AboutSally Wendkos Olds Expertise What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good
for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s
related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to
overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF
BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200
articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible
advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.
Experience I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition.
I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009.
I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.
Credentials
I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.
Other points of interest
I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding.
To find out more about me, go to
Question QUESTION: I have Grade IV of capsular contracture in my left breast. I am nursing full time with it. I have to have another surgery to fix this. It is starting to get painful. I've nursed 2 other children. One for 19mths. and the other for 13mths. I wanted to nurse this baby for a year, but I don't think I can handle the pain. Plus, it is totally looking deformed because it is so high compared to the other one. My baby also suffers from a milk allergy, so i've been on a non-dairy diet for 3 mths. I love milk and dairy products and am having a hard time on this diet. My plastic surgeon told me to wait 2 mths. after weaning him to get the surgery because my milk has to dry up. 1st question is: Can my left breast dry up and get the surgery to fix capsular contracture and me still nurse only from my right breast?
2nd question: The pediatrician has told me that if I have the baby tested for a milk allergy it isn't 100% accurate and for me to continue on my non-dairy diet or give him Nutrimigen (with a dab of splenda for better taste). Should I call an allergist and have him tested to make sure this is what it is? I have a friend that agreed to be my wet nurse since she is nursing a baby of her own and I could use her milk for 6 mths. until he is a year old if he doesn't have a milk allergy. But, I can't expect her to go on a non-dairy diet for MY child.
ANSWER: Dear Kimberly,
I forgot in my earlier answer to you to convey the opinion of Dr. Laura Marks about putting Splenda in formula. She recommends against it and was surprised that your pediatrician recommended it. From what I have read, none of these artificial sweeteners should be given to children.
Regards,
Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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QUESTION: Splenda is not an artificial sweetener. It is made from pure sugar.
Answer Dear Kimberly,
I thought you'd be interested in the following report. Hope things are going well with you.
Regards,
Sally
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Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with Laura M. Marks, M.D.
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Baby Feeding by Mom's Friends
Babytalk Poll: 45 Percent Say Cross-Nursing is 'Disgusting' or 'Weird'
By ANN PLESHETTE
July 28, 2008 —
Breast-feeding, what many believe to be the most intimate act between a mother and child, is also generally believed to be an act exclusively between a mother and child.
According to experts, however, there is a growing trend of cross-nursing, in which a mother will allow another woman to breast-feed her baby.
"I think that it's just not been our social norm," said Morgan McFarland, who has been breast-feeding her friend Sarah Griffith's son since he was just 3 months old. "In some cultures, it is, and you would think nothing of, you know, nursing your neighbor's child if something happened, or nursing your sister's baby if she has to go to work."
To Lisa Moran, editor in chief of Babytalk magazine, the rising trend is not surprising.
"Cross-nursing is the logical extension to the rise in breast-feeding rates that we've seen in the past 15 years," she told "Good Morning America." "Moms are really committed to breast-feeding exclusively and finding new ways to do that. Cross-feeding, cross-nursing is one of those."
Not everyone sees cross-nursing so clearly, however.
According to a poll by Babytalk, 45 percent of people say cross-nursing is 'disgusting' or 'weird.'
McFarland believes some people have problems with an implicit "sexuality" connected to breast-feeding.
"They assume that anything that is to do with breasts has to be sexual," she said. "So, it's, I guess, bad enough if you're doing it with your own child. But then, you add another child to the mix and they're really concerned about it. It's silly."
Though it is seen by some as taboo, other experts have more practical concerns.
Leigh Anne O'Connor, leader of La Leche League International -- an organization that provides support to breast-feeding mothers -- warned parents that the milk their children gets from another woman should be screened for diseases, such as tuberculosis, syphilis, HIV and hepatitis-associated antigens.
Rather than accepting milk from a friend, the La Leche organization recommends mothers try milk banks where the milk is screened and pasteurized.
But, for McFarland, cross-nursing is about more than the health risks and benefits.
"I think that a move back towards cross-nursing, or even just getting together with your nursing babies and sharing stories and becoming comfortable talking about the topic ... meets a very primal need for us -- that sense of bonding in the community."
