So my title is a little bit melodramatic but I am happy to say that the New York City Department of Health and other various agencies in NYC (including the ones that administrates publicly funded hospitals and WIC) are actively promoting breastfeeding. In honor of World Breastfeeding week, New York City is abuzz with activity.
It all started yesterday when I was reading about a nurse-in that was going to take place on the New York City subway system. I had written previously how I wouldn’t participate in a nurse in because I think they are a largely ineffective way to promote change in policy. However, the purpose of the ‘breastfeeding caravan’ is to help moms feel more comfortable breastfeeding in public. I am considering going with my twins to further than goal and let people know it’s okay to breastfeed for at least two years if not longer. Then again, this is still the subway system we’re talking about and I still have toddling twins. But I’ll be there in spirit.
Then I got home and read about how the New York City department of health (the division that operates the publicly funded hospitals) has banned free formula in publicly funded hospitals. I am delighted by this for two reasons. It seems that they’ve backed their formula ban with parenting and breastfeeding support for the moms but secondly, the publicly funded hospitals reach those ‘poor and huddled’ masses. They reach those moms who are most likely to lack in parenting skills, most likely lacking in education, and least likely to breastfeed. By providing a comprehensive program that not only supports breastfeeding, but also general parenting skills they are really doing the community a service. The publicly funded hospitals are also most likely to service those cultures in which breastfeeding is taboo.
In honor of World Breastfeeding Week there are numerous activities and health fairs all over the world. You can check online to see if any are in your area.
Related Blogs:
Initiating Breastfeeding with the Breast Crawl
The Perks of Having Higher Order Multiples?