Ok, so I’m a little behind the times. This story is from 2008. But a friend just brought it to my attention… An Australian has scientist discovered that breast milk contains stem cells. Here’s a bit from the story in Science Alert:
“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Mark Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.
He says that, in essence, a new mother’s mammary glands take over from the placenta to provide the development guidance to ensure a baby’s genetic destiny is fulfilled.
“It is setting the baby up for the perfect development,” he says. “We already know that babies who are breast fed have an IQ advantage and that there’s a raft of other health benefits. Researchers also believe that the protective effects of being breast fed continue well into adult life.
“The point is that many mothers see milks as identical – formula milk and breast milk look the same so they must be the same. But we know now that they are quite different and a lot of the effects of breast milk versus formula don’t become apparent for decades. Formula companies have focussed on matching breast milk’s nutritional qualities but formula can never provide the developmental guidance.”
Breast Milk Contains Stem Cells
Mom Kicked Off Plane For Breastfeeding Sues Airlines
Remember this story from a few years ago? Emily Gillette tried to breastfeed her child on board a Delta connecting flight, and was told to get off the plane. The incident sparked protests across the country. Gillette is now suing Delta, Freedom Airlines and Mesa Airlines. From the AP:
Gillette’s lawsuit says she was sitting in a window seat on an Oct. 13, 2006, flight from Burlington to New York City.
Gillette, who was 27 at the time, began nursing her “hungry and tired” daughter, 1-year-old River, and had the toddler “positioned with her head toward the aisle and no part of (Gillette’s) breast exposed,” according to the lawsuit.
A flight attendant brought Gillette a blanket and told her to cover up, but Gillette declined. The flight attendant “forcefully demanded that (Gillette) cover the toddler’s head, stating, ‘You are offending me,’” according to the suit.
When Gillette again declined, the flight attendant got a customer service representative to order Gillette and her family off the plane. Gillette “felt shamed and humiliated” and “tearfully gathered her belongings to exit the plane,” the lawsuit states.
Gillette “has since felt anxiety when she has breast-fed in places of public accommodation, and has felt inhibited from nursing her second child based on her experience” on the flight, the suit says.
Go See This Show If You’re in New York
When was the last time you laughed so hard your stomach hurt? Can’t remember? If that’s the case, I have a strong recommendation for you. Go get this book: “Afterbith: Stories You Won’t Read in a Parenting Magazine.” Better yet, if you live in the New York area, go see the author, Dani Klein Modisett, in action. She’ll be bringing her show to the New York Comedy Festival on Saturday, November 7th.
Modisett emcee’s her show… which includes well known writers and actors reading essays they wrote about becoming a parent. The show runs mainly in LA, but travels around the country as well. For this stint, she’ll be joined on stage by Dana Gould (“The Simpsons”), Andrew McCarthy (actor/director, “Lipstick Jungle”), Caroline Rhea (mom on “Phineas and Ferb,” real mother of Ava Rhea), Dan Bucatinsky (“Web Therapy,” “The Comeback”), Lew Schneider ( “Everybody Loves Raymond,” writer, “Men of a Certain Age”), Caroline Bicks (“Midwiving Subjects in Shakespeare’s England,” Professor Boston College), and Andrea Martin (actress, “Wag The Dog,” “Nurse Jackie.”
Now watch this video: