Nice of the Canadian government to put their money where the (baby's) mouth is. In a bid to boost breastfeeding numbers in Ontario, Health Minister Deb Matthews is throwing $2.5 million at the cause.
“We know that we can get more women doing what we want them to do—breastfeeding—if we provide the right supports for them,” said Matthews.
Even though the majority of moms want and plan to breastfeed, only 60 per cent are still nursing after they leave the hospital and after six months, that number drops to a mere 28 per cent.
According to an article in the Toronto Star, the provincial initiative will include a 24-hour hotline to help new moms deal with the challenges of breastfeeding. The round-the-clock service is vital, since many moms struggle in the wee hours with no one to turn to for advice.
The plan will also target demographics with the lowest rates of breastfeeding.
Given the proven benefits of breastfeeding—and the fact that many challenges can be resolved with the right support—the new plan sounds like money well spent. Hats off to Matthews for making it happen.
Oh, Canada. Your anthem needs to get with the times. That's the message some of our country's most iconic figures are sending to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government in what is the latest political controversy.
According to an article in the CBC, novelist Margaret Atwood and former PM Kim Campbell are just some of the big names pushing for a single line change to make the anthem more gender-inclusive.
Apparently the idea isn't so much rooted in feminism as it is in honouring the original wording of Judge Robert Stanley Weir's English version, on the eve of its 100-year anniversary.
The RestoreOurAnthem.ca campaign is opting for the contentious lyric to change to "in all of us command," which is closer to "thou dost in us command" than the "in all thy sons command" phrasing adopted in 1913.
"The words 'All thy sons command' in the English national anthem suggests that only male loyalty is being invoked," said Atwood.
But though the change seems relatively minor, not everyone agrees that the anthem is broken and in need of fixing.
"I think that when you start tinkering with an institution like a national anthem, that you're looking for problems," said NDP Leader Tom Mulcair. Just as well he's not related to Nichola Goddard, the first female Canadian soldier ever to be killed in combat.
An easy, overdue amendment or petty semantics?
Are you a plucker? What started as an innocuous urge to look good has left one woman with permanently scarred breasts and face and disfigured fingers.
Charlotte Starling is addicted to plucking. According to an article in the Daily Mail (warning: graphic images), the 27-year-old British mom started plucking her eyebrows out of boredom and anxiety when her daughter started school. But over time the urge to remove hairs become a compulsion.
"Because I’d got through the day without a panic attack, I did the same the next day. It became a coping mechanism," Starling recalls. "Every day I would drop her off and rush straight home, draw the curtains and start to pluck as a way to keep my thoughts controlled and my mind calm."
She spent hours removing stray facial hairs, then gradually moved on to the backs of her fingers, and eventually her breasts.
Now Starling has opened up about her skin picking disorder, known as Dermatillomania, as a means to raise awareness and help others. The condition is a form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that can lead to bleeding, bruising and infections, sometimes causing permanent damage.
Like self-harming, those who pick at their skin often do so during times of heightened anxiety and derive a sense of relief or even pleasure immediately afterward.
Sadly in Starling's case, she was able to hide the damage under her clothes, so her condition went undiagnosed for a long time. She is now undergoing counseling and cognitive behavioural therapy.
At her lowest point she had more than 20 pairs hidden in various places in her home.
Kudos to her for bravely coming forward. Let's hope she gets the help she clearly needs. For more information about dermatillomania, visit the OCD-UK website.
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