The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) Committee in Flin Flon, with the support of Northern Health Region, is working towards Baby Friendly Community designation. The BFI committee joined the Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge in celebration of the Breastfeeding Week to promote breastfeeding in our community. The event was held on Oct. 5 at the Flin Flon Public Library. We also have an ongoing breastfeeding support group in our community that meets at the Ruth Betts Community School Family Room, every third Friday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon. We would also like to take this opportunity to invite individuals who are interested in supporting women to breastfeed or are interested in making Flin Flon a healthier and greener community, to join us in this endeavor. Please phone Joanna Ledoux / Loida Agpalza at Flin Flon Primary Health Care Centre (204-687-1350) for more information about the BFI Committee. **** Each year World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated globally _ in Canada during the first week of October. Each year the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) chooses a new theme for World Breastfeeding Week. The theme for this year was Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers _ the key to best breastfeeding practices is continued day-to-day support for the breastfeeding mother within her home and community. Why breastfeed? Even in modern conditions, breastfeeding is protective against: a number of infant and childhood illnesses and infections with the incidence among formula fed infants two to five times higher for gastrointestinal and respiratory illness, ear and urinary tract infections, eczema, and necrotizing enterocolitis; and Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, lymphoma, allergic disease, chronic digestive illness and juvenile diabetes. Breastfeeding promotes normal bonding, attachment, brain development, IQ, vision / central nervous system development, jaw and facial development NOT breastfeeding may increase the risk: for mothers of postpartum hemorrhage, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis and endometrial cancer; and for babies of sepsis, pneumonia, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and multiple sclerosis, dental caries; Breastfeeding helps communities: Ecological: reduces the amount of garbage and helps communities to truly 'go green.' Economic: o each breastfeeding baby saves approximately $1,000 / year or more for the family budget. A recent American study indicated that improvement of U.S. breastfeeding rates could save over $13 billion dollars in health care costs. ÊVaccination: breastfeeding provides the first 'vaccination.' Mothers' health: decreased risk of uterine and breast cancer, osteoporosis, decreased insulin needs in diabetic mothers, increased postpartum weight loss. The designation of health care facilities _ both hospital and community _ as 'Baby-Friendly' is a strong step towards better care and support for all mothers. To ensure families make informed choices about infant feeding, WHO / UNICEF launched a Baby-Friendly program in 1991. This program encourages hospital and community facilities to promote, protect and support breastfeeding by providing evidence based care. The Baby-Friendly Initiative also encourages facilities to provide evidence based care and accurate information to formula feeding families. Is your hospital / community facility designated baby-friendly? IF not, why not? More information at www. breastfeedingcanada. ca. See 'Inform...' on pg. Continued from pg. Evidence and experience is clear. The most important ways to support mothers to reach their breastfeeding goals rely on three things: information before babies arrive, care received in the hours after birth and support in the community. Before and during pregnancy is a great time to get information about attitudes and beliefs that undermine breastfeeding. Dispelling old ideas about what to expect from babies, the reality of coping with nighttime parenting and how to organize and inform your support team (family and friends) have more effect that trying to learn the 'technique' of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is '90 per cent attitude and 10 per cent technique.' Baby-Friendly facilities are embracing concepts such as mother baby togetherness and skin-to-skin care. Mothers and babies form an inseparable biological and social unit ( World health organization WHO 2003) they need to be close together and to learn about each other to make breastfeeding happen. Skin-to-skin care in liberal doses facilitates babies' recovery from birth immediately opening them to establishing this relationship with their mothers. In the community, peer support _ the opportunity to support what mothers learn from their babies with what they can learn from other mothers _ has been found to be one of the most effective ways of helping mothers and babies maintain this close relationship. Additionally, health care providers supportive and informed care and provision of information about breastfeeding round out the key elements of the Baby-Friendly Initiative. Every hospital and community health facility should be designated Baby-Friendly and if not, should be actively working towards such designation. Ask your local hospital and your community health care facilities if they are designated Baby-Friendly and, if not, what are they doing to achieve this goal. Your support and encouragement can make a big difference not only for your family's care but for others in your community. Baby-Friendly care is evidenced-based care _ care that helps mothers to succeed with breastfeeding. Check out the Quintessence Foundation website at www.babyfriendly.ca for more information.
