New Moms: Exercise Enhances Health During Breastfeeding
New mothers who are breastfeeding their babies may need more aerobic and resistance exercise in order to combat temporary bone loss caused by calcium depletion, says a recently published study from the American College of Sports Medicine. Cheryl Lovelady, Ph.D., and her research team measured bone mineral density in 20 women four to 20 weeks postpartum and found that those who didn’t exercise lost around 7 percent of their lower-spine bone density in that time period. “During lactation, women transfer around 200 milligrams of calcium per day from their own stores to their breast milk,” Lovelady said. “Calcium is critically linked to bone d

Breastfeeding Can Save 1.3M Children Annually, WHO Says To Mark World Breastfeeding Week
About 1.3 million children’s lives could be saved each year by teaching new mothers how to breastfeed, but many women do not receive help and stop trying, the WHO said on Friday ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 1 through August 7, Reuters reports. “Less than 40 percent of mothers worldwide breastfeed their infants exclusively in the first six months, as recommended by the WHO,” the news service writes. Constanza Vallenas, a WHO medical officer in the Department of Child and Adolescent Health and Development, said women “don’t have the practical support” to help them get their infants to latch on properly