The Kane County Board on Tuesday (Aug. 9, 2016) voted to proclaim August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month.

The American Academy of Pediatrics considers breastfeeding to be “the ideal method of feeding and nurturing infants.” Breastfeeding has many benefits for babies such as fostering optimal growth, promoting development of a baby’s brain and immune system, preventing common illnesses such as diarrhea, ear infections and infections of the respiratory and urinary tracts, and reducing the risk of being overweight during the later years of a child’s life.

According to the Kane County Health Department, breastfeeding can improve the mother’s health long after the birth. The average breastfeeding initiation rate in Kane County is 71.45 percent (Illinois Hospital Report Card, 2014) — which is still below the national Healthy People 2020 objective to increase the number of women who breastfeed their babies at birth to at least 81.9 percent.

The Kane County Breastfeeding Coalition leads breastfeeding awareness efforts and engages parents in the process of increasing awareness and improving Healthy People 2020 goals:

1) Today the coalition is releasing the Infant Feeding Survey Report, a survey of Kane County pregnant women designed to explore their needs and experience of education and support in deciding how they will feed their newborns. Click here to read the report.

2) The Kane County Breastfeeding Coalition involved other local mothers in spreading awareness by joining the international Big Latch On event held Aug. 5 and Aug. 6 in three Kane County locations: Advocate Sherman Hospital, VNA Health Care, and Northwestern Delnor Hospital.  About 200 people, including moms, dads, children and volunteers, gathered at these three events to recognize breastfeeding as a great way to give infants a healthy start to life! Call 630-264-7653 for more information.

About the Kane County Breastfeeding Coalition

The Kane County Breastfeeding Coalition is formed by participants from diverse aspects of the community, including the local hospitals, community health centers, WIC Programs, the Kane County Health Department, private lactation consultants, community groups that promote breastfeeding, and others.

The mission of the Kane County Breastfeeding Coalition is to engage all interested community members in improving health by making breastfeeding information and support available to new parents. The goal is to help parents make informed choices about breastfeeding as early as possible during pregnancy and to support that choice as soon as the baby is born.

SOURCE: Kane County Health Department website