Omaha Doulas Association

We had a fantastic time this weekend at the Millard Days Parade. The ODA joined with the Nebraska Friends of Midwives and the Lincoln Doulas to walk in the parade and hopefully inform people of Doulas and Midwives and better birthing options! We even had people come up to us in the parade saying their daughter wanted to be a midwife, and we let her know that she could start by becoming a doula! She was so excited :D!  Hopefully we got our name out there a little bit more. We got a ton of pictures which we will post here on the website soon!

This coming up Monday, August 23rd the Nebraska Friends of Midwives Omaha Area Chapter will be hosting a Doula event for anyone to come and listen to a panel of Omaha area doulas, several of which are from the Omaha Doulas Association!  We would love to see any ODA friends and supporters at the event whether you are currently pregnant, wanting to be, or just curious as to what the heck a doula is.  Hope to see you there!!

Happy National Breastfeeding week everyone!

I wanted to just post a great informational piece that was on the WBW website. It's called the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding Videos. Each of these videos has some really great information on breastfeeding and how to help mothers successfully accomplish this!

Breast feeding is coming to the forefront in the news this week. Which I personally think is great! The more knowledge out there the better, right? I know I posted it on our facebook page, but I wanted to reiterate it here since it is National Breastfeeding week. This was on ketv.com just this week! Congrats to Iowa for setting the bar

DES MOINES, Iowa -- New federal rules about breastfeeding will soon affect Iowa businesses.

The bill signed into law on March 23 requires that employers provide "reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk."

Employers are required to provide "a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk."

The new law applies to employers of all sizes, but only those with fewer than 50 workers may apply to the Department of Labor for an “undue hardship” exception based on the difficulty or expense of compliance.

"Women make up 54 percent of the workforce in Iowa," said Iowa Workforce Development Director Elisabeth Buck. "In order to maintain a well-balanced workforce, it’s important that we have provisions in place that protect the rights of Iowa workers."

Iowa ranks 37th in the nation for rates of breastfeeding, and is tied for 22nd in the nation for childhood obesity rates at 26.7 percent, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

IWD officials said businesses can apply for eight $500 grants to assist work sites throughout the state in starting or improving workplace lactation initiatives. The deadline for application is Aug. 20. The application, as well as other information, can be found at www.iowabreastfeeding.org.

July has been designated Cord Blood Awareness Month by the National Health Information Center and a society of the American Hospital Association, with the goal of educating others about the medical value of cord blood stem cells. To recognize the occasion, throughout the month The Stem Cell Source will be highlighting useful information and resources for parents who want to learn more about cord blood banking.

While awareness of the medical value of cord blood stem cells is on the rise, the need for more education remains. According to a 2006 study published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, three out of four expectant mothers who have heard of cord blood banking consider themselves minimally informed.

The need for greater education was the driving force behind the creation of the Cord Blood Education Center, an online program that informs expectant parents about their options for cord blood. Developed by Cord Blood Registry with input from healthcare providers, stem cell researchers and experts in public banking, the program describes all of the options available to expectant parents and is designed to give them access to information early enough in pregnancy so that they can make an informed choice about the storage, donation or disposal of their newborn’s cord blood stem cells.

Even if you are aware about cord blood stem cells, you may not know all of the facts. Take a moment to explore the Cord Blood Education Center and be sure to pass it on to others who can benefit from cord blood education.