Tag Archives: World Breastfeeding Week

DHEC Celebrates World Breastfeeding Week 2021 and National Breastfeeding Month

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This week marks World Breastfeeding Week. Celebrated across the globe from Aug. 1-7, 2021, the annual awareness week seeks to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. 

This year’s theme is “Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility.” It focuses on how protecting breastfeeding is a shared responsibility. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding emphasizes the need for a public health approach to breastfeeding to build better systems. 

DHEC’s Women Infant and Children (WIC) team encourage its participants to choose to breastfeed as their first option for feeding their babies. Breastfeeding has many benefits for both mother and child including:  

  • Breast milk naturally has all the nutrients and antibodies babies need to grow, develop, and prevent illnesses.   
  • Breastfeeding is convenient and a great timesaver. You can breastfeed almost anywhere and anytime your baby is hungry.  
  • Breastfeeding helps the uterus return to its normal size.  
  • Breastfeeding reduces health care costs because babies are healthier. 
  • Breast milk is always sterile, warm, and ready to serve. 

WIC is part of the Bureau of Community Nutrition Services.

We understand breastfeeding can be challenging for some mothers, especially in the early days. Lactation consultants can help you find ways to make breastfeeding work for you and your baby. Click here to learn more about tackling breastfeeding challenges.  

In addition to World Breastfeeding Week, August is also National Breastfeeding Month. To help celebrate World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month, our regions will be conducting activities. If you’re visiting one of our clinics, look for special activities. We’ll also be sharing pictures later this month showing some of the special events taking place throughout our state.  

According to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding, scaling up breastfeeding can prevent:  

  • 20,000 maternal deaths annually 
  • 823,000 child deaths annually 
  • $302B in economic losses annually  
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For more information about breastfeeding visit the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action’s website where you can also sign a pledge to participate in World Breastfeeding Week. Also, you can learn about how WIC can help with breastfeeding by visiting our WIC webpage. 

World Breastfeeding Week 2018: Mother’s love, Mother’s Milk

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World Breastfeeding Week offers a perfect time to highlight the benefits of breastfeeding.

The annual observance, coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), is August 1-7, 2018. This year’s theme, “Breastfeeding: Foundation of Life,” focuses on educating everyone on how breastfeeding is the foundation of lifelong health for babies and mothers. In a world filled with health disparities, it is critical that all babies have a strong foundation for a healthy life. According to WABA, breastfeeding prevents hunger and malnutrition in all its forms and ensures food security for babies, even in times of crises.

“Breastfeeding is one of the best gifts a mother can give her child,” said Ellen Babb, DHEC’s Breastfeeding Coordinator. “No formula can equal the unique combination of easily digestible nutrients and immune factors found in human milk. In addition to numerous physical benefits for mother and baby, breastfeeding promotes a special, lasting bond between them.”

Tackling the myths

Unfortunately, there are many myths about breastfeeding that have made many mothers indecisive on whether to breastfeed their babies or not. Take a look at a few of them below.

Myth: I won’t be able to make enough milk.

Moms almost always make enough milk to feed their babies. Your baby is likely getting more than you think at each feeding. A newborn’s stomach is only the size of an almond. If you eat in a healthy way, drink water, and nurse often, your milk supply should be plentiful. If you have any concerns about your milk supply or your child’s weight, check in with your baby’s doctor or nurse.

Myth: Breastfeeding hurts.

The truth is that breastfeeding is not supposed to be a painful experience. In fact, pain is usually a red flag that something is wrong. While a baby’s latch can be strong, it’s not actually biting, not even when the baby is cutting teeth. As with any new skill, there is an adjustment period. WIC provides breastfeeding peer counselors, lactation consultants, and educational materials to help you get a good start and proper latch – a key to preventing pain. There’s a number of organizations in South Carolina (such as hospitals, lactation centers, and the WIC Program) that offers assistance with breastfeeding through lactation counselors, lactation consultants, peer counselors, and educational materials to help you get a good start and proper latch – a key to preventing pain.

Myth: If I breastfeed, the baby will want only me, or be spoiled.

Just because you breastfeed does not mean that your baby will only want you or be spoiled. While there is a joyful closeness and bonding that occurs during breastfeeding there are also many things others can do, especially dad. He can do things such as playing with the baby, holding baby skin to skin, changing diapers, and more. When dad holds baby skin-to-skin, he can also develop a special bond with the baby. For those worried about spoiling their babies, research shows that breastfed children grow up to be confident and self-sufficient when parents work to meet their other emotional needs.

Challenges of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding can be challenging, especially in the early days but you are not alone. Lactation consultants can help you find ways to make breastfeeding work for you and your baby. Some women face challenges while breastfeeding, while others do not. Additionally, some women may have certain problems with one baby that they may not have with others. Click here to learn more tackling breastfeeding challenges.

Human milk is the best milk

It is important for moms to know that any amount of breastmilk you give to your baby will be of great benefit because every ounce counts! Human breast milk has been the normal, natural milk to nourish babies since the very beginning of our existence. Breastfeeding promotes a joyful closeness with your baby and a special lifelong bond. It’s a gift only you can give your baby!

For more general information about breastfeeding, click here. For information about how WIC can help with breastfeeding, please click here.

Mother and baby benefit greatly from breastfeeding

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By Ellen B. Babb, PhD, MPH, RD, LD, CLC
WIC State Breastfeeding Coordinator
DHEC Division of WIC Services

Just how beneficial is breastfeeding for mothers and babies? Let us count the ways.

  • Human milk provides the ideal balance of nutrients for an infant’s growth and development.
  • Human milk is easy to digest and protects babies from diarrhea and other stomach issues.
  • Breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS, as well as infectious and chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
  • Breastfeeding saves money.
  • Breastfeeding provides a unique bonding experience for mother and baby.

Considering all those benefits — and there are more — is it any wonder that pediatricians and other health officials encourage mothers to breastfeed?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire.

World Breastfeeding Week

We cannot overstate the value of breastfeeding, which is why August 1 – 7 is set aside as World Breastfeeding Week. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) encourages all expectant and new mothers to know the facts about the important health benefits of breastfeeding.

In South Carolina, 73 percent of babies have been breastfed for some period of time, 13 percent are exclusively breastfed at six months, and 14 percent are breastfeeding in some capacity at 12 months. Among all WIC mothers in South Carolina, 24 percent of children under age 1 are being breastfed.

WIC Supports Breastfeeding Moms and Babies

Many times moms and babies need assistance to get the most out of breastfeeding. That’s where DHEC’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program comes in; we have supportive breastfeeding staff, which includes breastfeeding peer counselors, certified lactation counselors and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants, ready to help.

WIC provides resources and services such as:

  • Breastfeeding education materials
  • Enhanced breastfeeding food packages
  • Breastfeeding support groups (Circle of Friends)
  • “How to Breastfeed” classes
  • Breast pumps and supplies

One of the best ways to get a good start breastfeeding after giving birth is to have your baby at a Baby-Friendly Hospital, where mothers are given optimum support to initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies safely. To view a listing of South Carolina hospitals that have received this designation, please click here.

The success rate among mothers who want to breastfeed can be greatly improved through active support from their families, friends, communities, clinicians, health care leaders and employers.

For more general information about breastfeeding, click here. For information about how WIC can help with breastfeeding, please click here.

WIC peer counselors aid, encourage new mothers learning to breastfeed

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By Beverly Brockington
WIC Nutrition Manager
DHEC Division of WIC Services

One of the most effective ways for new mothers to learn to breastfeed is through the guidance of someone who has done it and knows the ups and the downs involved in the process.

In the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, peer counselors fill that role. Peer counselors are WIC moms who breastfed their babies and who have been trained to help others. They know the challenges new mothers face and can use their experiences to answer questions, offer comfort and provide encouragement.

Peer counselors’ experience invaluable

The peer counselors are valuable members of the WIC breastfeeding education and support system, which also includes a wide range of clinical staff. This week is World Breastfeeding Week, a good time to highlight unsung champions of breastfeeding such as peer counselors.

When new moms can talk to someone who has endured similar experiences, it’s easier for them to ask difficult questions and share embarrassing moments they wouldn’t otherwise share.

Because WIC peer counselors are mothers from within the community, they are able to bond with new moms and provide much-needed support in an effort to help young mothers have a good experience with breastfeeding. Among other things, peer counselors:

  • Help new mothers make informed choices about how they will feed their babies.
  • Provide tips for helping mothers get off to a good start with breastfeeding.
  • Encourage mothers when they reach difficult points during breastfeeding.
  • Help mothers find the best way to fit breastfeeding into their schedules.

Help for mothers seeking to breastfeed

Many new mothers are hesitant or afraid to try breastfeeding for various reasons: Some common barriers include embarrassment, the challenge of returning to work or school, a lack of support, the fear of pain, a lack of confidence, and concern about not making enough milk.

But there are ways to address most concerns surrounding breastfeeding, and peer counseling is one of them. Effective peer counseling helps many mothers have good experiences.

When mothers have a good experience with breastfeeding, it increases the chance of them trying to do it longer, which is beneficial to them and their baby.

Hear why WIC counselors love what they do!

Breastfeeding has many benefits — for mother and baby

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By Ellen B. Babb, PhD, MPH, RD, LD
WIC State Breastfeeding Coordinator
DHEC Division of WIC Services

There’s a reason pediatricians and other health officials encourage mothers to breastfeed: It has great benefits — health and otherwise — for mother and baby.

Breastfeeding offers essential nutrients and a nutritionally balanced meal for your baby. In addition to producing nutrition only you can provide, breast milk is easy to digest, and it fights disease — from diabetes to cancer to obesity. The experience of breastfeeding is special for so many other reasons, including:

  • The health benefits it provides mothers
  • The cost savings
  • The joyful closeness and bonding with your baby

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire.

World Breastfeeding Week

We cannot overstate the value of breastfeeding, which is why August 1 – 7 is set aside as World Breastfeeding Week. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) encourages all expectant and new mothers to know the facts about the important health benefits of breastfeeding.

In South Carolina, 73 percent of babies have been breastfed for some period of time, 13 percent are exclusively breastfed at six months, and 14 percent are breastfeeding in some capacity at 12 months. Among all WIC mothers in South Carolina, 24 percent of children under age 1 are being breastfed.

What does WIC Offer for Breastfeeding Moms and Babies?

  • Supportive breastfeeding staff: breastfeeding peer counselors, certified lactation counselors and International Board Certified Lactation Consultants
  • Breastfeeding education materials
  • Enhanced breastfeeding food package
  • Breastfeeding support groups – Circle of Friends
  • “How to Breastfeed” classes
  • Breast pumps and supplies

One of the best ways to get a good start breastfeeding after giving birth is to have your baby at a Baby-Friendly Hospital, where mothers are given optimum support to initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies safely. To view a listing of South Carolina hospitals that have received this designation, please click here.

The success rate among mothers who want to breastfeed can be greatly improved through active support from their families, friends, communities, clinicians, health care leaders and employers.

For more general information about breastfeeding, click here. For information about how WIC can help with breastfeeding, please click here.