Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Perth District Health Unit
Breastfeeding Campaign Features Local Women
Perth County – World Breastfeeding Week was the first week of October, and the Health Unit is launching a new multimedia campaign to promote breastfeeding in our community.
The campaign features five women from Perth County who breastfeed their babies: Aleesha, Brittany, Jessica, Jocelyn and Laura. The women’s pictures, videos and stories will be featured on posters, life-size cutouts, online at:
People are invited to like and share the photos to support and encourage other moms in Perth County. In the coming weeks, moms will be invited to post their own breastfeeding photos.
“Our goal is to support women in Perth County who are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed,” explains Heather Kane, Public Health Nurse. “By seeing and hearing from other women like themselves, we aim to provide encouragement, connect women with support early on, and help women feel comfortable to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.”
Breastfeeding in Perth County
The Health Unit collects infant feeding information from new mothers at hospital discharge, and then again at two days, two weeks, four months and 12 months.
In Perth County, 93% of women exclusively breastfeed their babies at birth. However, at 4 months, only 57% of the moms are exclusively breastfeeding.
Health Canada’s recommendation is for mothers to feed their babies only breast milk for the first 6 months. At 6 months, babies will show signs that they are ready for solid foods. It is important to watch for these cues, introduce solids when ready and continue to breastfeed for up to 2 years and beyond.
“There are various reasons moms give for why they stopped breastfeeding,” explains Kane with “not enough milk” being the most common reason. “Most women have more than enough milk for their babies, which is why we need to connect moms to each other and to professionals early on. This way they can receive the support they need in order to meet their breastfeeding goals.”
The campaign is a Kids First Huron-Perth initiative and is supported with funds from the Government of Ontario and the support of the Best Start Resource Centre at Health Nexus.
For more information:
- Call Health Line at 519-271-7600 ext 267 or toll-free at 1-877-271-7348 ext 267
- Visit www.i-breastfeed.ca
- Follow on Instagram @ibreastfeed and on Facebook /ibreastfeedperthcounty
Media Contact:
Rebecca Hill
Communications Manager
519-271-7600 ext 279
rhill@pdhu.on.ca
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