Aug. 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week and marks the beginning of Breastfeeding Awareness Month in Michigan. This year's theme is "Mother Support: Going for the Gold" in conjunction with the Olympic Games in August.

Mothers, like Olympic athletes, need the support of family, friends and their communities in order to be successful in breastfeeding. Both athletes and breastfeeding mothers face challenges. For a breastfeeding mother, these challenges include dealing with misinformation, continuing to breastfeed while working outside the home, coping in emergency situations and most importantly, overcoming doubts about her ability to breastfeed her baby. Belief in oneself is a key component for success for both athletes and mothers.
 

In addition to its economic benefits, breastfeeding has many important long-term health benefits, such as decreased risk of chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, obesity etc. to both the mother and the baby.  “The Healthy People 2010 goal is for 75% of mothers to breastfeed in the early postpartum period and for 50% of mothers to continue breastfeeding for at least 6 months. In 2007, 64.53 % of Washtenaw County WIC women initiated breastfeeding and only 25% continued to breastfeed at 6 months”.

In an effort to promote greater awareness, Governor Granholm has proclaimed August 2008 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month in Michigan. The Washtenaw County WIC Program will be celebrating breastfeeding awareness month on 08/15/2008 with an ice-cream social at Washtenaw County Health & Human Services Building, room 107 on 555 Towner St, Ypsilanti, MI 48197 from 1:30 pm-3:30 pm. Expectant moms, dads, grandparents and other special support persons are invited to attend the ice-cream social. There will be lots of door prizes while learning how to care for mom and new baby.

The Washtenaw County Breastfeeding Coalition (WCBC) was founded to make health care professionals and the public more aware of the benefits of breastfeeding, the risks of artificial feeding, and the importance of supporting breastfeeding families in our community.  Since one of the major perceived obstacles to breastfeeding is working outside the home, we have paid special attention to the needs and challenges of these women.  As part of the global campaign to generate public awareness and support for breastfeeding, WCBC plans to recognize local employers and businesses for supporting their breastfeeding employees. 

In April we launched the 2008 Washtenaw County Breastfeeding-Friendly Employer Awards Project and have received nominations from employed breastfeeding mothers in our community. On August 15th from 9:00 am-11:00 am, at 555 Towner St. in room 107 at the Washtenaw County Health & Human Services building, we plan to announce and publically honor those companies that provide breastfeeding space, time, and/or resources to their breastfeeding employees. 

Encouraging mothers to breastfeed their infants and encouraging the community to support breastfeeding are important steps to health promotion in Washtenaw County. The benefits for the County include not only a healthier population, but also a significant reduction in health care costs now and in the future.