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CNN Live Today
Bush Promotes Domestic High Tech Agenda; A Look at NASCAR Nation
Aired April 26, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines at this hour. A U.S. Marine patrol came under attack in Fallujah, Iraq today. The firefight with insurgents left one American dead. Earlier reports said 10 Marines had been hurt. Airstrikes on insurgent locations sent thick black smoke billowing.
The body of former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman is being flown to Dover Air Base. He died in an Afghan firefight last week at the age of 27. Tillman walked away from the NFL and joined the Army after 9/11.
Singer Billy Joel is on the mend today after his third Long Island car crash in two years. Joel lost control of his car and slammed into a house, cutting a gash on his finger. Police say there was no indication of alcohol or drugs.
And the Queen Mary II is on its way home to England, with Queen Elizabeth II, the QEII, tagging along. It's a final New York to Southampton run for the Elizabeth. It is being replaced by the newer ocean liner.
President Bush is on the road today. He's promoting his high tech domestic agenda. His campaign is also taking to the airwaves with a new ad campaign targeting John Kerry on national defense. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is on the road with the president -- actually, we have -- Bob Franken, very fine looking. Well, Bob, you stand by. You're very good, but you're not Suzanne Malveaux. So first let's go to Suzanne and then we'll get to Bob. Suzanne, are you with us from Minneapolis?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
KAGAN: Well, there you go. I know Bob Franken, and you're no Bob Franken.
MALVEAUX: Yes, this is the president's eighth trip here, actually. And it is a very important swing state. He lost to Gore by 2.5 percentage points back in 2000. This is where he is introducing his high technology energy and education policies, some new initiative that the president talked about.
The first one, to break broadband or high speed Internet access available to Americans by 2007 and to make it essentially tax free. Another initiative he talked about, $350 million in private sector partnering to actually try to develop a hydrogen fuel technology. That, of course, a hydrogen-powered car for the next generation of drivers. Also, of course, to make Americans less dependent on foreign oil.
And then, finally, he also talked about Americans' health records, making them available electronically. He says that paper records, simply outdated here. Of course, it would be on a voluntary basis, but would happen within the next 10 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Medicine ought to be using modern technologies in order to better share information, in order to reduce medical errors, in order to reduce costs to our health care system by billions of dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now the president is making the case here that the economy is growing, that he is promoting high technology and education so the United States can keep pace with all of this. Of course, the bottom line, Daryn, here is that the president making his case, that his policies worthy of him keeping his job for another four years -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, sorry for the mix-up there. Now it's time to go to Bob Franken and get the rest of the day's political news. Bob, are you with us?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it shows what happens when you push the buttons with your elbows. And John Kerry is not exactly having his way today, either. If he was, he'd be talking exclusively about his jobs tour through four battleground states, or even his endorsement by the United Mine Workers of America.
Instead, Kerry is again defending his anti-war activities after being decorated for service in Vietnam in the '70s. Yesterday, Bush adviser Karen Hughes renewed questions about Kerry's participation in a protest in the early 1970s, in which veterans opposed to the war threw their medals away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH ADVISER: I also was very troubled by the fact that he participated in the ceremony where veterans threw their medals away, and he only pretended to throw his. Now, I can understand if out of conscience you take a principled stand and you would decide that you were so opposed to this that you would actually throw your medals. But to pretend to do so? I think that is very revealing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Kerry denies any pretense during that protest, contending everyone understood at the time he was throwing away his ribbons, not his service medals. In a televised interview today, Kerry said "I didn't have to do it. If I was trying to hide something, I would have never stood there in front of everybody and thrown them over the fence."
President Bush is campaigning in Minnesota today. In addition to delivering his usual stump speech, the president called on Congress to permanently ban taxes for high speed Internet access. The Bush campaign is releasing a series of attack ads, nine regional and one national, targeting John Kerry's record on defense.
And moving now to Dick Cheney, who is also out campaigning. He's expected to keep up his attack on Senator Kerry on defense and national security issues. This hour, as the vice president visits the battleground state of Missouri, he'll be continuing the attack while Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe says that Cheney has zero credibility when it comes to criticizing Kerry on defense matters. McAuliffe says the vice president, while secretary of defense, proposed cuts in weapons programs now being used by U.S. troops in Iraq.
And Senator Joe Lieberman speaks out today about the war in Iraq, challenging political leaders from both parties to strengthen support for the war effort here on the home front. Judy sits down with the senator this afternoon live. Plus, she'll talk with Bob Woodward about his new book and the reaction it's getting from both sides of the aisle. All that and more on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. But right now, let's hopefully go back to Daryn in Atlanta.
KAGAN: Oh, yeah. Only one of me here. Not so many choices as like out in the field. Bob, thank you for that.
Soccer moms are competing for attention with a powerful new voting block this election cycle, NASCAR dads. Here is senior political correspondent Bill Schneider, who is in Talladega, Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): NASCAR nation is loud. It's colorful and enthusiastic.
Stock-car racing has become national.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the Southern-born, Southern-bred type racing fans like it used to be. People come from all over the United States.
SCHNEIDER: To Alabama? You bet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're from Minnesota.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're from western Washington state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Bronx, New York. Yonkers.
SCHNEIDER: The political values of NASCAR nation? Culturally conservative... MARTY SMITH, NASCAR.COM: These guys go hunting and they go fishing and they come and watch NASCAR racing. You know, it's almost a seamless culture.
SCHNEIDER: And economically populist, standing up for the little guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the things that I am definitely against is farming out all the overseas work and taking away from Americans and their families.
SCHNEIDER: Which is strange, because corporate logos are everywhere at NASCAR. On the rigs, on the racing suits and on the cars.
NASCAR fans are intensely loyal. To the drivers...
JEFF BURTON, NASCAR DRIVER: Once they're you're fan, they're always you're fan.
SCHNEIDER: ... and to the sponsors. That's why it's so valuable for a politician to hear NASCAR fans say...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a big Bush fan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Bush fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a Bush fan.
SCHNEIDER: In recent years, NASCAR nation has been changing. It's becoming more middle American.
SMITH: Probably 40 percent, 45 percent of the race fans now are women. It wasn't always that way. It was kind of considered a Southern redneck sport for years.
SCHNEIDER: And Middle America has embraced NASCAR values.
No one knows that better than George W. Bush.
RICKY CRAVEN, NASCAR DRIVER: When you look at the popularity of the sport, and the influence of the sport, because of the numbers, then you understand why President Bush flew in to Daytona to be with us.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Right now, Republicans rule. They control the White House, both houses of Congress, and most state governments. The basis of the Republicans' ruling majority, NASCAR nation.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Talladega, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Look at Bill Schneider as a gearhead. I like the look. Thank you, Bill. Coming up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta begins a week-long look at caring for your newborn. First up, the pros and cons of breast feeding. Is it much better for your baby? We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(LIVE EVENT)
KAGAN: Right now let's fit in a quick break. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: If you needed some more proof that the low carb craze is sweeping the nation, "Time" magazine is out with some interesting numbers behind the weight loss frenzy. In a survey, 70 million Americans say they are limiting their carbs. Twenty-six million say they are on specific low carb diet, and more than 1,500 new low carb products have hit the market in just the last two years.
In our "Daily Dose" of health news this week, the focus is on newborns. We're taking a look at issues facing expectant moms and dads. Today, CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines the challenges and benefits of breastfeeding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doing excellent. Very good.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The number of nursing mothers is on the rise. Studies show 70 percent of new moms begin breast feeding in the hospital, but that number drops dramatically when you check with them just a few months later. Why?
REBECCA SLOAN, MOTHER OF NEWBORN: It is hard. People and books that I read have said it's natural, it's not supposed to hurt. It hurts. It hurts!
GUPTA: Rebecca Sloan had a hard time getting her baby to nurse at first.
SLOAN: The first two weeks, your nipples are so sore, it's hard, because you have to be patient, and because of the emotional state that you're in, and the lack of sleep that you have.
GUPTA: Rebecca stuck with it. Now her daughter, Teegan (ph), is thriving.
SLOAN: It is so natural. Once you get over those hurdles, it's absolutely wonderful.
GUPTA: Research shows breast-fed babies are less likely to get sick, they have fewer ear and chest infections, less gas and diarrhea, and are less likely to suffer from allergies, asthma, diabetes and cancer. Breast-fed babies also have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome and of obesity in childhood, and children who are breast fed do better on IQ tests.
AMY SPANGLER, CHAIRWOMAN, U.S. BREAST-FEEDING COMMITTEE: Four months to six months of exclusive breast feeding is what seems to be needed for babies to get the life-long benefits that breast feeding provides.
GUPTA: Breast feeding saves money, too. You can save up to $1,000 in the first year, compared to buying formula and bottles. Working moms have an even harder time of nursing for more than a few weeks. Going back to work and having to pump breast milk is challenging.
Heidi Murkoff, author of "What to Expect When You're Expecting," counsels new moms that any amount of breast feeding is better than nothing.
HEIDI MURKOFF, AUTHOR, "WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING": So if you find you can't fit full-time breast feeding into your schedule, or you just don't have the energy or the desire to keep it up around the clock, you can combine breast feeding and bottle feeding in absolutely any way that's going to work for you.
GUPTA: Before your baby is born, learn as much as you can about breast feeding, but make sure to seek out help, so you and your baby can learn how to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It can really take up to six week for moms, especially first-time moms, to get the hang of it, and that's why it's so important not give up too quickly, and also get the help that you need getting started.
GUPTA (on camera): There are also health benefits for the mothers who breast feed. It speeds weight loss, cuts down on the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and promotes strong bones. So there may be health benefits not only for the baby, but for mother as well.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Tune in all week long for our special series on newborns. Coming up tomorrow, losing weight after pregnancy. On Wednesday, postpartum depression and baby blues. On Thursday, we'll take a look at sleep training, and on Friday, handling multiples.
What do you get for a vacation that has everything? If you can't decide between luxury and wilderness, well, we have the vacation that can bring you both. We're getting away in our next segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Imagine a vacation that combines a wilderness experience with the comfort of a luxury resort. That's the idea behind Adventure Lodges. The summer issue of "Outside" magazine profiles some of the top spots. Leslie Weeden is travel editor for the magazine. She is in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lucky her. Leslie, good morning.
LESLIE WEEDEN, OUTSIDE MAGAZINE: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: We have hit upon my idea of camping. You go out and have a great time during the day, and you come back to a really nice hotel.
WEEDEN: Right, this is the perfect vacation for you, Daryn. This is rustic luxury. By nature, these lodges are all in incredible wilderness settings, so you go out and have an adventure in the wilds during the day. Whether you're hiking, mountain biking, climbing a peek or just sitting there having a picnic. And then you come back to this lodge and you are completely pampered and wined and dined. So does that sound good?
KAGAN: That sounds good. Sounds like it could also be expensive, though, and I understand we have a couple to look at that are at opposite ends of the expense spectrum.
WEEDEN: Right.
KAGAN: Keep it in British Columbia. And let's start with the King Pacific Lodge.
WEEDEN: Yeah, this is a very high-end lodge. Great honeymoon spot if you are doing your blowout honeymoon trip, especially if the newlyweds are into salmon fishing, because it's a world class destination for that. But this is a very luxury inn. It's actually built on a barge. So they tow this barge to the middle of nowhere on the British Columbia coast every summer, so you've got skinny fjords, you've got rainforests and steep ridges to hike on. And then you come back, and you are eating in five star meals. So it's perfect.
KAGAN: We're not talking a bargain here, though, this is no bargain.
WEEDEN: Oh, no, not a bargain.
KAGAN: That's some expensive salmon fishing.
WEEDEN: Yeah, it's about $2,600 per person for three nights. Yeah, but you take a float plane to get there, and it includes everything.
KAGAN: Well, good to know that.
If you can't quite afford that, let's talk about something else in British Columbia. You have Century Mountain Lodge. You say this one is secret until now when we discuss it on CNN.
WEEDEN: Well, I think it's a little bit secret, because it's only about a year old. You take a helicopter to get there, and it's in the Selkirk (ph) mountains. So you come into this little chalet. It's at about 7,000 feet in an alpine meadow, and you are looking at the Canadian Rockies. But this experience is like staying with a friend at their little mountain home, especially a friend who happens to be an excellent French chef.
KAGAN: I like friends like that.
WEEDEN: Yes. But this is great. And this is a lot less expensive. It's about a little less than $1,300 per person per week.
KAGAN: So we're still not talking about staying at the local campground. This is still a little pricey, compared to camping. But that's what it is. That's what it's about.
WEEDEN: Oh, yeah. It's for people who don't want to rough it but want a wilderness experience.
KAGAN: And so it's such a big trend. "Outdoor" magazine featuring it this week, this month, and then also wrote a whole book about it.
WEEDEN: Right, well, it's actually in our summer issue of "Outside Traveler," which is on newsstands now. And we also -- we just had a book come out called "Outside's Wilderness Lodge Vacations." And that's available at bookstores everywhere.
KAGAN: Well, I'll be checking that out to find my new best friend, the French chef, waiting for me in the mountains of British Columbia.
WEEDEN: OK.
KAGAN: Not such a bad thing. Leslie Weeden, thanks for stopping by.
WEEDEN: Thank you.
KAGAN: I appreciate it.
(MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be right back here tomorrow morning. Now Wolf Blitzer takes over from Washington, D.C.
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Aired April 26, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta. Let's check the headlines at this hour. A U.S. Marine patrol came under attack in Fallujah, Iraq today. The firefight with insurgents left one American dead. Earlier reports said 10 Marines had been hurt. Airstrikes on insurgent locations sent thick black smoke billowing.
The body of former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman is being flown to Dover Air Base. He died in an Afghan firefight last week at the age of 27. Tillman walked away from the NFL and joined the Army after 9/11.
Singer Billy Joel is on the mend today after his third Long Island car crash in two years. Joel lost control of his car and slammed into a house, cutting a gash on his finger. Police say there was no indication of alcohol or drugs.
And the Queen Mary II is on its way home to England, with Queen Elizabeth II, the QEII, tagging along. It's a final New York to Southampton run for the Elizabeth. It is being replaced by the newer ocean liner.
President Bush is on the road today. He's promoting his high tech domestic agenda. His campaign is also taking to the airwaves with a new ad campaign targeting John Kerry on national defense. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is on the road with the president -- actually, we have -- Bob Franken, very fine looking. Well, Bob, you stand by. You're very good, but you're not Suzanne Malveaux. So first let's go to Suzanne and then we'll get to Bob. Suzanne, are you with us from Minneapolis?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
KAGAN: Well, there you go. I know Bob Franken, and you're no Bob Franken.
MALVEAUX: Yes, this is the president's eighth trip here, actually. And it is a very important swing state. He lost to Gore by 2.5 percentage points back in 2000. This is where he is introducing his high technology energy and education policies, some new initiative that the president talked about.
The first one, to break broadband or high speed Internet access available to Americans by 2007 and to make it essentially tax free. Another initiative he talked about, $350 million in private sector partnering to actually try to develop a hydrogen fuel technology. That, of course, a hydrogen-powered car for the next generation of drivers. Also, of course, to make Americans less dependent on foreign oil.
And then, finally, he also talked about Americans' health records, making them available electronically. He says that paper records, simply outdated here. Of course, it would be on a voluntary basis, but would happen within the next 10 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Medicine ought to be using modern technologies in order to better share information, in order to reduce medical errors, in order to reduce costs to our health care system by billions of dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now the president is making the case here that the economy is growing, that he is promoting high technology and education so the United States can keep pace with all of this. Of course, the bottom line, Daryn, here is that the president making his case, that his policies worthy of him keeping his job for another four years -- Daryn.
KAGAN: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, sorry for the mix-up there. Now it's time to go to Bob Franken and get the rest of the day's political news. Bob, are you with us?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it shows what happens when you push the buttons with your elbows. And John Kerry is not exactly having his way today, either. If he was, he'd be talking exclusively about his jobs tour through four battleground states, or even his endorsement by the United Mine Workers of America.
Instead, Kerry is again defending his anti-war activities after being decorated for service in Vietnam in the '70s. Yesterday, Bush adviser Karen Hughes renewed questions about Kerry's participation in a protest in the early 1970s, in which veterans opposed to the war threw their medals away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH ADVISER: I also was very troubled by the fact that he participated in the ceremony where veterans threw their medals away, and he only pretended to throw his. Now, I can understand if out of conscience you take a principled stand and you would decide that you were so opposed to this that you would actually throw your medals. But to pretend to do so? I think that is very revealing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Kerry denies any pretense during that protest, contending everyone understood at the time he was throwing away his ribbons, not his service medals. In a televised interview today, Kerry said "I didn't have to do it. If I was trying to hide something, I would have never stood there in front of everybody and thrown them over the fence."
President Bush is campaigning in Minnesota today. In addition to delivering his usual stump speech, the president called on Congress to permanently ban taxes for high speed Internet access. The Bush campaign is releasing a series of attack ads, nine regional and one national, targeting John Kerry's record on defense.
And moving now to Dick Cheney, who is also out campaigning. He's expected to keep up his attack on Senator Kerry on defense and national security issues. This hour, as the vice president visits the battleground state of Missouri, he'll be continuing the attack while Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe says that Cheney has zero credibility when it comes to criticizing Kerry on defense matters. McAuliffe says the vice president, while secretary of defense, proposed cuts in weapons programs now being used by U.S. troops in Iraq.
And Senator Joe Lieberman speaks out today about the war in Iraq, challenging political leaders from both parties to strengthen support for the war effort here on the home front. Judy sits down with the senator this afternoon live. Plus, she'll talk with Bob Woodward about his new book and the reaction it's getting from both sides of the aisle. All that and more on "INSIDE POLITICS" at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. But right now, let's hopefully go back to Daryn in Atlanta.
KAGAN: Oh, yeah. Only one of me here. Not so many choices as like out in the field. Bob, thank you for that.
Soccer moms are competing for attention with a powerful new voting block this election cycle, NASCAR dads. Here is senior political correspondent Bill Schneider, who is in Talladega, Alabama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): NASCAR nation is loud. It's colorful and enthusiastic.
Stock-car racing has become national.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the Southern-born, Southern-bred type racing fans like it used to be. People come from all over the United States.
SCHNEIDER: To Alabama? You bet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're from Minnesota.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're from western Washington state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Bronx, New York. Yonkers.
SCHNEIDER: The political values of NASCAR nation? Culturally conservative... MARTY SMITH, NASCAR.COM: These guys go hunting and they go fishing and they come and watch NASCAR racing. You know, it's almost a seamless culture.
SCHNEIDER: And economically populist, standing up for the little guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the things that I am definitely against is farming out all the overseas work and taking away from Americans and their families.
SCHNEIDER: Which is strange, because corporate logos are everywhere at NASCAR. On the rigs, on the racing suits and on the cars.
NASCAR fans are intensely loyal. To the drivers...
JEFF BURTON, NASCAR DRIVER: Once they're you're fan, they're always you're fan.
SCHNEIDER: ... and to the sponsors. That's why it's so valuable for a politician to hear NASCAR fans say...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a big Bush fan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Bush fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a Bush fan.
SCHNEIDER: In recent years, NASCAR nation has been changing. It's becoming more middle American.
SMITH: Probably 40 percent, 45 percent of the race fans now are women. It wasn't always that way. It was kind of considered a Southern redneck sport for years.
SCHNEIDER: And Middle America has embraced NASCAR values.
No one knows that better than George W. Bush.
RICKY CRAVEN, NASCAR DRIVER: When you look at the popularity of the sport, and the influence of the sport, because of the numbers, then you understand why President Bush flew in to Daytona to be with us.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Right now, Republicans rule. They control the White House, both houses of Congress, and most state governments. The basis of the Republicans' ruling majority, NASCAR nation.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Talladega, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Look at Bill Schneider as a gearhead. I like the look. Thank you, Bill. Coming up next, Dr. Sanjay Gupta begins a week-long look at caring for your newborn. First up, the pros and cons of breast feeding. Is it much better for your baby? We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(LIVE EVENT)
KAGAN: Right now let's fit in a quick break. We're back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: If you needed some more proof that the low carb craze is sweeping the nation, "Time" magazine is out with some interesting numbers behind the weight loss frenzy. In a survey, 70 million Americans say they are limiting their carbs. Twenty-six million say they are on specific low carb diet, and more than 1,500 new low carb products have hit the market in just the last two years.
In our "Daily Dose" of health news this week, the focus is on newborns. We're taking a look at issues facing expectant moms and dads. Today, CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines the challenges and benefits of breastfeeding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doing excellent. Very good.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The number of nursing mothers is on the rise. Studies show 70 percent of new moms begin breast feeding in the hospital, but that number drops dramatically when you check with them just a few months later. Why?
REBECCA SLOAN, MOTHER OF NEWBORN: It is hard. People and books that I read have said it's natural, it's not supposed to hurt. It hurts. It hurts!
GUPTA: Rebecca Sloan had a hard time getting her baby to nurse at first.
SLOAN: The first two weeks, your nipples are so sore, it's hard, because you have to be patient, and because of the emotional state that you're in, and the lack of sleep that you have.
GUPTA: Rebecca stuck with it. Now her daughter, Teegan (ph), is thriving.
SLOAN: It is so natural. Once you get over those hurdles, it's absolutely wonderful.
GUPTA: Research shows breast-fed babies are less likely to get sick, they have fewer ear and chest infections, less gas and diarrhea, and are less likely to suffer from allergies, asthma, diabetes and cancer. Breast-fed babies also have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome and of obesity in childhood, and children who are breast fed do better on IQ tests.
AMY SPANGLER, CHAIRWOMAN, U.S. BREAST-FEEDING COMMITTEE: Four months to six months of exclusive breast feeding is what seems to be needed for babies to get the life-long benefits that breast feeding provides.
GUPTA: Breast feeding saves money, too. You can save up to $1,000 in the first year, compared to buying formula and bottles. Working moms have an even harder time of nursing for more than a few weeks. Going back to work and having to pump breast milk is challenging.
Heidi Murkoff, author of "What to Expect When You're Expecting," counsels new moms that any amount of breast feeding is better than nothing.
HEIDI MURKOFF, AUTHOR, "WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE EXPECTING": So if you find you can't fit full-time breast feeding into your schedule, or you just don't have the energy or the desire to keep it up around the clock, you can combine breast feeding and bottle feeding in absolutely any way that's going to work for you.
GUPTA: Before your baby is born, learn as much as you can about breast feeding, but make sure to seek out help, so you and your baby can learn how to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It can really take up to six week for moms, especially first-time moms, to get the hang of it, and that's why it's so important not give up too quickly, and also get the help that you need getting started.
GUPTA (on camera): There are also health benefits for the mothers who breast feed. It speeds weight loss, cuts down on the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and promotes strong bones. So there may be health benefits not only for the baby, but for mother as well.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Tune in all week long for our special series on newborns. Coming up tomorrow, losing weight after pregnancy. On Wednesday, postpartum depression and baby blues. On Thursday, we'll take a look at sleep training, and on Friday, handling multiples.
What do you get for a vacation that has everything? If you can't decide between luxury and wilderness, well, we have the vacation that can bring you both. We're getting away in our next segment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Imagine a vacation that combines a wilderness experience with the comfort of a luxury resort. That's the idea behind Adventure Lodges. The summer issue of "Outside" magazine profiles some of the top spots. Leslie Weeden is travel editor for the magazine. She is in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Lucky her. Leslie, good morning.
LESLIE WEEDEN, OUTSIDE MAGAZINE: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: We have hit upon my idea of camping. You go out and have a great time during the day, and you come back to a really nice hotel.
WEEDEN: Right, this is the perfect vacation for you, Daryn. This is rustic luxury. By nature, these lodges are all in incredible wilderness settings, so you go out and have an adventure in the wilds during the day. Whether you're hiking, mountain biking, climbing a peek or just sitting there having a picnic. And then you come back to this lodge and you are completely pampered and wined and dined. So does that sound good?
KAGAN: That sounds good. Sounds like it could also be expensive, though, and I understand we have a couple to look at that are at opposite ends of the expense spectrum.
WEEDEN: Right.
KAGAN: Keep it in British Columbia. And let's start with the King Pacific Lodge.
WEEDEN: Yeah, this is a very high-end lodge. Great honeymoon spot if you are doing your blowout honeymoon trip, especially if the newlyweds are into salmon fishing, because it's a world class destination for that. But this is a very luxury inn. It's actually built on a barge. So they tow this barge to the middle of nowhere on the British Columbia coast every summer, so you've got skinny fjords, you've got rainforests and steep ridges to hike on. And then you come back, and you are eating in five star meals. So it's perfect.
KAGAN: We're not talking a bargain here, though, this is no bargain.
WEEDEN: Oh, no, not a bargain.
KAGAN: That's some expensive salmon fishing.
WEEDEN: Yeah, it's about $2,600 per person for three nights. Yeah, but you take a float plane to get there, and it includes everything.
KAGAN: Well, good to know that.
If you can't quite afford that, let's talk about something else in British Columbia. You have Century Mountain Lodge. You say this one is secret until now when we discuss it on CNN.
WEEDEN: Well, I think it's a little bit secret, because it's only about a year old. You take a helicopter to get there, and it's in the Selkirk (ph) mountains. So you come into this little chalet. It's at about 7,000 feet in an alpine meadow, and you are looking at the Canadian Rockies. But this experience is like staying with a friend at their little mountain home, especially a friend who happens to be an excellent French chef.
KAGAN: I like friends like that.
WEEDEN: Yes. But this is great. And this is a lot less expensive. It's about a little less than $1,300 per person per week.
KAGAN: So we're still not talking about staying at the local campground. This is still a little pricey, compared to camping. But that's what it is. That's what it's about.
WEEDEN: Oh, yeah. It's for people who don't want to rough it but want a wilderness experience.
KAGAN: And so it's such a big trend. "Outdoor" magazine featuring it this week, this month, and then also wrote a whole book about it.
WEEDEN: Right, well, it's actually in our summer issue of "Outside Traveler," which is on newsstands now. And we also -- we just had a book come out called "Outside's Wilderness Lodge Vacations." And that's available at bookstores everywhere.
KAGAN: Well, I'll be checking that out to find my new best friend, the French chef, waiting for me in the mountains of British Columbia.
WEEDEN: OK.
KAGAN: Not such a bad thing. Leslie Weeden, thanks for stopping by.
WEEDEN: Thank you.
KAGAN: I appreciate it.
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KAGAN: That's going to do it for me, Daryn Kagan. I'll be right back here tomorrow morning. Now Wolf Blitzer takes over from Washington, D.C.
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