They'll fine you if you don't have a breastfeeding room here!
Among the reasons why new mothers are not prepared for or unable to exclusively breastfeed their babies until 6 months of age, "short maternity leave or busy work schedule" is the primary factor (56.99%), followed by "insufficient breast milk".
With the relaxation of the two-child policy, more mothers want to continue breastfeeding. This requires not only the mothers' willingness to breastfeed, but also the support of employers and society.
On October 29, Guangzhou introduced the first local regulation in China to promote breastfeeding – the "Guangzhou Municipal Regulations on Promoting Breastfeeding" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations").
The regulations stipulate that no unit or individual may interfere with or discriminate against mothers who breastfeed; the government should establish subsidies for the construction of mother-and-baby rooms and breastfeeding rooms. Employers with a large number of female employees should build breastfeeding rooms and equip them with breast milk storage facilities according to the needs of their female employees. The regulations also encourage the unified construction of breastfeeding rooms in office buildings, industrial parks, and other similar locations.
In addition, six types of public places with a building area exceeding 10,000 square meters or a daily visitor flow exceeding 10,000 people should construct mother and baby rooms:
Medical institutions;
Public transportation hubs such as railway stations, rail transit interchange stations, long-distance bus stations, highway service areas, and airports;
Public cultural and sports service venues such as libraries, museums, cultural centers, art galleries, workers' cultural palaces, youth palaces, civic activity centers, women and children's activity centers, stadiums, and bookstores;
Public service institutions such as government service centers and community service centers;
Comprehensive parks, specialized parks, tourist attractions, and other tourism and leisure venues;
Commercial premises.
For the above six types of public places that should have built mother and baby rooms but have not, they should be built.
Otherwise, the relevant administrative department shall order rectification within a specified period and issue a warning. If rectification is not made within the specified period, a fine of not less than 20,000 yuan and not more than 50,000 yuan shall be imposed.
The editor hopes that the "Regulations" will encourage the whole society, especially employers, to increase support for working mothers' breastfeeding!
Breast milk can reduce allergies, but what if there isn't enough?
Parents are often troubled by their infants' and young children's allergies to foods such as milk and eggs.
A recent randomized clinical trial (RCT) from Japan suggests that avoiding formula feeding for newborns during the first three days can effectively reduce the probability of milk allergy and other allergies.
Based on the data, the researchers proposed a hypothesis: when infants are first born, a large amount of milk protein may slow down the growth of gut microbiota, trigger enterocolitis, increase the permeability of the intestinal mucosa, promote the absorption of food allergens, and thus increase the risk of allergies.
"But for mothers who didn't have breast milk at the beginning or who are medically unable to exclusively breastfeed, it's inhumane to prohibit their babies from being fed formula!"
Don't rush, don't rush~
In the discussion section of the study, the researchers noted: "If it cannot be avoided, try to choose amino acid-based formula milk, which is superior to partially/extensively hydrolyzed formula milk and is less likely to cause allergies."
Following the publication of the study results, scholars from the Department of Childhood Asthma and Lung Biology at King's College London and the Department of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University jointly published a commentary in JAMA, pointing out that it is currently unclear internationally whether consuming all typical allergenic foods before the age of 4 to 6 months can reduce the risk of food allergies, asthma, and other types of allergies.
Furthermore, even though many partially or extensively hydrolyzed "hypoallergenic" formulas are available on the market, the medical community still lacks strong enough evidence to support that hydrolyzed formulas can reduce the risk of food allergies in infants and young children.
How should I take Vitamin D during late pregnancy?
Enamel dysplasia is a dental structural abnormality that affects up to 38% of school-aged children and is a global public health problem.
The causes include vitamin D deficiency in the mother during pregnancy.
So, can mothers supplementing with high doses of vitamin D during pregnancy, especially in the late stages of pregnancy, change this outcome?
A recent double-blind randomized clinical trial (RCT) from Denmark, with a 6-year follow-up result, has provided a positive answer: supplementing with high doses of vitamin D in late pregnancy can reduce the probability of enamel defects in babies by about 50%.
So, how high exactly is a high dose?
Researchers administered 400 IU (10 ug) of vitamin D3 daily to 623 pregnant women enrolled in the trial as usual, and then randomly assigned them to a placebo group and a control group.
The placebo group received the standard recommended dose of vitamin D3, while the control group received an additional 2400 IU (60 ug) daily from week 24 of pregnancy to the first week postpartum.
When their children turned 6 years old, a comparison of dental care data revealed that the risk of enamel defects in the control group was lower than that in the placebo group (15.1% vs. 27.5%).
However, researchers also found that vitamin D supplementation is not strongly associated with the occurrence of tooth decay (cavities).
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