Daycare Charges More for Breastmilk

Although most daycare centers are supportive of breastfeeding, the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog reports that at least one has been charging parents extra to feed babies the real thing:

Here are just a few of the reasons why charging more for serving breastmilk is absurd:

It's safe and requires no special storage. The Centers on Disease Control (CDC) states that breastmilk is not considered a hazardous bodily fluid (something requiring "universal precautions" in health care-speak). As such, it requires no separate storage, protection, or handling by a child care provider.

It's easy. Breastmilk is no more complicated to serve than formula, and does not require mixing and measuring as formula does.

It saves them money. Babies receiving pumped milk are less likely to be sick, which means less disease spread among children in the center, and less absences for both babies and staff. This reduces a center's cost of operation.

Babies are happier and less messy at day care. Breastmilk is more easily digested than formula, so breastfed babies are less fussy, spit up less frequently, and have less diarrhea - all things you want to avoid if you are a day care provider.

All good points. I had always wondered whether breastmilk was considered a hazardous bodily fluid.

News of the Weird

You just gotta love headlines like this one:

"3 Pregnant Teens Break Out Of Group Home: Teenagers Whack Director With Frying Pan, Tie Her Up, Steal Her Purse And Flee In Stolen Minivan"

Childbirth in Africa

Zimbabwe is dismal:

A staggering 42,000 women died in childbirth last year, compared with fewer than 1,000 a decade ago.

And Zambia is not much better:

"Being pregnant in Africa is like having an unknown disease," says Zambian mother Alice Tembo, referring to many of her compatriots' lack of basic knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth.

She has recently given birth without any complications, which is exceptional in a country where the maternal mortality ratio is 728 per 100,000 live births.

However, Zambia's maternal death rate is still lower that the rate for the whole of the sub-Saharan African region, which stood at a shocking 920 per 100,000 live births in 2000 according to the United Nations Statistics Division.

Internationally, sub-Saharan Africa has by far the highest ratio of maternal deaths. It is more than double the rate for the world as a whole, which is 400 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Indiana Mom Still in Pain

An Indiana teen who was given an incorrect dose of painkiller in her epidural is still in pain three months later:

During childbirth on Oct. 8, Methodist officials said, Baise received the wrong dose of an epidural painkiller. In one hour, she got a dose that was supposed to be given over 10 to 12 hours. Initially, it left her unable to walk and with severely limited leg movement.

Lawsuit? You bettcha:

Attorney Nathaniel Lee, who represents the family, is seeking damages. He submitted a complaint on Oct. 20 to the Indiana Department of Insurance against the anesthesiologist, Dr. Gloria Lee, and Clarian Health Partners. The doctor did not return calls, and her attorney, Daniel Fagan, declined to comment.

In Indiana, patients must first go through a complaint process and wait for a ruling from a physicians panel before filing a malpractice lawsuit.

Bill Stephan, senior vice president for corporate communications at Clarian, said in October, "We believe human error entered into the equation."

No kidding.

Midwifery Legal Update - Vermont

The Supreme Court of Vermont this week upheld the license revocation of midwife Roberta Devers-Scott.

The state revoked the midwife's license in December 2004 after an 11-month investigation into her conduct during two births in which one baby died and another suffered alleged brain damage.Devers Scott appealed to Washington County District Court and then to the Supreme Court saying an administrative law officer was wrong to conclude that she had violated midwifery and state professional conduct rules.

Midwifery Legal Update - Pennsylvania

I recently received the following:

Diane Goslin, a Strasburg, Pennsylvania midwife with more than 20 years (and thousands of babies) of experience, will stand trial before the State Board of Medicine at the Harrisburg State Courthouse on Friday, January 26 at 9:30 AM. She is being charged with practicing medicine without a license, practicing nurse-midwifery without a license, holding herself out as a nurse-midwife and holding herself out as practicing medicine.

I have yet to see a press release, news article, or website link on this, but I will update as I get more information. Also, there have been some questions rasied concerning "will stand trial before the State Board of Medicine". It is not clear if this is a criminal trial or an administrative hearing.

Also, Judy Wilson's court date is scheduled for January 30th. If I am reading this correctly, the hearing is the continuation of oral arguments on a Writ of Habeus Corpus. January is looking to be a big month for midwifery in Pennsylvania, a state which was considered "legal" for direct-entry midwifery before 2004.

Breastfeeding Legislative Update - Wisconsin

The county board of Dane County, Wisconsin (i.e. Madison) has enacted an ordinance which "prohibits anyone from interfering with a breastfeeding mother in any public place in Dane County."

While the ordinance overwhelmingly passed the county board, there is a similar measure currently in committees of the Madison City Council as well as the state Legislature.

There are consequences for a violation of the ordinance. Anyone who violates the law could be subject to a fine ranging from $10 to $100, WISC-TV reported.

It is rare, though not unheard of, for a city or county to pass such an ordinance (see Chandler, AZ), and even rarer (this may be the first, outside of Scotland) for a fine to be imposed on those who interfere with a breastfeeding pair.