This week, August 1-7, is World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). WBW has been celebrated the first week of August every year since 1992 to commemorate the 1990 Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding.1 Beyond celebrations, WBW is a week dedicated to increasing awareness about and advocacy for the protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)2 coordinates this global event and through this year’s theme – Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet – works to inform “…about the link between breastfeeding and the environment/climate change”; anchor “breastfeeding as a climate-smart decision”; engage “…individuals and organizations for greater impact”; and galvanize “…action on improving the health of the planet and people through breastfeeding.”3 Learn more about WABA and find resources to support your efforts to inform, anchor, engage, and galvanize your community around breastfeeding.2
Learn more about WABA and find resources to support your efforts to inform, anchor, engage, and galvanize your community around breastfeeding.2
In 2011, the US Breastfeeding Committee proclaimed4 August as National Breastfeeding Month (NBM) in the US. This year’s theme, Many Voices United, reminds us that “…now, more than ever, we must come together to identify and implement the policy and systems changes that are needed to ensure that every family that chooses breastfeeding has the support and resources they need to succeed.”5 NBM 2020 underscores the racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding initiation and duration that continue in the US due to unequal access to policies and practices that support breastfeeding.
NBM 2020 underscores the racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding initiation and duration that continue in the US due to unequal access to policies and practices that support breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities can play an important role in building breastfeeding family friendly environments by advocating for breastfeeding supportive policies and practices to ensure that ALL families who choose to breastfeed are able to meet their breastfeeding goals. We are called to inform, anchor, engage, and galvanize2 our communities to become Breastfeeding Family Friendly!
1UNICEF. Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding. August 1990. January 12, 2005.
2World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). World Breastfeeding Week. 2020.
3World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). World Breastfeeding Week 2020. Objectives of #WBW2020.
4United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC). National Breastfeeding Month Proclamation. August 6, 2011.
5United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC). National Breastfeeding Month 2020.