Who will be latching with us on Friday?

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

If you are a nursing mama, join us at Nurture for the Big Latch On on Friday.

Please arrive at 10 am so that we can get everyone registered and settled for the big count!

We will have yummy treats, tea, and goodies for the children and mamas.

You don't have to be nursing to support breastfeeding! Breastfeeding is not always as easy as it might seem. Here are just a few ways that family and friends can support nursing mamas:

• Encourage health care providers & communities to support the 10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
• Play with siblings to allow mom and baby some quiet time to get comfortable breastfeeding
• Offer a pillow to help with good breastfeeding positioning & posture
• Offer a glass of water, breastfeeding makes moms thirsty!
• Offer a snack
• Offer resources, if needed, such as contact information for lactation consultants, local La Leche League groups, Kellymom.com, Nursing Mother's Counsel, MOBI, local milk banks
• Know the laws and breastfeeding rights and stand up for a breastfeeding mom being harassed in public
• Encourage your workplace to become a "Breastfeeding Mother Friendly Employer" (don't make them pump in the bathrooms, please!!!)

Celebrate Breastfeeding and Break the Record for the Most Women Breastfeeding Simultaneously!

Are you a nursing mama? Join us for Portland's Big Latch On, and help break the record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously!

All over Portland, OR nursing mamas will be celebrating breastfeeding and World Breastfeeding Week together as we have fun while making history. We will be putting Portland on the map as one of the world's most breastfeeding-supportive cities as we try to see how close Portland can get to the world record of the most women in one city breastfeeding at the same time. To add to the fun a bit, our first goal is to see if we can beat New Zealand's record of 1299 mamas breastfeeding at the same time. I think we can!

Nurture is one of the many registered venues; find one close to you and join in the fun! There will be refreshments, prize packages, and an opportunity to connect with other mamas. If you feel shy about breastfeeding in public, this will be a wonderful event to get out and give it a try with support all around! Melissa Cole of Luna Lactation will be at Nurture providing her warm encouragement and breastfeeding wisdom.

The Big Latch On is on Friday, August 6th, 2010

Please arrive at 10am so we can register and get settled before the big count down at 10:30am.

For more information about the Big Latch On: http://biglatchonpdx.weebly.com/

World Breastfeeding Week

Today is the first day of World Breastfeeding Week organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. This year's theme, Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response. Are you ready? focuses on the life-sustaining power of breastfeeding during emergencies. In the US, many organizations including the US Breastfeeding Committee, Le Leche League, National WIC Association, Lamaze International, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the International Lactation Consultant Association have joined in the efforts to provide information about breastfeeding and emergencies.