It's World Breastfeeding Week, and so far, many things have been happening.
According to Time, this annual event runs August 1 to 7 this year. It was started by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and was launched in 1992 by the global organizations to promote breastfeeding.
Each year, the event has a different theme. For 2015, it's "Breastfeeding and Work: Let's Make It Work!" This year's campaign is designed to help promote policies that will make it easier for women to work and breastfeed at the same time.
In its kickoff last Saturday, FOX Wicz TV reports that the Southern Tier Breastfeeding Coalition held their ninth annual walk to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week.
A count of more than 150 people came to Dickinson town to show their support. The local campaign encouraged employers to allow areas in their workplaces where their staff could pump.
"Women have been breastfeeding for years and years. It's just that here, particularly in the United States, we've moved away from that," said Public Health Educator at BC Health Department, Diane O'Hora. "And so we're really trying to move towards that again and in order for us to do that, women need support," she adds.
"It's not as easy as some people make it sound like, 'oh, you know you don't have to prepare bottles or wash bottles or anything like that," said Shelby Tennant, Resident of Susquehanna Valley, in the same report by FOX Wicz TV.
"Having a support system in place. If you have that support system in place before your baby is born you're setting yourself up in the right track," said Victoria Awbrey of the Central Illinois Breastfeeding Task Force, reports CiNewsNow.
The news outlet further states that one local organization in Illinois, the Central Illinois Breastfeeding Task Force, hosted a celebration that included representatives from local hospitals and businesses that sell baby products.
"The biggest thing is understanding how breastfeeding benefits the baby and also what we can do to support breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is challenging for women of all ages whether it's nursing a newborn or nursing a toddler," said Dr. Matt Spangler of Superior Healthcare to CiNewsNow.
Also, Time adds that thousands of mothers, in the campaign to raise breastfeeding awareness, will breastfeed together in public this Saturday, for one minute. Dubbed the "Big Latch On," this is an event that is part of the World Breastfeeding Week.
Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, a UN specialized agency stated on 8 March 2015 during the International Women's Day that "The future of work must also deal with the future of women at work." This year's breastfeeding week hopes to promote just that.
