Breastfeeding exponents on target to break record

Women’s Health Action has coordinated the Big Latch On throughout Aotearoa New Zealand since 2005 with funding provided by the Ministry of Health. Recently the Big Latch On went global and New Zealand is now joined by 21 other participating countries.
 
Breastfeeding mothers and their babies, toddlers and children are invited to attend and be part of the world record for the most women breastfeeding simultaneously.
 
This year the Big Latch On is being held locally at Eutopia café in Kaiwaka at 10am on Friday August 2.
 
Maungaturoto resident Helen Mahoney is organising the local ‘latch on’ this year. Helen, who recently moved to Maungaturoto from Waiheke Island, has organised the event locally for the past seven years and is excited to be holding it this year in a new location.
 
The Big Latch On is part of World Breastfeeding Week, an international event that raises awareness that breast milk is the most nutritious milk for babies and toddlers and that breastfeeding has numerous benefits for mothers too. 
 
“We are still over three weeks away to the Big Latch On and over one thousand women are planning to attend – we are on the way to breaking the record,” says Women’s Health Action Director Julie Radford-Poupard.
“The Big Latch On is a great community event, it’s a lot of fun, you get to meet other women and previous participants tell us they made new friends and liked supporting each other.”
 
This year the World Breastfeeding Week theme is peer support, which recognises that successful breastfeeding requires support from family, friends and the community. Research shows that appropriate community, peer support and family links are critical for breastfeeding women and have a positive influence on breastfeeding rates and duration.
 
■ Go to www.biglatchon.org.nz or phone Helen Mahoney for any queries about the day on (09) 431 8812.