This week is National Breastfeeding Week. We celebrate,
support, and honor all ways moms choose to feed and nourish their
children.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Thursday, June 11, 2015
N.J. lawmakers advance breast milk sharing rules
TRENTON — Responding to the growing interest in the sharing breast milk with mothers who cannot produce their own, a state Senate committee Monday approved a bill that would regulate distribution and ensure the product's safety in New Jersey,
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee also approved a companion bill that would direct the state Department of Health to create a public awareness campaign on the benefits of breast feeding.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk for the first six months of a baby's life, "followed by continued breastfeeding as complementary foods are introduced, with continuation of breastfeeding for 1 year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant."
Both bills were approved by a 13-0 vote. The legislation now moves to the full Senate.
"We know that breast milk provides significant health and nutritional benefits to infants. As a result, the demand for breast milk by mothers who are unable to produce it has increased and breast milk sharing has become increasingly common," Senate Majority Leader and the bills' lead sponsor Loretta Weinberg said in a statement.
"It is important that new mothers are aware of the extraordinary benefits of breastfeeding but also of the facts around casual milk sharing," Weinberg's statement said. "By providing information to the public about casual milk sharing and also regulating milk banks, we will hopefully protect against health hazards and encourage a safer process both for mothers obtaining milk and their babies."
Human milk banks would be licensed and inspected by the state to collect, store and sell breast milk to hospitals, and to parents with a doctor's prescription, according to the regulation bill (S1209). Milk would be available to women who are unable to lactate, need additional milk, or for low-birth weight babies with health issues.
The health department would develop rules to process store and distribute the product, screen potential donors, develop staff qualifications, according to the bill. The health commissioner could halt the milk bank's operation and issue fines if the safety precautions are not followed.
In a study published in the journal Pediatrics in April, researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found 10 percent of the milk they purchased online was "topped off" with cow's milk, which could pose a problem for newborns who are allergic.
Breast milk banks operate in 14 states and Canada, according to the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Member milk banks moved more than 3.2 million units of milk in 2013, up from under 500,000 in 2000, the association says.
The committee also approved (S1208) that would require the health department to establish a public awareness campaign to promote breastfeeding. The campaign would also provide facts about informal milk sharing, and the availability of nonprofit human milk banks accredited by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America and other organizations.
Both the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly's Women and Children Committee approved the legislation last month.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Tim Darragh contributed to this report.
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee also approved a companion bill that would direct the state Department of Health to create a public awareness campaign on the benefits of breast feeding.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast milk for the first six months of a baby's life, "followed by continued breastfeeding as complementary foods are introduced, with continuation of breastfeeding for 1 year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant."
Both bills were approved by a 13-0 vote. The legislation now moves to the full Senate.
"We know that breast milk provides significant health and nutritional benefits to infants. As a result, the demand for breast milk by mothers who are unable to produce it has increased and breast milk sharing has become increasingly common," Senate Majority Leader and the bills' lead sponsor Loretta Weinberg said in a statement.
"It is important that new mothers are aware of the extraordinary benefits of breastfeeding but also of the facts around casual milk sharing," Weinberg's statement said. "By providing information to the public about casual milk sharing and also regulating milk banks, we will hopefully protect against health hazards and encourage a safer process both for mothers obtaining milk and their babies."
Human milk banks would be licensed and inspected by the state to collect, store and sell breast milk to hospitals, and to parents with a doctor's prescription, according to the regulation bill (S1209). Milk would be available to women who are unable to lactate, need additional milk, or for low-birth weight babies with health issues.
The health department would develop rules to process store and distribute the product, screen potential donors, develop staff qualifications, according to the bill. The health commissioner could halt the milk bank's operation and issue fines if the safety precautions are not followed.
In a study published in the journal Pediatrics in April, researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, found 10 percent of the milk they purchased online was "topped off" with cow's milk, which could pose a problem for newborns who are allergic.
Breast milk banks operate in 14 states and Canada, according to the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Member milk banks moved more than 3.2 million units of milk in 2013, up from under 500,000 in 2000, the association says.
The committee also approved (S1208) that would require the health department to establish a public awareness campaign to promote breastfeeding. The campaign would also provide facts about informal milk sharing, and the availability of nonprofit human milk banks accredited by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America and other organizations.
Both the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee and the Assembly's Women and Children Committee approved the legislation last month.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Tim Darragh contributed to this report.
Monday, June 8, 2015
2015 best breast pump picks from BabyCenter
Medela Pump in Style Advanced still ranking high on 2015 Moms' Picks list from Babycenter:
http://www.babycenter.com/best-breast-pump
http://www.babycenter.com/best-breast-pump
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Designing a $5 breast pump for use in developing countries - research paper and link to full text
Super interesting report with ideas to design a breast pump that costs less than $5 for use in devleoping nations:
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/111327/09_Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Breast Pump for Low-Resource Setting
Prepared by Team 9
Raymond Chen
Anqi Sun
Qi Wang
Yiwen Wu
Undergraduate Engineers, University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Prepared For
Prof. Elijah Kannatey-Asibu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Sponsors
U-M Laboratory for Innovation in Global Health Technology
U-M Institute for Humanitarian Technology
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
Mentors
Prof. Kathleen Sienko
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Ms. Leith Greenslade
Office of the UN Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs
Executive Summary
The breast pump for low-resource setting project is sponsored by U-M Laboratory for Innovation in Global Health Technology, U-M Institute for Humanitarian Technology, and UNICEF; supervised by Prof. Kathleen Sienko, Ms. Leith Greenslade, and Prof. Kannatey-Asibu.
The goal of this project is to design a low cost, easy to use and clean breast pump that is suitable for use at home and work in low-resource settings.
To design a breast pump for low-resource settings, ten user requirements are addressed by sponsors, potential users, and other stakeholders. The main requirements addressed by our sponsors are easy to use, low-cost, easy to maintain, and efficient. To quantify these requirements, we generated specifications to design a manual pump with no more than 2 parts, with the manufacturing cost less than 5 dollars, and maximum pressure difference higher than 150 mmHg.
After defining the requirements and specifications, concept generation was done. A functional decomposition was generated to describe functions and sub-functions needed for the breast pump. Then, based on the decomposition and challenges, concepts were generated with focus on easy to use, low-cost, easy to clean, and efficient. Selection of the concepts was done, by scoring each concept zero to three on a Pugh chart using Decision-Matrix Method. Each of our team members rated the designs based on this chart, and the score was averaged to lower the selection bias. The six highest scored designs were then chosen, compared, and further evaluated. After much deliberation and discussion, two of the designs were combined to form one final concept. A physical mockup was also created to better demonstrate the design.
The team performed engineering analysis on our three different design drivers. Engineering analysis consisted of theoretical modeling, empirical testing, as well as mockup construction. Initial manufacturing plans, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and a mass-manufacturing plan were conducted as well.
The team then finalized the design as well as the prototype. Furthermore, the team completed our testing protocols. Since the team has 17 engineering specifications, the ones with the highest priorities were picked up for the validation testing. There are totally 7 validation tests corresponding to the engineering specifications.
The team 3-D printed a new transparent suction cup and completed validation testing before Design Expo. The prototype together with the report will be delivered to our sponsors, and possibly be tested in Ethiopia in summer.
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/111327/09_Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Breast Pump for Low-Resource Setting
Prepared by Team 9
Raymond Chen
Anqi Sun
Qi Wang
Yiwen Wu
Undergraduate Engineers, University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Prepared For
Prof. Elijah Kannatey-Asibu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Sponsors
U-M Laboratory for Innovation in Global Health Technology
U-M Institute for Humanitarian Technology
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
Mentors
Prof. Kathleen Sienko
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, College of Engineering
Ms. Leith Greenslade
Office of the UN Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs
Executive Summary
The breast pump for low-resource setting project is sponsored by U-M Laboratory for Innovation in Global Health Technology, U-M Institute for Humanitarian Technology, and UNICEF; supervised by Prof. Kathleen Sienko, Ms. Leith Greenslade, and Prof. Kannatey-Asibu.
The goal of this project is to design a low cost, easy to use and clean breast pump that is suitable for use at home and work in low-resource settings.
To design a breast pump for low-resource settings, ten user requirements are addressed by sponsors, potential users, and other stakeholders. The main requirements addressed by our sponsors are easy to use, low-cost, easy to maintain, and efficient. To quantify these requirements, we generated specifications to design a manual pump with no more than 2 parts, with the manufacturing cost less than 5 dollars, and maximum pressure difference higher than 150 mmHg.
After defining the requirements and specifications, concept generation was done. A functional decomposition was generated to describe functions and sub-functions needed for the breast pump. Then, based on the decomposition and challenges, concepts were generated with focus on easy to use, low-cost, easy to clean, and efficient. Selection of the concepts was done, by scoring each concept zero to three on a Pugh chart using Decision-Matrix Method. Each of our team members rated the designs based on this chart, and the score was averaged to lower the selection bias. The six highest scored designs were then chosen, compared, and further evaluated. After much deliberation and discussion, two of the designs were combined to form one final concept. A physical mockup was also created to better demonstrate the design.
The team performed engineering analysis on our three different design drivers. Engineering analysis consisted of theoretical modeling, empirical testing, as well as mockup construction. Initial manufacturing plans, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, and a mass-manufacturing plan were conducted as well.
The team then finalized the design as well as the prototype. Furthermore, the team completed our testing protocols. Since the team has 17 engineering specifications, the ones with the highest priorities were picked up for the validation testing. There are totally 7 validation tests corresponding to the engineering specifications.
The team 3-D printed a new transparent suction cup and completed validation testing before Design Expo. The prototype together with the report will be delivered to our sponsors, and possibly be tested in Ethiopia in summer.
Friday, May 15, 2015
John Oliver Shows Why it Sucks to be a Working Mother in America
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/john-oliver-mothers_n_7254924.html
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