Breastmilk Feeding in Natural Disasters and Emergencies

*Newly-released by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including bilingual English/Spanish downloadable PDFs:  Hurricane Season Public Health Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Guidance for Health Care Providers, Response and Recovery Workers, and Affected Communities

World Health Organization: “Infant Feeding in Emergencies” Manual for emergency relief & medical staff

United States Breastfeeding Committee: “Statement On Infant/Young Child Feeding In Emergencies”  and Key Facts & Comprehensive Resource List

International Lactation Consultant Association: “Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies”

La Leche League International: “Resources for Breastfeeding During Emergencies”

American Academy of Pediatrics: “Infant Feeding in Disasters and Emergencies”

Breast Massage and Manual Expression Guides (video clips):

Breastfeeding Advocacy Toolkit

A new Breastfeeding and Lactation Advocacy Toolkit has been developed by BreastfeedLA, a local county breastfeeding coalition in California.

The toolkit can be downloaded here in English and Spanish.

The toolkit is a resource for breastfeeding advocates so that they can better serve breastfeeding and lactating parents and families. The toolkit can also be used to educate parents and families about their rights and how to advocate for themselves.

World Breastfeeding Week/National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action) is the sponsor of the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) campaign as part of its action plan to facilitate and strengthen social mobilization for breastfeeding. The WBW theme changes yearly to focus on a global unifying breastfeeding promotion message. Click here for a California WBW outreach toolkit.

To amplify the WBW campaign, the United States Breastfeeding Committee declares August as National Breastfeeding Month. In celebration of National Breastfeeding Month, USBC hosts a social media advocacy campaign inviting breastfeeding coalitions, member/partner organizations, and individual supporters to join a variety of online actions and conversations to raise awareness and advocate for the policy and practice changes breastfeeding families need. Click here to access the social media advocacy tools.

Starting a Community Breastfeeding Coalition

This link takes you to the Prevention Institute “Building Cross-Sector Collaboration” webpage. It has easy to read and implement tools to develop an effective coalition. There is also a useful paper on the “Tension of Turf”. It is an issue many coalitions face and are never sure how to handle this sensitive issue. The Prevention Institute tools will help you get started on building your community breastfeeding coalition.

United States Breastfeeding Committee

Stay connected to our national United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) for collective action! Since convening the first National Conference of State Breastfeeding Coalitions in 2006, the USBC has supported increased capacity and engagement of breastfeeding coalitions in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Indian Tribal Organizations. Click here for coalition resources.

Data and Statistics

This section contains state and local breastfeeding data and statistics. The data and statistics demonstrate breastfeeding trends and outcomes that can guide community decision making, define gaps, prioritize goals, plan interventions and monitor progress.

Resources

Handout for Dads – How to help pamphlet.