skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Six Words for National Breastfeeding Month

play audio
Play

Thursday, July 31, 2014   

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – National Breastfeeding Month begins Friday, and it's being marked this year by a campaign based on just six words.

Mothers and others are encouraged to post six-word messages on social media sharing the benefits and their experiences breastfeeding.

Marian Tompson, one of the founders of the La Leche League, explains there is a long list of benefits for mothers.

Breastfeeding may reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular conditions and some forms of cancer.

And for the baby, she points to a stronger immune system, better motor development and a reduction in allergies.

"There have been thousands of studies during the past 50 years that confirm babies are healthier when they're breastfed and it makes sense because they're getting the food that was meant for their growth an development," she points out.

Tompson says when La Leche League was founded in the 1950s, fewer than one-in-five mothers started out breastfeeding her baby. Today that figure is 79 percent nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 67 percent in Arkansas.

While more mothers are starting with breastfeeding and they are nursing for longer on average, Tompson says there are still too many who quit in those first weeks or months, often because the moms have to return to work and are separated from their babies.

"I think our culture could do things to make it a little easier for those women, with flex-time, with allowing them to have a baby close by where they could get over to nurse,” she stresses. “And I think we have to appreciate how important breastfeeding is to us all."

One initiative that is already having a positive impact, explains Tompson, is the growing number of hospitals in the U.S. that are gaining certification as breastfeeding-friendly.








get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021