Black Mothers'​ Breastfeeding Association’s Post

Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week 2024! Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. It provides infants with the essential nutrients they need for healthy growth and development, and it helps protect them from common childhood illnesses. Beyond the immediate benefits, breastfeeding also promotes long-term health, reducing the risk of chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes later in life. This year's theme, "Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents," highlights the importance of creating supportive environments for breastfeeding mothers, especially in the workplace. By ensuring access to breastfeeding-friendly spaces and policies, we can empower working mothers to continue breastfeeding, balancing their professional and personal lives. Let’s work together to normalize breastfeeding, support mothers everywhere, and create communities where every child has the opportunity to thrive. #WorldBreastfeedingWeek #Breastfeeding #MaternalHealth #ChildHealth #SupportMothers #WorkplaceWellness #improvingoverallhealth

Today through August 7th is World Breastfeeding Week! This week became official in 1992, with the intention of increasing public awareness and support for breastfeeding. This year, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action has created a campaign called "Closing the Gap", which aims to increase access to breastfeeding support and reduce inequalities that exist in our society. A few key messages include: 1) Support for women to breastfeed anytime, anywhere, so that it is normalized 2) Effective maternity entitlements that do not force women to choose between their families and their work 3) Trained health professionals who can provide helpful, respectful breastfeeding support 4) An end to exploitative baby-milk promotions You can read more about the importance of this campaign here: worldbreastfeedingweek.org Sources: WHO, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action #WorldBreastfeedingWeek #NormalizeBreastfeeding

🌟 Celebrating Breastfeeding Week! 🌟 I'm excited to share this video where I discuss the importance of breastfeeding and introduce our upcoming series dedicated to this crucial topic. As a healthcare professional, my goal is to provide valuable insights, support, and encouragement to breastfeeding mothers. Stay tuned for more informative videos where we'll delve into the benefits, challenges, and tips for successful breastfeeding. Let's work together to promote and support the health and well-being of mothers and their babies. #BreastfeedingWeek #Healthcare #BreastfeedingSupport #Motherhood #ChildHealth #DoctorAdvice #ParentingTips #BreastfeedingAwareness #HealthyBabies #ProfessionalInsights #BreastfeedingSeries #NewMoms #MedicalProfessionals

The US exclusive breastfeeding rate at 3 months did not improve between 2014 and 2021. The US average in 2021 was 46.5%. In 2019 (last year for state-by-state data), Colorado's exclusive breastfeeding rate at 3 months was 62.8%, and West Virginia's was 28%. Clearly, the US average has reached a plateau, but we can improve. What is holding us back from making progress with exclusive breastfeeding? Could it be...... Lack of a national paid maternity leave policy Inadequate workplace support Aggressive formula marketing - not signing the WHO Code Stubborn social norms Lack of excellent breastfeeding education/preparation Providers who are not prepared to support lactation Lack of access to excellent healthcare Socioeconomic and cultural barriers These are legitimate barriers to breastfeeding, and they prevent people from reaching their infant feeding goals. However, these are just a few of the factors that prevent people from reaching their goals. In Protecting Your Potential for Breastfeeding by Kelly M. Durbin, IBCLC, you can read about 70+ obstacles that interfere with breastfeeding. #breastfeedingsupport #lactationsupport #lactationinterference #barrierstobreastfeeding #protectbreastfeeding #exclusivebreastfeeding #breastfeedinggoals #worldbreastfeedingweek2024 #wbw2024

Are we meeting our obligations as IBCLCs when we spend our social media time in heated conversations or posting about rare clinical problems? Social media is consumed in brief soundbites that are repeated frequently thanks to the algorithm, and when we post incomplete explanations of things having to do with breastfeeding or lactation, we are not meeting our obligation to inform the public about breastfeeding. We have a responsibility to help the general public see and comprehend the bigger picture of how breastfeeding and lactation fit into human development. It’s within our training and expertise to do so, and it’s part of our scope of practice. Interested in reading more from my latest Substack post, "The Incomplete Picture of Breastfeeding?" The link is in the comments below. I'd love to know what you think. #IBCLC #lactation #clinical #breastfeeding #scopeofpractice

Every breastfeeding journey matters! Breastfeeding is natural and beautiful yet comes with its own set of challenges. To make the breastfeeding journey enjoyable for lactating mothers, we support them through our mHealth interventions. We provide critical preventive care information via voice calls to pregnant women and mothers directly to their phones, as part of which we guide lactating mothers about the right breastfeeding techniques. We also provide telephonic counselling and support catering to specific needs of the mother and child, and train health workers to further guide these women on the best maternal and child health practices. #WorldBreastfeedingWeek #TogetherForMoms #breastfeeding #breastfeed #worldbreastfeedingweek2024 #mother #mothersmilk #supportbreasfeeding

It is crucial that all Saint Lucian women who are breastfeeding or pregnant and planning to breastfeed receive the support they need. Expecting nurses in the hospital setting to provide all the necessary support for a successful breastfeeding journey is unrealistic. More than 5 minutes at the bedside is required for a successful and long-term breastfeeding experience. #BreastfeedingSupport #MaternalHealth #SaintLuciaWomen

Breastfeeding counseling makes a big difference. ☑ Studies show it helps mothers exclusively breastfeed for at least six months. Counselors provide essential support, teach valuable skills, and offer practical advice. For example, they can guide working moms on maintaining milk supply. Breastfeeding counseling is also incredibly cost-effective. The World Health Organization recommends it for all women starting during pregnancy up until the child is two years or older. Women need and deserve support to reach their breastfeeding goals, and scaling breastfeeding counseling is one of the critical pathways to achieve this. #WBW2024 #WorldBreastfeedingWeek2024

REPOST: Have you breastfed a baby in the last five years? The Global Breastfeeding Collective wants to hear your story. Use your phone and our easy-to-use platform to record a short (30 seconds or less) video sharing what helped you get breastfeeding off to a great start, and what didn’t help. Record a video to answer one or all of the questions provided: * At the facility where you gave birth, what helped (or did not help) with breastfeeding? * How did your maternity leave help (or not help) with breastfeeding? * How did formula advertising or free samples affect your breastfeeding? Get more info and instructions for sharing your video at : https://lnkd.in/e4FJ4rxi... #breastfeeding #chestfeeding #infantfeeding #breastfeedingstories #breastfeedingsupport #GlobalBreastfeedingCollective #UNICEF #WHO

SUPPORT FOR MOTHERS IS ESSENTIAL Breastfeeding has to be learned and many women encounter difficulties at the beginning. Many routine practices, such as separation of mother and baby, use of newborn nurseries, and supplementation with infant formula, actually make it harder for mothers and babies to breastfeed. Health facilities that support breastfeeding by avoiding these practices and making trained breastfeeding counsellors available to new mothers encourage higher rates of the practice. To provide this support and improve care for mothers and newborns, most countries have implemented the WHO-UNICEF Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, which sets standards for quality care. #WBW2024 #TogetherForMoms #closingthegap #worldbreastfeedingweek #BreastfeedingAwareness #supportbreastfeedingmoms