Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » WBW 2009

Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life Theme

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:44:43 +0000

The August Carnival of Breastfeeding coincides with World Breastfeeding Week the first week in August. Do you have thoughts on La Leche League’s World Breastfeeding Week theme: “Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life”? Perhaps breastfeeding helped you in the wake of Hurricane Katrina or another natural disaster. Maybe nursing helped you cope with a medical crisis? Did breastfeeding allow you and your child to undertake a trip you might not have otherwise? Please email me your post on “Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life” by July 27, 2009, for consideration for the blog carnival on August 3, 2009.

As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival:

– A well-written, grammatically correct post
– Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject
– Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to edit your post to link back to each of the other participants in the carnival.

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La Leche League Charity Auction

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:20:51 +0000

Want to get a good deal and benefit a charity in the process? Bid on the items in LLL USA’s charity auction running now through July 15, 2009.

The money raised will help fund World Breastfeeding Week Celebration Grants to support the important work La Leche League Leaders do in the United States. So visit the “LLL USA page” on eBay. LLL USA reports that some items to be auctioned throughout the next several days include an Ergo baby carrier, a Glamourmom ® Nursing Bra Tank, and an assortment of historical transcripts from early LLLI conferences. Be sure to check back often and get your bids in!

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World Breastfeeding Week Banners

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:32:26 +0000

If you support breastfeeding and have a blog or website, you can place a World Breastfeeding Week 2009 banner from LLL USA on your site! There are several banners available. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every August 1 – 7 with many breastfeeding awareness events and fundraisers around the world. Even if you cannot organize or attend an event, you can do your part with a free banner ad!

Simply right click on the image, “save image as” to your computer, upload it to your site and link it to the World Breastfeeding Week page at LLL USA.

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WABA 2009 Breastfeeding Photo Contest

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:18:15 +0000

Once again the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is running a breastfeeding photography contest for World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). The WABA WBW theme for 2009 is “Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response. Are you ready?”

Entries are due March 24, 2009 by submitting this entry form (Word document) to WABA. Ten lucky winners will receive $100 each and have their winning photos featured in the WBW materials distributed to 120 countries! Good luck!

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LLL USA World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations 2009 Theme

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:19:58 +0000

Inspired by the WABA theme of “Breastfeeding: a Vital Emergency Response. Are you ready?” the LLL USA 2009 World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations (WBWC) theme is “Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life.” That theme not only allows for the discussion of the importance of breastfeeding in an emergency, it also allows for discussion of how breastfeeding lays the foundation for life. Some ways in which breastfeeding prepares children for life include immune protection, reaching IQ potential, and the reduction in frequency and severity of illnesses.

Your thoughts?

What does the theme “Breastfeeding: Prepared for Life” bring to mind for you? Have you begun planning for WBW 2009? What are your ideas for an event? (Stumped? Check out these Ideas for Successful World Breastfeeding Week Fundraisers and Events.)

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Heads-Up on the World Breastfeeding Week 2009 Theme

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:46:53 +0000

The theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2009 is “Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response. Are you ready?” What a timely and important theme in light of recent hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes.

Unfortunately breastfeeding in emergencies applies not only to natural disasters but to acts of war, as demonstrated by this quote from the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA):

If you are concerned for the health and well-being of children in Gaza, “Do not send donations of infant formula, bottles or milk products to Gaza”, say top emergency nutritionists. A leading group of nutrition experts, including the World Health Organization, UN Children’s Fund and NGOs, in a media brief published in English, Arabic and Spanish, state that the “indiscriminate use of infant formula in an emergency is extremely dangerous to babies, causing illness and death” According to the Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emegergies (IFE Core Group), “there is no need to send for donations of infant formula, powdered milk or baby bottles to be sent to the site of an emergency.” – Reuters AlertNet – London, England, UK

Why is it so dangerous to send infant formula in emergency relief supplies? A guide for Protecting Infants in Emergencies explains:

Babies have specific nutritional needs and are born with an undeveloped immune system. For infants who are breastfed, breastmilk provides both food and immune support, which protects them from the worst of emergency conditions. However, the situation is very different for babies who are not breastfed. In an emergency, food supplies are disrupted, there may be no clean water with which to make up infant formula or to clean feeding implements and the health care system is stretched past breaking point. This means that babies who are not breastfed are vulnerable to infection and to developing diarrhoea. Babies with diarrhoea easily become malnourished and dehydrated and so are at real risk of death.

The guide gives an example of just how deadly infant formula can be in an emergency. One study found that of the over 500 infant deaths associated with flooding in Botswana in 2005 and 2006, nearly all of the babies who died were formula fed, and the risk of hospitalization was 50 times greater for infants who were not breastfed compared to infants who were breastfed.

For more information, visit the Emergency Nutrition Network. And start your planning for World Breastfeeding Week 2009 this coming August 1-7!

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