LAC/NMBTF News:

During World Breastfeeding Week, Aug. 1-7, the Los Alamos Chapter of the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force will join the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) and breastfeeding advocates in more than 175 countries worldwide in celebrating the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) theme ‘BREASTFEEDING: A Winning Goal – for Life!’  

The Los Alamos Daily Post will run a series of stories highlighting not only breastfeeding, but the breastfeeding support available in our community. The Task Force, in conjunction with Los Alamos Medical Center, plans to close out WBW at the Summer Concert Series Aug. 8 at Ashley Pond Park. 

“… Exclusive breastfeeding and adequate appropriate complementary feeding are key interventions for improving child survival, potentially reducing deaths among children under five by about 20 percent. Early and exclusive breastfeeding improves newborn care and reduces neonatal mortality, which contributes to the majority of infant deaths. Breastfeeding has been shown repeatedly to be the single most effective way to prevent infant death; it plays a major role in children’s health and development, and significantly benefits the health of mothers,” notes WABA Chairperson, Dr. Felicity Savage.

Twenty two years ago, WABA launched the World Breastfeeding  Week campaign to focus and facilitate actions to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Since then, each year, WBW has put the spotlight on various breastfeeding issues by not only coordinating the campaign but also producing a wealth of materials for people to use to take action. 

For more information on WABA and World Breastfeeding Week, click here.