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 …read more

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 …read more

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) has announced the 10 winners of its annual breastfeeding photo contest. This year the contest centered around the 2009 theme of “Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response. Are You Ready?”
The photos are fascinating but heart-wrenching in some cases, like the image of the woman who was a victim of domestic violence. Here I am grateful to be nursing my baby through a simple case of Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease, and there are women breastfeeding in relief camps, in war zones, in areas severely damaged by an earthquake. You can view all of …read more

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.

In conjunction with International Volunteer Day December 5, 2008, I challenge all Breastfeeding 1-2-3 readers and their breastfeeding advocate friends to choose a volunteer activity to support breastfeeding. Start thinking what you would like to do between now and December 5 to celebrate International Volunteer Day. I’ll remind you again over the coming months, and check in on December 5 to see how you decided to volunteer to support breastfeeding! I have come up with 20 ideas to get you started. Leave a comment with more ideas, or share a link to your own post on International Volunteer Day and …read more

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated from August 1 to August 7, 2008. If you are looking for a last minute way to mark the occasion and raise awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding, check out this helpful list of ten low cost or no cost ways to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, compliments of the Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington (State). Check out the coloring page or take the Marvelous Mammals Quiz.

INFACT Canada (the Infant Feeding Action Coalition) now offers a World Breastfeeding Week 2008 Kit for sale. For CDN $65.00, one kit contains: seven fact sheets, two mini-posters (2 of each poster), five “Breastfeeding Rights” pocket cards, WABA Action Folder 2008, sample press release, Baby-Friendly Checklist Pad, two “Cost of Formula” wheels, “Risks of Formula Feeding” brochure, Nestlé boycott information, and three “Mother-Baby Friendly Communities” stickers. The items are also for sale individually. Visit INFACT Canada for pictures, additional information, and order forms.
Free resources for World Breastfeeding Week include those offered by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and La …read more

This month the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) launches a “Virtual Torch Run” around the world, running from June to December 2008. The Virtual Torch Run will be marked by a torch on the world map for each World Breastfeeding Week event registered during that time. To mark your event, submit the simple pledge form to WABA. To view the map, click here. La Leche League (LLL) groups in the United States should also remember to register their events with LLL. Non-LLL groups can also register by filling out a form for other registrants.

If you have a blog or other website, there is an easy and fun way to support World Breastfeeding Week 2008. A whole page of banner ads can be found on the LLL in the USA site. I simply right-clicked on each ad, saved a copy to my computer, uploaded it to my site, and linked it to the LLL in the USA WBW 2008 home page. (Really, that’s the best explanation I can give. The banner ads page has a link to contact someone for help putting an ad on your own page).
Here are the available ads:

If you would …read more

La Leche League in the USA has opened up the 2008 LLL in the USA World Breastfeeding Week Celebrations site. It’s the place to go to register your event, find WBW forms, and take advantage of many fundraising and publicity ideas. The WBW kit is especially helpful.