Another day, another study on the benefits of breastfeeding released. New research from Brown University has shown that breast milk boosts brain development in babies by up to 30 percent. Babes who are exclusively breastfed for at least three months apparently can have extra growth in the parts of the brain that control language, emotion, and understanding.

Scientists took brain scans of the babies who had been fed a diet of breast milk from very early on and compared them with those who had been fed formula. The results showed that babies fed breast milk alone had the quickest growth in the tissues packed with nerve fibers that link different parts of the brain that are used for learning. The babies who were fed formula had less of these tissues.

But! By no means does that mean babies who are fed formula are dumb! Not for a minute!

Kristen Bell made her big post-baby debut last night hosting (HOSTING!) the CMT Music Awards. And I guess we would be talking about how smashing she looked in her black leather dress. But you know what? This is Kristen Bell we're talking about, and she's not going to let us play it that way. Forget the dress -- here's what else she did. Kristen tweeted a photo of her breast pump, the one she used to pump milk during the show.

"My new backstage beauty routine," Kristen tweeted, adding hash tags #pumpit #pumppumpitup #CMTAwards. I bet you never thought you'd ever see that string of words together! Oh my God, I think Kristen Bell just won all the music awards just by playing her breast pump.

Breastfeeding women need support. Formula marketing is the opposite of support -- it's sabotage. Stay with me formula moms. This isn't an attack. I formula fed and I love my babies. I know you do, too. I also breastfed my twins all the milk that I could produce for a year and a half. This is about our terrible breastfeeding rates, not tearing each other down. This is about our obsession with using breasts to sell products. Our breasts should be respected as makers of food for our babies, not to sell cars or clothes.

A new documentary called The Milky Way featuring Alanis Morissette, Minnie Driver, and Carrie-Anne Moss addresses this and may just make a lactivist out of you. My friend Lauren who is still breastfeeding her daughter Ella who will be turning 3 saw the clip and felt inspired and empowered. She said, "After watching that, I was like eff it -- I'm going to breastfeed forever!" Check out the preview so you can be inspired, too. Maybe even a little activisty against formula.

Every time I hear a woman judge another mom for "not trying hard enough" to breastfeed, I want to introduce her to a friend of mine who was so desperate to nurse, her baby ended up in the ER with dehydration. Or another friend who wore a tube on her breast that fed her baby formula while he sucked on her nipple, just for the stimulation. Women will put themselves through Olympic-sized challenges just to make that breastfeeding happen. And still, sometimes that milk just won't show up. How much torture should we put ourselves through to make that breastfeeding happen?

How much does Shakira love breastfeeding? So much she wants to nurse her son until he goes off to college! Just kidding. Sort of. The former Voice judge did recently say that, but naturally, it was in jest. But Shakira is in love with nursing her 4-month-old son, Milan. "Breastfeeding has been one of the best experiences of my life," she said. "I love it! I can’t stop!" She then joked: "I think I’m going to breastfeed him until he goes to college! I’m hooked!" 

We live in a society where getting greasy fast food full of some of the worst stuff to put in your body is the norm. Generally acceptable. Even the most healthy among us cave and eat it now and then. And yet breastfeeding is considered obscene. Moms are shunned from public places. Made to feel like they are doing something wrong. Told to cover up or leave. Considered generally unacceptable.

We also live in a world where people make huge public statements against breastfeeding. Paul Tudor Jones is a billionaire hedge fund executive who, we can assume and by his own "formula", has never been breastfed or is seriously putting down his mother if he had been. He thinks breastfeeding kills a woman's ambition -- and so does having babies. "As soon as that baby’s lips touched that girl’s bosom, forget it," he said. He thinks mothers have no drive or focus. I guess we may as well just be barefoot in the kitchen. I wonder how Jones likes his steak. Should I wash his feet?

Asking an uncle or aunt to babysit your kid isn't always met with enthusiasm. But sacrifices are made so parents can go out and do something non-parenting for a bit. We parents are forever grateful to our babysitters. We know babysitting isn't always fun. But one uncle took his duty to watch his adorable niece Yazzy to a whole other level of excitement. 

Uncle R.S. made a video. Complete with smooth singing, baby dancing, wine chillin', and breast milk flowing. Fist pump to breast pump! Take a look!

What does the way you feed your baby say about what kind of mother you think you are? A whole lot. A new study shows that when first-time moms buy anything related to feeding their babies -- whether it's breast pumps or formula -- they're basing those decisions at least partly on their image of themselves as mothers. So for most moms, it's not just about feeding your baby the best food you can. It's also about feeding your baby in a way that shows what kind of mother you are (or want to be, anyway).

So women who buy nipple shields to help them breastfeed, even when it's excruciatingly difficult, do so partly because they see themselves as "natural" moms. Moms who formula feed may buy organic formula because that helps them see themselves as nutrition-minded, and compensates for not breastfeeding. It's not just about what moms think is the best for their babies.