[By Stephanie Avienu, BS, IBCLC, Breastfeeding Specialist, St. Peter’s Health Partners Community Health Programs.]
Every year, from August 1 through 7, we celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, a time to focus on the promotion of the health and wellness benefits of human milk feeding for lactating parents and their infants.
Each year has a different focus for advocacy and awareness. This year’s theme is “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.” According to https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/, #WBW2024 will focus on survival, health, and well-being. It will showcase the need to improve breastfeeding support to reduce inequalities that exist in our society, with a special focus on breastfeeding in times of emergencies and crises.
This theme aligns closely with the goals we hold at St. Peter’s Health Partners through the Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding and Lactation Friendly NY grant, which seeks to improve the health of communities by reducing ethic and racial disparities through increasing breastfeeding support and awareness in communities in need.
Breastfeeding has many well-documented benefits for both infants and the breastfeeding parent. Breastfeeding infants have a reduced risk of diabetes, childhood obesity, asthma, and gastrointestinal illness. For the breastfeeding parent, there is a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and ovarian cancer.
Most of these benefits are “dose-related,” meaning the longer you breastfeed exclusively, the greater the benefits. However, worldwide, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is only 48%, and in the U.S. it falls around 25%. Public health professionals are aiming to increase these numbers through expanding access to both professional and peer support.
Our Baby Cafés located throughout the Capital Region are supported by our Community Health Programs. They offer opportunities for parents to access free, professional lactation care, while building relationships with other chestfeeding parents.
We offer weekly groups in Troy at Samaritan Hospital – St. Mary’s Campus on Wednesdays from 12 to 2 p.m., and in Albany at The Collaboratory (located in the Albany Housing Authority Resource Center at 200 South Pearl Street) on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Additionally, we have Baby Cafés in Petersburgh, Mechanicville, Schenectady, and a “pop-up” location in Stephentown. There is no pre-registration required and we welcome families at every stage of their breastfeeding journey, including prenatally. To learn more about the hours and locations of all of our Baby Cafés, visit https://healthprograms.org/breastfeeding-support/baby-cafes/.
This year, for World Breastfeeding Week, we are hosting and participating in a variety of events to celebrate and advocate for the many families who are working hard to give their children the best possible start in life, as well as continuing to provide the public with education on the benefits of breastfeeding and the risks associated with premature weaning. To learn more about these events, breastfeeding in general, and other community wellness programs we sponsor, please visit www.healthprograms.org.
We encourage you to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @CapitalRegionBabyCafes for the latest updates. Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
