My cousin, Jess (and husband, Andy--I won't leave him out!), just gave birth to a gorgeous 8 1/2 pound little girl on Sunday. With original birth plans (an unmedicated birth in an holistic setting, going home no later than 12 hours postpartum) out the window as an emergency C-Section was ordered, all I could think was, "Come hell or high water, this baby had better be a champion breastfeeder..."

And let me tell you, that little monkey did not disappoint!

Running into that hospital room, I was the only one who seemed wired. Jess, Andy, Aunt Debby, Uncle Bobby, and my other cousin, Jared, were all as mellow as could be, eating lunch and laughing. And that baby? Hey, it was Emily's lunchtime, too!

Positioning Jess in a comfy football hold, the baby latched on immediately and fed for almost an hour--so happy, so content. I showed her how to make a sandwich with her breast so the latch would be easier, comparing it to how we make our sandwiches compact to "latch" onto them. (You've got to love analogies...) Once they both settled in to the feed, my Aunt asked Jess if she wanted anything to eat..."Sure. Actually, can I have a sandwich?"

And so arrived my favorite moment of the day...My baby cousin, holding and breastfeeding her 24-hour-old baby with her right arm, eating a chicken and provolone sandwich with her left, unfazed by the entire process. Simply beautiful.

Researchers have discovered that breastfeeding is not associated with an increased risk of disease flares and may actually protect against an symptoms in moms with inflammatory bowel disease

In the American Journal of Gastroenterology, Dr. Dana Moffatt, from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, states, "Breastfeeding has been shown to have many beneficial effects on child health and development, and as a result it is recommended as the primary form of nutrition for at least the first 24 weeks of an infant's life." Interestingly, results of a prior study suggested that women with inflammatory bowel disease are less likely to breastfeed than other women. It also showed that breastfeeding among women with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease is associated with an increased risk of symptom flare-ups.

The team of researchers set out to prove the previous study wrong. They examined breastfeeding rates in women with inflammatory bowel disease, and the association of breastfeeding with symptom flares by studying 132 women with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease who had previously given birth and completed a breastfeeding questionnaire. They found that 82% of the participants with Crohn's disease and 84% of those with ulcerative colitis had initiated breastfeeding. The authors of the study pointed out that these numbers are larger than the 77% of women in the general population who breastfeed.

Twenty six percent of those who breastfed their babies experienced a symptom flare within 1 year of giving birth, compared with 29% of those who did not breastfeed their babies. It is important to note that the risk of symptom flares was not related to age at pregnancy, duration of disease, or socioeconomic status.

Dr. Moffat's team concludes that "this study provides reassurance to women and their physicians that breastfeeding in the setting of inflammatory bowel disease is feasible, successful and possibly protective with respect to disease activity in the postpartum year."

A 26-year-old North Dakota mom accused of breastfeeding her 6-week-old baby while drunk has pled guilty to child neglect. When sentenced on felony charges in August, Stacey Anvarinia may face up to five years in prison. However, Judge Sonja Clapp says that Anvarinia will not have to register as an offender against children.

Police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at Anvarinia's home on April 13. They saw Anvarinia breastfeeding while intoxicated. Alcohol consumed by breastfeeding mothers can be absorbed into an infant's system, and Anvarinia's levels weren't low.

This is the first such case prosecuted in North Dakota. I'll report more as August rolls around. Stay tuned!

According to a new study published in The Journal of Human Capital, breastfed babies are more likely to do well in high school and to attend college than infants who were primarily bottle fed.

The authors of the research, Professors Joseph Sabia from the American University, a professor of public policy focusing on health economics, and Daniel Rees, an economics professor from the University of Colorado Denver, studied 126 children from 59 families. They compared siblings who were breastfed as babies to others who were not, taking into account some other factors (i.e. maternal intelligence and the quality of the home environment), which are very difficult to measure.

The study found that breastfeeding was associated with an increase in high school grade point averages and an increase in the probability of college attendance. Says Sabia, "The results of our study suggest that the cognitive and health benefits of breastfeeding may lead to important long-run educational benefits for children. But this is just a start. Much work remains to be done to establish a definitive causal link." He also points out that the study was the first to use sibling data in order to examine the effect of breastfeeding on high school completion and college attendance.

Rees states that "by focusing on differences between siblings, we can rule out the possibility that family-level factors such as socioeconomic status are driving the relationship between having been breastfed and educational attainment."