By Daleen Bybee
Whether it’s an official declaration of Breastfeeding Week, or international symbols of breastfeeding visible at local businesses, or comfy couches with an invitation to come have tea while you breastfeed your babe, East Kootenay is a great place to breastfeed.
This time of year we “kick-off” fall with a focus on celebrating breastfeeding and highlighting breastfeeding support in the area. In Canada we observe Breastfeeding Week from October 1-7 each year. This year the theme is: “Breastfeeding: Foundation of Life.”
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 – The Annual Breastfeeding Challenge will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the beautiful new Ground Flood Coworking Space on 7th Avenue South. We will celebrate with scrumptious treats, goodie bags for the first 50 moms, a plethora of locally donated door prizes and a babywearing fashion show.
Breastfeeding Mamas! Peer support groups are set up around the East Kootenay. Thank you to Columbia Basin Trust, Community Connections Society of SE BC and Over The Rainbow Family Services for making this project possible. Meetings are now happening in Cranbrook, Fernie, Kimberley, Invermere & Sparwood. Visit our facebook page to find out when meetings are in your city. We also have a new FB LIVE meeting once a month and 24/7 support available online. Facebook.com/breastfeedingmamas
Jump in and support breastfeeding with us. It is such an important aspect of life. Nearly 90 per cent of babies born in our area breastfeed at birth, however, by six months that number drops to around 25 per cent of babies who are exclusively breastfed. We can do better than that. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and then up to two years and beyond after introducing solid foods. Breastfeeding is the foundation for life. Breastfeeding ensures healthy communities and families that flourish. Breastfeeding moms and families need support to reach their breastfeeding goals. Let’s be an area of Canada that boasts about how supportive we are of breastfeeding.
Need support now?
Breastfeeding Mamas! (East Kootenays) – facebook.com/brestfeedingmamas
Over The Rainbow Family Services – Lactation Consultant – 250.426.0299 or OverTheRainbowFamily@gmail.com
Public Health Nurses – 250.420.2220 (Cranbrook), 250.427.2215 (Kimberley)
Online – La Leche League International – LLLI.org
Books – The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Dr. Jack Newman’s Guide to Breastfeeding
“If breastfeeding did not already exist, someone who invented it today would deserve a dual Nobel Prize in medicine and economics” ~ Keith Hansen, World Bank.
Contact Daleen Bybee for more information or breastfeeding support: 250.426.0299 (call or text)
