Breastfeeding Week Festival set

Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Local WIC breastfeeding peer counselor Sarah Mason is organizing Thursday's World Breastfeeding Week Festival, to be held at Robe-Ann Park in Greencastle. Mason is the mother of Morgan, 3 1/2, Mackenzie, 2 and Maylea, 6 months.

GREENCASTLE -- A local event to be held in conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week is set for Thursday.

The World Breastfeeding Week Festival will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at Robe-Ann Park in Greencastle. Food, activities for all ages and prizes will be featured.

World Breastfeeding Week began Aug. 1 and runs through Aug. 7.

"What we're doing with this event is celebrating local breastfeeding moms and their efforts," said Sarah Mason, a breastfeeding peer counselor for the Putnam County Woman, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

Mason is an avid supporter of breastfeeding. Her three daughters, Morgan, 3 1/2, Mackenzie, 2, and Maylea, 6 months, have all been breastfed.

"I'm so passionate about it," she said. "It's better not only for the babies, but for moms and for our planet, too."

Studies have shown that breastfeeding helps the uterus shrink to its pre-pregnancy state and reduces the amount of blood lost after delivery. Mothers who breastfeed for at least three months may lose more weight than mothers who do not breastfeed.

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months can help in child spacing for women who do not use contraception, research shows. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Mason hopes that moms-to-be will come to the festival to gain information about breastfeeding.

"If you grew up with it you don't know any different, but people who haven't can be turned off (by breastfeeding)," she said. "People are apprehensive about doing it in public. I do talk to a lot of prenatals."

Mason also teaches breastfeeding classes twice a month at Johnson-Nichols Health Clinic in Greencastle.

"I do think I've helped people," she said. "I get calls thanking me for my support. It's a learning process and there are challenges, which is why a lot of people shy away. But if they have support, they're a lot more likely to stick with it."

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  • I don't understand why it is a big thing a breastfeeding. They have the choice to pump at home and feed the child with a bottle out in public. Come on it is not what I want to see out in the public eye.

    -- Posted by south putnam taxpaper on Wed, Aug 5, 2009, at 8:21 AM
  • Lets TRY to be mature!!! Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed your child not to mention the health benefits! As far as pumping yes you can pump and feed by bottle, however that can cause nipple confusion. Not to mention the ease and cleanliness of feeding by breast verses bottle. If you wish not to see it in public, simply look the other way. Or better yet try educating yourself to a better understanding level of maturity on the issue. Further more, in this day and age it is VERY rare that I ever see a mother breastfeeding without cover.

    -- Posted by thistownsucks on Wed, Aug 5, 2009, at 9:29 AM
  • south putnam taxpaper As a mother of four that breasfed. I can tell you that not all babies will willingly take a bottle. And I agree with thistownsucks. It can cause nipple confusion and it is very difficult to get them to nurse at all if that happens. Don't be ignorant. The purpose of the breat is to in fact breastfeed. It is society, people like you, that have made breasts something sexual. And I have never ever seen a woman breastfeeding in public that wasn't covered. And if did I wouldn't freak out about it or be disgusted. I would simply look the other way. Time to grow up! It is just a boob!

    -- Posted by putnammom on Wed, Aug 5, 2009, at 11:42 AM
  • Maybe this event will help to EDUCATE people in this town, so they won't have to ask why breastfeeding is a such a big thing.

    It used to be the norm till someone decided they could make a buck by advertising and selling formula in this country to perfectly healthy mothers that were perfectly able to nurse their babies. Then they decided to give away formula in hospitals (which should be outlawed).

    WHAT IS WORSE, is these same formula companies also give away formula to mothers in underdeveloped countries. Then the mother's milk dries and up and they become DEPENDENT on the formula in order to nourish their babies. Which forces them to BUY the formula.

    Women should be able to freely breastfeed in public, period. They should not feel like they have to pump before leaving the house in order to prevent others from feeling uncomfortable.

    It is healthier for all. Except for the pocketbooks of the formula companies.

    -- Posted by just a local on Wed, Aug 5, 2009, at 6:26 PM
  • WELL JUST A LOCAL I HATE TO BURST YOUR BUBBLE, BUT IF IT WEREN'T FOR FORMULA SOME BABIES WOULD DIE, YOU KNOW NOT EVERY MOTHER'S BREAST WILL PRODUCE ENOUGH MILK TO FEED A BABY, AND I FOR ONE CHOSE TO NOT BREAST FEED MY CHILDREN AND I DON'T WANT TO LOOK OVER MY MEAL AND SEE A MOTHER BREAST FEEDING HERS!!!!

    -- Posted by senior'08 on Thu, Aug 6, 2009, at 6:56 AM
  • I was a breast feeding mother myself and I do not have a problem with mothers breast feeding in public. There are many ways you can cover yourself up while doing it! It doesn't have to be seen my the public eye!

    -- Posted by johndeeregreen on Thu, Aug 6, 2009, at 2:19 PM
  • senior'08 Have you ever seen a woman's bare breast, nipple showing, while you are eating your dinner in public? I'm guessing not. Women that breastfeed are normally discreet about it. There is NOTHING disgusting about a woman breastfeeding her child. If you have a problem with that, then it is YOU that has a problem. Just because you chose not to give your child breastmilk doesn't change the fact the breastmilk IS the best thing for a baby. Why is it that women can wear low cut shirts showing tremendous amounts of cleavage in public, and that is ok, but as soon as a woman has a baby attached to her breast, she is a disgrace? Makes no sense! I can guarantee that you see more breast at the beach or even at Walmart, then you do from most breastfeeding mothers. Did you know that when you breastfeed your baby that you are giving them the nutrients tey need and antibodies they will use to fight off infections for the rest of their life? Why should women have to deprive their child of that (or be confined to the house) because of the IGNORANCE of others?

    -- Posted by putnammom on Thu, Aug 6, 2009, at 3:19 PM
  • I didn't say it was disgusting, I SAID I don't like to see it, or do I want to see cleavage, you missed my point, my point was not every mother can produce milk for their child, everyone on this blob thinks that every mother should breastfeed and I know mothers who tried and didn't produce enough milk, I don't care if you breastfeed or not, but yes I have experienced a mother exposing her breast in public!!!!

    -- Posted by senior'08 on Fri, Aug 7, 2009, at 6:07 AM
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