As the world prepares to celebrate the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, the 17th annual World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) also kicks-off August 1-7.

The 2008 WBW theme, Mother Support: Going for the Gold, calls for increased support for mothers in achieving the gold standard of infant feeding: breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months, and continued breastfeeding together with feeding other appropriate complementary foods for up to two years and beyond.

A mother’s need for support is similar to the needs of an Olympic athlete: determination, commitment, and support from family, friends, trainers, community and government. Both an athlete and a breastfeeding mother face challenges. For breastfeeding mothers, these challenges include overcoming misinformation, breastfeeding while working outside the home, coping in emergency situations and, most importantly, overcoming doubts about her ability to breastfeed her baby.

The support a mother receives can be as formal as a visit to a health care professional or as informal as a reassuring smile. Support comes from professional and lay sources – health professionals, hospital and maternity facilities, staff and policies, doulas and midwives, lactation consultants, trained peer counselors, mother support groups, friends and family. When support is provided to a breastfeeding mother, she will be encouraged to provide a golden start for her child by breastfeeding – by doing so, everyone wins!

Five Gold Rules to Support Breastfeeding:

· Address each mother’s and baby’s situation as individual and unique. Be sensitive to the needs of a breastfeeding mother.

· Listen empathetically to learn a mother’s concern. Refrain from talking except to ask questions for clarity. Provide just enough information for her to make her own choices.

· Ensure that fathers and families are well informed so that they can support each woman in breastfeeding.

· Hold governments, workplaces, and society responsible to create an environment in which every woman is fully enabled to have the choice to breastfeed and to act on her decision.

· Believe that a mother can successfully breastfeed and tell her that. On the other hand, recognize when a mother needs more help than you can offer. Infants are meant to be breastfed. Breastfeeding provides the best possible start in life in all areas of development.

Even in developed countries, lack of breastfeeding is associated with an increased risk to the survival and health of babies. Mothers and communities also benefit when babies are breastfed. Breast cancer is more common in mothers who either haven’t breastfed or breastfed for a short time. Exclusive breastfeeding means lowered economic cost for families, communities, the health system, and the environment.

Breastfeeding mothers in Arkansas can get information and help to ensure success with breastfeeding from a number of community resources: the county health department, community hospital and private practice lactation consultants, physician’s offices, other mothers and La Leche League leaders.

For more information, call the Arkansas Department of Health WIC Breastfeeding Help-line at 1-800-445-6175 or your Local County Health Department.

Also visit the WIC breastfeeding website.