men lactate so they can breastfeed their newborn.
Madeley refused to actually “breastfeed” on television and admitted he thought the idea of men helping out with breastfeeding was 'absurd.’
'It's not what men are built for, it's what women are built for, and there have to be gender differences. We can’t blur the differences to that extent.'
3. Former KFC employee wins $1.5 million lawsuit for breastfeeding discrimination
Autumn Lampkins, a Delaware Kentucky Fried Chicken employee, won over $1.5 million in damages for being demoted because of her need to pump breast milk for her baby.
The new mother was hired to be an assistant manager shortly after giving birth to her baby in 2014. She was assured the job wouldn’t affect her ability to breastfeed. On the contrary, Lampkins’ breast milk dried up because management and fellow employees made it so difficult to pump during her shifts, allowing her only one break during her 10-hour training sessions. To keep up her breast milk supply, she needed to pump every two hours.
In addition, Lampkins was first relegated to pumping in a single-stall restroom, but then was later forced to pump in her manager’s office with a surveillance camera that “couldn’t be turned off.” Once her training was complete, Lampkins was soon demoted to a shift supervisor and dealt with complaints from her co-workers who claimed she got too many “breaks” to pump.
