Everett family fair promotes breastfeeding
Published 10:53 pm Friday, August 1, 2008
An annual event to promote breastfeeding, including a “nurse-in” for moms and babies, is scheduled today at Forest Park in Everett.
The event is held each year to underscore the health benefits of breastfeeding for babies.
“It may seem like a fun, easygoing event, but we do it to celebrate breastfeeding, the relationship between mother and baby, and to promote breastfeeding as normal and natural,” said Marianne Ames, a leader of the Snohomish County Chapter of La Leche League.
The organization is sponsoring the event in collaboration with the Snohomish Health District’s Women, Infants and Children nutrition program, Pregnancy Aid and the Snohomish County Breastfeeding Coalition.
Activities include a resource fair with information on a variety of related topics, including pregnancy, child-rearing, parenting and postpartum depression, Ames said.
The “nurse-in,” with mothers breastfeeding their babies, will start at 10:30 a.m.
“Moms can nurse anywhere in public and it can be done discreetly,” she said.
It’s the first year the nurse-in has been held in Snohomish County, Ames said. Mothers will gather on the lawn.
The state Legislature passed a law in 2001 exempting breastfeeding from indecent exposure laws and encouraging employers to accommodate breastfeeding mothers.
In Washington, about 88 percent of mothers have breastfed their babies for some period of time, and just over half of mothers have breastfed their babies for six months, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At Providence Everett Medical Center, where about 4,000 babies are born each year, approximately 90 percent of mothers are breastfeeding when they leave the hospital, said Patty Freeburg, a manager for the hospital’s midwifery and lactation services.
The hospital has a clinic that’s open every day of the week on the hospital’s Pacific Campus to promote breastfeeding, answer questions and help mothers and babies with breastfeeding problems, she said.
Breastfeeding decreases an infant’s risk of ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia and bacterial and viral infections, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is also thought to help reduce childhood obesity, diabetes and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
La Leche League members volunteer as counselors on breastfeeding topics and sometimes ask professionals at local hospitals for help in getting answers for mothers, Ames said.
Even mothers who have chosen not to breastfeed are welcome at today’s event, she said. “It’s just a welcoming and accepting place for moms to relax.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
Forest Park breastfeeding celebration
The 11th annual Breastfeeding Celebration &Family Fun Day is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at Forest Park, 802 E. Mukilteo Blvd., Everett. The event is free.
For general information on breastfeeding, call the local La Leche League helpline at 425-303-0311 or check the Web site of La Leche League International at www.llli.org.
