Breastfeeding + HIV is possible!

Sharing this joint statement I just received via email on the recommendations on breastfeeding, particularly for HIV-infected moms. This was published in the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics.    Relevant portions on HIV provided below. 


IPA/ICM/FIGO joint statement on breast-feeding, including breast-feeding by HIV- infected mothers (June 2011)


Breastfeeding under special conditions such as HIV infection of the mother: 
In light of the changing evidence on transmission risks and recommendations on the use of anti retroviral drugs for treating pregnant women and preventing HIV infection in infants, we welcome the new recommendations on HIV and infant feeding: 

Healthy Food Events in August

Want to try something healthy before July ends?  Check out this event on Friday, 30 July 2011.   It's a preview of what's to come by end-August!

Guest Post: Why It’s Easy To Support Your Breastfeeding Wife When Your Favorite Sport is Basketball

Here is another guest post by my breastfriend Velvet's husband, Jonathan Adam Roxas.  Atan was one of my first guest posters back in 2009.  You can read his first post here.  Thank you Atan and Velvet for sharing your experiences once again!

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My favorite sport is basketball and I even have a big scar on my leg to show it.  Breastfeeding was a topic I dared not discuss until I became a father.   Basketball and breastfeeding might seem on the surface to have no direct correlation with each other, but they do have a lot in common.   What are the similarities of my favorite sport to my family’s breastfeeding experience?

More than eight years ago, my first thoughts on breastfeeding were that it seemed like an "exclusive" thing between my wife and my eldest daughter.  Watching them from the sideline for what seemed like forever, I decided I didn’t want to be left out and eagerly yearned to be part of the play.

More on Breastfeeding Promotion plus a Guest Post

"Welcome to the Milk Mama Diaries Carnival (July).  For this month, we join the National Nutrition Council - Department of Health in celebrating Nutrition Month with the theme "Isulong ang Breastfeeding - Tama, Sapat at EKsklusibo!" Participants will share their experiences in promoting breastfeeding or their tips on how breastfeeding should be promoted.  Please scroll down to the end of this post and check out the other carnival participants."
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I don't know if you have noticed but the Department of Health has become more active in promoting breastfeeding.  There was a launch of the campaign early this year, followed by a bloggers' event in May plus the creation of their Facebook page and hanging of tarps in MRT stations.  Then for Nutrition Month, DOH has decided to again focus on breastfeeding as its theme, resulting in various activities in several regions nationwide, all geared towards promoting breastfeeding.

DOH Breastfeeding TSEK Tarp at Baclaran Station of LRT Line 1
*Photo from DOH Breastfeeding TSEK Facebook page

The efforts are indeed laudable BUT (of course there is a but!) I feel that there is much more to be done for the promotion to be effective.  For my post today, let me start with a bucket list of other ways by which breastfeeding can be promoted before I share the guest post.

Guest Post: Breastfeeding is the Only Way

Welcome to the Carnival of Breastfeeding for July! This month's theme is "Breastfeeding the Special Needs Baby".  I asked Pittipat M. Chupungco to share her story about breastfeeding her second baby, Janina who was diagnosed with Apert Syndrome. She originally shared her breastfeeding story in a February post in her blog. Janina has recently undergone syndactyly release and Pittipat updated her story to include this recent development.  Read their story below.  Thank you, Pittipat for sharing!  Please scroll down to read the entries of the other participants.
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The moment I found out I was pregnant, I did not think twice about breastfeeding my baby.  That was never a question for us.  When my eldest child was born, it was then that I realized that breastfeeding was not as easy as it seemed.  In spite of the challenges, we persisted and thankfully, succeeded.
When Janina was diagnosed with Apert Syndrome, our immediate concern lay on her chances of survival since very few doctors knew about the Syndrome.  Janina had breathing and cardio issues and had to be kept in the high-risk NICU.  Later on, when the doctors assured us that children with Apert Syndrome could live normal and healthy lives, we were able to get our bearings and focus on the long road ahead of us.