2009 WORLD BREASTFEEDING MONTH CELEBRATION “THINK EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS”

    Each year, over 120 countries celebrate World Breastfeeding Week the first week of August. The WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Program of the Palm Beach County Health Department celebrates World Breastfeeding Month during the entire month of August.

    This year’s theme focuses on BREASTFEEDING: A VITAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE. As the hurricane season approaches, breastfeeding can be a lifesaver. Infants are the most vulnerable in an emergency. There may be no clean drinking water and no cleaning and sanitization of feeding utensils. Breastfeeding mothers give their infants a clean, safe, sustainable food and water supply and actively protect their infants from infections..

    The American Academy of Pediatrics supports the following facts:

(1) With appropriate support and guidance, stress does not cause breast
milk to dry up.
(2) Malnourished women can breastfeed.
(3) Optimal human milk supply is maintained by infant demand.
(4) For some mothers and babies, once breastfeeding has stopped, it may
be resumed successfully with appropriate help.

    Support for breastfeeding mothers is always important, but especially during a disaster. Below are websites for national, state and local breastfeeding references.

www.pbcbreastfeeding.org www.lalecheleague.org www.flbreastfeeding.org

www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org -View the UNICEF YouTube messages on breastfeeding during disasters
 

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Palm Beach County:
Florenzia Davis, PhD,MS,RD,LD/N
Senior Public Health Nutritionist

(561) 671-4000 x 4048