World Breastfeeding Week
I’ve wanted to write a post about breastfeeding for a while. Since it’s world breastfeeding week, I thought this would be a perfect time. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration that is held every year from Aust 1st to 7th. It is organized by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF. Their goal is to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life which yields many health benefits (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Breastfeeding_Week).
My Breastfeeding Experience
I am no longer a breastfeeding mother but I’m still passionate about promoting breastfeeding. I had a friend who was a breastfeeding advocate and encouraged me when I was newly pregnant. I probably would have given up breastfeeding if it wasn’t for her. Not many family members around me breastfed and many were quick to talk me out of it. Little did I know that I would breastfeed all three of my children into toddlerhood. I will always be proud of breastfeeding them and making it that far.
Weaning them was one of the most emotional moments in my life. I didn’t realize how strong our bond would become with breastfeeding. Being a breastfeeding mom was a part of my identity for so long. I was able to pass on the knowledge to some of my friends and help their breastfeeding journey. I always knew that I wanted to continue helping mothers breastfeed. I’ve researched up different ways veteran former breastfeeding mothers can help new breastfeeding mothers.
10 Ways Former Breastfeeding Moms Can Help us New Breastfeeding Mothers
- Become a La Leche League Leader ( https://www.llli.org/get-involved/)
- Become a WIC Peer Counselor (https://wicbreastfeeding.fns.usda.gov/become-wic-peer-counselor)
- Become a certified breastfeeding counselor- https://alpp.org/certifications/certifications-clc
- Become a lactation consultant https://iblce.org/
- Start a breastfeeding support group on Facebook
- Volunteer to help a new mom in your community
- Gift/ Donate The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, reccomend https://kellymom.com/, and breastfeeding support groups to an expecting mom
- Write a blog post or Instagram post with personal breastfeeding tips
- Make a video with your favorite breastfeeding advice
- Create a postpartum basket with your favorite nursing tank tops, accessories, balms, etc
There are so many ways to get involved in promoting breastfeeding as a former breastfeeding mom. I’m so thankful for the community of women who helped me during my early days of motherhood.
