Working Groups
The Community of Practice has formed several working groups. These groups bring together like minded individuals with a shared passion or area of interest. Working groups meet regularly to share information and ideas, problem solve and explore new opportunities. By bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines using participatory processes, we create the conditions for free flow of information and ideas among groups and across organizations.
Working groups focus on the following initiatives; Make Breastfeeding Your Business, Human Milk Banking, World Breastfeeding Week, Public Relations and Social Media, Evaluation and the Breastfeeding Community Support Helping Tree.
Make Breastfeeding Your Business is a province wide initiative that helps businesses, organizations and municipalities adopt practices that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
The Breastfeeding Community of Practice is committed to creating a more breastfeeding friendly culture in HRM. Businesses and organizations have an important role to play in helping us creating a more breastfeeding friendly community by supporting breastfeeding employees, clients, customers and volunteers.
Breastfeeding friendly businesses and organizations have a policy about breastfeeding for their business and proudly display the international breastfeeding logo. Here is a list of breastfeeding friendly businesses and organizations we have worked with click here
The Make Breastfeeding Your Business working group is co-lead by Grace McCreight and Katherine Malec. If you would like to learn more about the Make Breastfeeding Your Business initiative, please contact us .
The Breastfeeding Community of Practice is committed to creating a more breastfeeding friendly culture in HRM. Businesses and organizations have an important role to play in helping us creating a more breastfeeding friendly community by supporting breastfeeding employees, clients, customers and volunteers.
Breastfeeding friendly businesses and organizations have a policy about breastfeeding for their business and proudly display the international breastfeeding logo. Here is a list of breastfeeding friendly businesses and organizations we have worked with click here
The Make Breastfeeding Your Business working group is co-lead by Grace McCreight and Katherine Malec. If you would like to learn more about the Make Breastfeeding Your Business initiative, please contact us .
Milk Bank
The Breastfeeding CoP Milk Bank Working Group is now incorporated under the registry of joint stocks as the Atlantic Milk Bank Coalition. The AMBC is working to raise awareness of the importance of human donor milk for the health of infants, mothers and communities, and to advance access to pasteurized human donor milk to any in need in the Atlantic Provinces. The Atlantic Milk Bank Coalition recognizes the important role human milk plays in the health of infants throughout the region and strongly supports breastfeeding. Human milk is the optimal food for infants, but, for various reasons, not all infants have access to mother’s own milk. Pasteurized human Donor milk is the next best option and should be available to all infants in need of supplementation. Human milk banking is well established in over 18 countries, but there are currently only two in Canada, in Vancouver and Calgary. In the 1980s there was a milk bank in Nova Scotia, but after the tainted blood scare it was closed and never re-opened.
The Community of Practice is committed to re-establishing a milk bank in Nova Scotia that would provide human breast milk to preterm infants as well as other infants in the Atlantic Provinces. The AMBC is currently made up of a Board:
Kathryn Hayward: President
Nancy Harmon: Vice President
Kyly Whitfield: Secretary
Dianna Rievaj: Member at large
One position vacant: Currently accepting nominations
If you are interested in learning more or becoming involved, please contact us.
The Community of Practice is committed to re-establishing a milk bank in Nova Scotia that would provide human breast milk to preterm infants as well as other infants in the Atlantic Provinces. The AMBC is currently made up of a Board:
Kathryn Hayward: President
Nancy Harmon: Vice President
Kyly Whitfield: Secretary
Dianna Rievaj: Member at large
One position vacant: Currently accepting nominations
If you are interested in learning more or becoming involved, please contact us.
Breastfeeding Support Community Helping Tree
The Breastfeeding Support Helping Tree is a list of resources in the community that are available to breastfeeding women and their families.
The Community of Practice is committed to updating the Helping Tree on a regular basis. Please get in touch if you know of a resource that's not included or should be updated. The coordinator for this item is Grace McCreight.
View The Helping Tree.
The Community of Practice is committed to updating the Helping Tree on a regular basis. Please get in touch if you know of a resource that's not included or should be updated. The coordinator for this item is Grace McCreight.
View The Helping Tree.
World Breastfeeding Week
More than 170 countries take part in World Breastfeeding Week. In Canada, we celebrate the event each year during the first week of October. World Breastfeeding Week raises awareness about the importance of breastfeeding to improve the health of babies around the world.
This year we hosted a World Breastfeeding Week Family Fair at the IWK. It was a great success! We had a variety of Community booths showcasing how they promote, protect and support breastfeeding. We had live entertainment and face painting thanks to "A Pig's Jig". Food, prizes, and lots of fun activities for kids! Check out our slide show and Quintessence Challenge results under News and Events. Thanks to all the volunteers! Contact us if you want to get involved next year!
This year we hosted a World Breastfeeding Week Family Fair at the IWK. It was a great success! We had a variety of Community booths showcasing how they promote, protect and support breastfeeding. We had live entertainment and face painting thanks to "A Pig's Jig". Food, prizes, and lots of fun activities for kids! Check out our slide show and Quintessence Challenge results under News and Events. Thanks to all the volunteers! Contact us if you want to get involved next year!
