I am embarking on yet another breastfeeding journey with CC. Six weeks in I have pumped over 200 ounces of milk, so I feel very accomplished. The first two weeks of nursing were very hard for me. I never became engorged, due to the pumping, but CC had the hardest time latching and I was super sore. Her latch has improved, some what, but she has been super gassy for the last two weeks. This translates to a very fussy, cry all the time baby. Gripe water has not worked to address the issue, so I've completely changed my diet. IT SUCKS! I cut out all citrus, dairy, legumes and nuts. Basically I'm eating oatmeal or mesclun salad w/ lean chicken breast and drinking mineral water.
On Mocha Mom's blog today I came across a post titled, Could Black Women's Breastmilk Cure Breast Cancer? Black Moms Needed For Important Research. I always wondered the correlation between breastfeeding and breast cancer. Check out more below:
But could breastmilk hold the keys to preventing and treating breast cancer? And could African American moms’ breastmilk be especially important? This is the question that a professor at the University of Massachusetts is trying to answer, and she needs the help of African American nursing moms to do it. Dr. Kathleen Arcaro studies breast cancer by studying breastmilk. She examines breast cells, which are naturally plentiful in breastmilk, to look for genetic signs of breast cancer risk.
To read more click here.
Note: If you’re an African American nursing mom living anywhere in the country and interested in donating breastmilk for this research, please see the contact information at the bottom of this post!
If you’re African American and interested in donating milk for this effort, please contact Beth Punska at (413) 545-0813, or email her at epunska@vasci.umass.edu. More information is also at the study website. If you’re not nursing, please considerjoining the Love/Avon Army of Women, and select “breast milk study” when asked how you heard about it!
Other Interesting Reads
How Angelina Jolie was duped by cancer doctors into self mutilation for breast cancer she never had
