Diane Wiessinger | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Cornell University |
Occupation | breastfeeding advocate |
Years active | 1985 - present |
Organization(s) | La Leche League International, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant |
Known for | essay "Watch Your Language!" |
Diane Wiessinger is an American breastfeeding advocate, author and researcher who is known for her essay "Watch your language!", which asserts that breastfeeding is normal, not superior. The term "Wiessingerize" in the circles of breastfeeding advocates means to talk about breastfeeding as the norm to which other forms of nurturing and nourishing children is compared. [1]
Diane Wiessinger received her Master of Science Degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University in 1978. She married John Wiessinger and has two sons, Eric and Scott. [2]
Diane Wiessinger became a La Leche League Leader in 1985. In 1990 she became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. In 1992 she opened her private lactation consultant practice. [3]
In 1996 Wiessinger wrote her seminal essay "Watch your language!", pioneering research into the language that is used to describe breastfeeding. [4] More than a decade later her astute observations were backed up by academic research. [5]
In her 2010 book with Diana West and Teresa Pitman for La Leche League International, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, 8th edition, Wiessinger, West, and Pitman re-wrote La Leche League International's landmark book about breastfeeding for the new millennial generation. [6]
In her 2014 book with Diana West, Linda J. Smith, and Teresa Pitman for La Leche League International, Sweet Sleep: Nighttime and Naptime Strategies for the Breastfeeding Family, Wiessinger, West, Smith, and Pitman examined the risks and safety of bedsharing for breastfeeding mothers as a strategy to improve breastfeeding outcomes, and provided strategies to make bedsharing safer and easier. [7]
La Leche League International (LLLI) is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization that organizes advocacy, education, and training related to breastfeeding. It is present in about 89 countries.
The Child's Right to Nurse Act is a proposed legislative act which seeks to protect a child's right to be breastfed in any location where the mother-child pair are otherwise authorized to be. It was first introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates by Bonnie Brown (D-30th-Kanawha). Delegates Long, Palumbo, Butcher, Ellem, Varner and Doyle co-sponsored the bill. Dr. Foster and several co-sponsors introduced the bill in the Senate on the same day. The title of the bill highlights that this is the first attempt to introduce breastfeeding legislation that focuses on the child rather than the mother.
Marian Leonard Tompson is one of the seven founders of La Leche League International. She was President of La Leche League for 24 years, from 1956 to 1980, and a member of the Founders Advisory Council. Wife of the late Clement Tompson, she is the mother of seven children, a grandmother and great-grandmother. An early advocate of home birth, four of her children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren were born at home.
The history and culture of breastfeeding traces changing social, medical and legal attitudes to breastfeeding, the act of feeding a child breast milk directly from breast to mouth. Breastfeeding may be performed by the infant's mother or by a surrogate, typically called a wet nurse.
The Couple to Couple League is an international non-profit organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio, dedicated to teaching and promoting Natural Family Planning. Specifically, CCL promotes the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness and also promotes exclusive and continued breastfeeding. CCL views natural family planning as "a way of life, not just a method of birth regulation," and includes moral and religious values from a Roman Catholic point of view in its publications and classes.
Breastfeeding difficulties refers to problems that arise from breastfeeding, the feeding of an infant or young child with milk from a woman's breasts. Although babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk, and human breast milk is usually the best source of nourishment for human infants, there are circumstances under which breastfeeding can be problematic, or even in rare instances, contraindicated.
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a baby's life and continue as often and as much as the baby wants. Health organizations, including the WHO, recommend breastfeeding exclusively for six months. This means that no other foods or drinks, other than vitamin D, are typically given. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years and beyond. Of the 135 million babies born every year, only 42% are breastfed within the first hour of life, only 38% of mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, and 58% of mothers continue breastfeeding up to the age of two years and beyond.
Amy Spangler is a breastfeeding expert and president of baby gooroo who has lectured extensively and published several books on breastfeeding. In addition to earning a bachelor's and master's degree in nursing, Spangler is a registered nurse and an internationally board certified lactation consultant, and she has held leadership positions with national and international organizations including President of the International Lactation Consultant Association. She has also served as an expert contributor to Breastfeeding.com and as a member of their professional advisory board.
Betty Redmond Wagner Spandikow was a founder of the La Leche League International. She was a co-author of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which has been translated into eight languages and Braille.
Breastfeeding promotion refers to coordinated activities and policies to promote health among women, newborns and infants through breastfeeding.
In Western countries extended breastfeeding usually means breastfeeding after the age of 12 to 24 months, depending on the culture.
Dysphoric milk ejection reflex (D-MER) is a condition in which women who breastfeed develop negative emotions that begin just before the milk ejection reflex and last less than a few minutes. It is different from postpartum depression, breastfeeding aversion response (BAR), or a dislike of breastfeeding. It has been described anecdotally many times, yet one of the earliest case studies on the condition was only published in 2011, and not much research was done prior to that. Even in 2021 when the first review of published literature was done the authors noted that health care providers were still "barely [able to] recognize D-MER."
Diana West is a leading lactation consultant and author specializing on the topic of breastfeeding.
Chris Mulford was a prominent advocate of breastfeeding in the United States and globally.
A lactation consultant is a health professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding. The International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners (IBLCE) certifies lactation consultants who meet its criteria and have passed its exam.
Trevor Kirczenow is a transgender health researcher and diabetes healthcare advocate. He is an author and community organizer in the field of LGBTQ lactation and infant feeding. He has run twice as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada.
Breastfeeding and medications is the description of the medications that can be used by a breastfeeding mother with no or few consequences and those medications which should be avoided. Some medications are excreted in breastmilk. Almost all medicines pass into breastmilk in small amounts. Some have no effect on the baby and can be used while breastfeeding. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) maintain a database containing information on drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. Suggested therapeutic alternatives to those drugs are provided, where appropriate. Some medications and herbal supplements can be of concern. This can be because the drug can accumulate in breastmilk or have effects on the infant and the mother. Those medications of concern are those medications used to treat substance and alcohol addiction. Other medications of concern are those that are used in smoking cessation. Pain medications and antidepressants need evaluation.
Mary Ann Kerwin is an American lawyer and breastfeeding activist. One of the seven founders of La Leche League in 1956, she established the Colorado branch of the advocacy group and drafted state laws on behalf of women who breastfeed their infants in public and in the workplace. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2012.
Hand expression of breast milk is a technique used by lactating mothers to express milk using their hands. It is an ancient practice that has been used by women across the world for centuries. Hand expression has gained renewed interest in recent years due to its affordability, portability, and effectiveness. It is an important tool for breastfeeding mothers, especially those who are unable to afford or access breast pumps.