World Breastfeeding Week 2007 Promotes "Welcome Baby Softly" Aug. 1-7

Hospitals, lactation consultants, and breastfeeding advocates across the country are rolling out activities to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7. This year's theme is "Welcome Baby Softly" and advocates breastfeeding within the first hour after birth.

One of the primary purposes of World Breastfeeding Week, an effort sponsored by the World Health Organization, is educating women and the greater society of the nutritional and health advantages of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding advocates assert that nearly all women can breastfeed if they are given consistent and accurate information, and supported in a breastfeeding-friendly environment by healthcare practitioners, family, and the community. This year's theme highlights the importance of protecting breastfeeding, particularly during the immediate hour after a baby is born.

According to a press release by the International Lactation Consultants Association (ILCA), "breastfeeding in the first hour after birth has been linked to positive health outcomes, including immediate protection from bacteria and viruses the baby is exposed to, less risk of jaundice, and improved milk production and less blood loss in the mother." Breastfeeding greatly reduces infant mortality rates. A 2006 Pediatrics study found that 41 percent of infants worldwide who die at 2-28 days old might have been saved by the simple intervention of breastfeeding in the first hour.

At individual hospitals, lactation consultants work directly with both mothers and the nursing staff. Kathleen Mason, RNC, IBCLC, is the lactation consultant at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, CT. During World Breastfeeding Week Mason hosts a presentation and then a breastfeeding walk around the hospital to promote greater breastfeeding awareness.

"It's a wonderful and powerful site to see a group of women breastfeeding their babies and walking around to show the community how beautiful they all are," Mason said.

One of the purposes of World Breastfeeding Week is to act as a catalyst for discussion about and greater understanding of breastfeeding. "Welcome Baby Softly" promotes the idea that an early supportive environment greatly increases the odds of a successful breastfeeding experience for mothers and babies. The ILCA encourages hospitals to delay routine medical procedures until after the first hour or two, and to help mothers and fathers enjoy this important time together and for the baby to breastfeed.

"I see education [of staff] as a big piece of my job," Mason said. "I have the support of the administration in promoting and supporting breastfeeding and the nursing staff has come on board a little bit better. Not all nurses are supportive of or even understand the importance of breastfeeding because it may initially make their job more challenging. But most really want to help and ask how they can."

Beyond benefits to the baby, breastfeeding also protects maternal health by helping women to lose weight after giving birth, which is increasingly important in the context of the global obesity epidemic. It also helps reduce the risk of breast cancer, replenishes maternal iron stores, and promotes early mother-child bonding. Efforts of World Breastfeeding Week seek to create a dialogue of how women can be successful at breastfeeding.

For more information about World Breastfeeding Week, and activities at locations across the country, go to www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org.

Source:

World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action

International Lactation Consultants Association