Family Place recently held another fun Breastfeeding Challenge and Celebration event. The local business community played a huge part in making this a successful celebration for breastfeeding mothers with their generous contributions of food and beverages as well as gift certificates and gifts; every mother "won" a door prize and every child "won" because they were breastfed.
Dr Verity Livingstone, Medical Director for Vancouver Breastfeeding Centre, was a very welcome guest who spoke about continued support for breastfeeding mothers so they can meet their breastfeeding goals. She explained the benefits of breastfeeding, one of which is promoting optimal brain development, and the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months followed by the recommendation of breastfeeding in combination with other foods until two years of age.
A lot has changed in recent years and now almost 90 percent of mothers are breastfeeding; however, many mothers stop breastfeeding by the time their infant is one month old. The 2012 Canadian statistics show that less than 30 percent of mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their infants to six months.
As a result of these statistics, Dr Livingstone pointed out that Health Canada's focus has recently changed from promoting breastfeeding to new mothers to providing education and support to pregnant mothers so they can prepare and be successful in meeting their breastfeeding goals. In addition, peer support is being promoted as one of the ways to help mothers sustain breastfeeding till they reach their individual goal.
After researching the benefits of breastfeeding peer support, a Family Place committee is exploring peer support options for pregnant and new mothers and would be interested in connecting with anyone who has expertise or experience working with breastfeeding mothers. Please contact Tracy McLachlan at 604-947-2717 or [email protected]
