Formula Can Support Breastfeeding, Study Finds

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

Although exclusive breastfeeding is recommended when medically possible, a new study published in the journal Pediatrics has found that supplementing breast milk with formula will not compromise breastfeeding, and that in some cases formula may even help mothers to have successful breastfeeding experiences when their babies are losing weight.  More from The New York Times:

Researchers randomly assigned 38 infants who had lost 5 percent or more of their weight in the days after birth to either breast-feeding alone (the controls), or breast-feeding along with a supplement of formula at the end of each session.

At 1 week of age, all were still breast-feeding, but 9 of 19 infants in the control group were now using formula, compared with only 2 in the group that had used formula at the start. By age 3 months, 79 percent of the early formula users were breastfeeding exclusively, compared with 42 percent of the controls.

The researchers emphasize that they used a careful procedure — small volumes of formula and careful administration with a syringe to prevent confusion between breast and bottle nipple.

“Most babies don’t need formula,” said the lead author, Dr. Valerie J. Flaherman, a pediatrician at the University of California, San
Francisco, Benioff Children’s Hospital. “But some kids are at risk for weight loss, and this could be an option.”

Image: Baby bottle, via Shutterstock

Jessica Simpson Reveals Post-Baby Body After Weight Struggle

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

On the premiere episode of Katie Couric’s new talk show Katie, singer and fashion designer Jessica Simpson revealed her post-baby body for the first time since she disclosed that she was struggling to lose pregnancy weight and seeking help from Weight Watchers–and is now a spokesperson for the company–to shed the pounds.

On the show, Simpson disclosed that she’s lost more than 40 pounds, and that she is 10 pounds from her pre-pregnancy weight.  Simpson’s daughter Maxwell Drew was born May 1.

PEOPLE.com has more:

A new outlook on food has helped.

“The only fish I ever ate was a fish stick,” Simpson says, adding that she also loved chips, guacamole and queso. “Now I’m trying to eat fish.”

She adds, “I definitely don’t pick up the magazines. I definitely don’t Google my name. I try to avoid it completely. But I subconsciously know the talk is going on. Every day it’s a struggle for me. Weight Watchers is not intimidating. It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle.”

Simpson, who admits she “put on more baby weight than I was planning,” isn’t ashamed of her former body.

“I have to separate myself from the world’s expectations,” she says. “I have to look inside myself. I want to be a role model.”

Image: Pregnant Jessica Simpson, via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com