World Breastfeeding Week, October 1-7th 2013
Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated in Canada in the first week of October. It is an opportunity for groups worldwide to take specific actions that will raise public awareness about breastfeeding and reap support for it. It started in 1992, and has now grown to 170 countries worldwide participating.
The theme for this year's celebration is Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers. The World Health organization and Health Canada recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life, with continuation of breastfeeding once solid foods are introduced, for 2 years and beyond. Despite these recommendations, many women are not meeting their breastfeeding goals, all too often, stating they did not have the support to continue. In Nova Scotia, we have some of the lowest rates for breastfeeding in the country.
We want people to know that it is everyone's responsibility to support breastfeeding mothers and children. Support should include trained healthcare workers and lactation consultants, but should also include partners and other family members, peers, employers, business owners, and government officials.
For more information on World Breastfeeding Week, please visit www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org.
The theme for this year's celebration is Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers. The World Health organization and Health Canada recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life, with continuation of breastfeeding once solid foods are introduced, for 2 years and beyond. Despite these recommendations, many women are not meeting their breastfeeding goals, all too often, stating they did not have the support to continue. In Nova Scotia, we have some of the lowest rates for breastfeeding in the country.
We want people to know that it is everyone's responsibility to support breastfeeding mothers and children. Support should include trained healthcare workers and lactation consultants, but should also include partners and other family members, peers, employers, business owners, and government officials.
For more information on World Breastfeeding Week, please visit www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org.
|
On Oct 5th in Halifax, The Breastfeeding Community of Practice organized the World Breastfeeding Week Family Fair in partnership with the IWK Health Centre. This free event had entertainment, face painting, food, prizes and activities for adults and children of all ages. During this fair, we have the yearly Quintessence Challenge in which breastfeeding mothers are invited to "latch-on" to help us reach our goal of having the most children breastfeeding at the same time. This year we had the most we have ever had with 95 mothers and 96 babies/children latched at the same time!
|
|
World Breastfeeding Week Promotion
Each year during World Breastfeeding Week the Breastfeeding Community of Practice organizes an annual Breastfeeding Family Fun Fair to help facilitate a shift toward a more breastfeeding friendly culture. This project partners the Breastfeeding CP with Dalhousie University and Mount Saint Vincent University to deliver an interprofessional health education program to interested students. Utilizing an interprofessional focus, students will become aware of the importance of all health professions working together to help create a positive supportive breastfeeding environment.
Using a population health model, students from nursing, nutrition, and health promotion meet weekly for five weeks to develop an interactive display that promotes breastfeeding, world breastfeeding week, and the Breastfeeding Family Fun Fair. One week prior to the fair students bring their presentations to various farmers’ markets/stores in the area and interacted with the public to provide breastfeeding education.
Using a population health model, students from nursing, nutrition, and health promotion meet weekly for five weeks to develop an interactive display that promotes breastfeeding, world breastfeeding week, and the Breastfeeding Family Fun Fair. One week prior to the fair students bring their presentations to various farmers’ markets/stores in the area and interacted with the public to provide breastfeeding education.
