Flin Flon mothers joined their peers from across Canada on Oct. 4 to celebrate and raise awareness for the benefits of breastfeeding.
Seven moms gathered in the Ruth Betts Community School family room Oct. 4th to celebrate the annual Quintessence Foundation Breastfeeding Challenge. The challenge, established in 2001 in B.C., has mothers across North America “latch on” at a predetermined time.
Only 856 children and mothers participated in the first challenge. In 2018, over 2,500 children participated.
“When the Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge was first undertaken in 2001, we did not realize that 18 years later public breastfeeding would still present a major challenge for many women,” the Quintessence website reads.
“In recognition of this fact, we have kept the original title of the event. We have received some feedback stating that some women find breastfeeding easy and therefore don’t relate to this title. Whereas this is true for some, our breastfeeding statistics clearly indicate that mothers are not achieving their own breastfeeding goals and that society still makes it challenging to breastfeed.”
Flin Flon was one of only three sites in Manitoba to participate in the challenge, but 124 other sites across Canada also took part.
A breastfeeding support group runs every first and third Friday of the month at the Ruth Betts family room from 10:30 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact Loida Agpalza at (204) 681-3133 or visit the Public Health Office.
