Weekly Wire: World Breastfeeding Week Events, Black Breastfeeding Week Proclamation Toolkit, and more

In this issue:

• Special Section on National Breastfeeding Month 2022
• National News
  • Webinar on Community Capacity to Support Breast/Chestfeeding
  • Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill Advanced in House Committee
  • Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge Winners Announced
  • FORMULA Act Signed Into Law
  • Webinar on Centering Community Partners in Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding
  • Policy Summit on Infant Health
  • Report on Federal Home Visiting Program Recruitment of Families
• State & Community News
  • Working Meeting for Lactation Supporters in Michigan
  • Workplace Lactation Support Resource from Mississippi WINS
• News & Views
  • Media Highlights
  • Journal Publications 

  denotes a USBC member organization news item   denotes a USBC-affiliated constellation news item

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Special Section on National Breastfeeding Month 2022

National Breastfeeding Month begins in a few days! We invite all member organizations, breastfeeding coalitions, partner organizations, and individuals to participate in online action and conversation about the policy and practice changes needed to build a landscape of support for babies and families. Please share your organization's plans so we can amplify your work in the Weekly Wire and on social media. Highlights from the field include:

• 1,000 Days/NWA: 1,000 Days and the National WIC Association are hosting a series of panel discussions in celebration of National Breastfeeding Month.
• BBW: Black Breastfeeding Week released a toolkit with sample local and state proclamations supporting Black Breastfeeding Week. Individuals can use the toolkit to help raise awareness of Black Breastfeeding Week in their community.
• MBC: Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition is hosting a weekly webinar series titled "Reclaiming and Celebrating Cultural Human Milk Feeding Traditions in Modern Times" in August. Webinars will take place on Wednesdays at 12 p.m. CT. The sessions will include voices and storytelling from the LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Black communities within Minnesota.
• MSBC: Maine State Breastfeeding Coalition is hosting a webinar series celebrating World Breastfeeding Week. Webinars will take place Monday, August 1, through Thursday, August 4. Speakers will cover topics including food allergies, sleep, tongue tie and oral restrictions, and breastfeeding as a single parent.
• pumpspotting: pumpspotting is hosting a virtual event titled "The Mother Pumpin' Party" on Friday, August 5 at 11 a.m. ET. The event will celebrate feeding parents and all their accomplishments.

Local Events

• Acadiana Breastfeeding Coalition: The Annual World Breastfeeding Celebration will be held on Saturday, August 6, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. CT in Youngsville, Louisiana.
• Alameda County WIC Progam: The World Breastfeeding Month Celebration will be held on Thursday, August 4, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. PT, in Hayward, California.
• Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health: The World Breastfeeding Week Walk will be held on Tuesday, August 10 at 10 a.m. CT, in Bismarck, North Dakota.
• Clay County WIC: The Community Baby Shower will be held on Wednesday, August 3, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. ET, in Fleming Island, Florida.
• Chi Chi MaMas Group: The World Breastfeeding Week celebration will be held on Saturday, August 6, from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. CT, in Joplin, Missouri.
• Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition: The 6th Annual Breastival will be held on Saturday, July 30, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. MT, in Denver, Colorado.
• Greater Grand Forks Breastfeeding Coalition: The "Breastmilk" film screening will be held on Thursday, August 4, at 6:30 p.m. CT, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
• Florida: The Florida Department of Health in Pasco, Citrus, and Hernando counties and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) are hosting various events celebrating World Breastfeeding Week.
• New Mexico Breastfeeding Coalition and partners: The Border Latch will be held on Friday, August 5, at 9:30 a.m. MT, in Sunland Park, New Mexico.

 

          

The above unbranded graphics, plus more, are available for download on the USBC NBM webpage. 

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National News

Webinar on Community Capacity to Support Breast/Chestfeeding

The National Association of County and City Health Officials is hosting a webinar titled "Building Community Workforce Capacity to Equitably Support Chest/Breastfeeding," on Tuesday, September 13, at 1 p.m. ET. This is the fifth webinar of the 8-part "Every Step of the Way through the 1,000 Days" series, and it will focus on Recommendation 5 of the Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support: A Blueprint for Communities. Speakers will discuss increasing the lactation workforce by providing lactation-specific training to all individuals who serve families.

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill Advanced in House Committee

The House Education and Labor Committee approved the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act (H.R. 8450). The bill would reauthorize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) as well as several other child nutrition programs, including the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), school meals, and summer feeding programs, which have not been reauthorized since 2010. The bill would increase authorized funding levels for the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program from $90M to $180M.  

Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge Winners Announced

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the winners of Phase 1 of the HHS Racial Equity in Postpartum Care Challenge. A group of 25 organizations will move on to the next phase. These organizations include Nurse-Family Partnership in Denver, Colorado, where more than 85% of participants in the program initiated breastfeeding, and The Children's Home Society of New Jersey, which utilized a combination of strategies to provide care to postpartum women, resulting in 93% of participants initiating breastfeeding.

FORMULA Act Signed Into Law

The Fixing Our Regulatory Mayhem Upsetting Little Americans (FORMULA) Act (H.R. 8351) has been signed into law. The bill suspends duties and other restrictions on the importation of infant formula for 90 days. Read the press release.

Webinar on Centering Community Partners in Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding

The National Institute for Children's Health Quality is hosting a webinar titled "Centering Community Voices: Solutions to Safe Sleep and Breastfeeding Using a Quality Improvement Framework" on Wednesday, August 24, at 2 p.m. ET. This webinar will discuss how the National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN) programmatic and evaluation pursuits shifted to center community voices within participatory quality improvement (QI). Community partners will share their experiences leading and implementing QI activities. Speakers will also discuss implications for maternal-child health projects and community-based research.

Policy Summit on Infant Health

The National Coalition for Infant Health is hosting an "Infant Health Policy Summit" on Wednesday, August 31, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. ET, in Washington, D.C. Policymakers, advocates, and clinicians will discuss issues impacting infants and their families, including donor human milk quality and safety, formula and product shortages, and more. Registration is free.

Report on Federal Home Visiting Program Recruitment of Families

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research, & Evaluation (OPRE) published a report titled "Family Level Assessment and State of Home Visiting Outreach and Recruitment Study Report." The report presents the results of the Family Level Assessment and State of Home Visiting (FLASH-V) outreach and recruitment study. The study used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV)-funded programs recruit families and to understand their challenges and accomplishments related to capacity. OPRE is hosting a webinar on Thursday, August 4, at 3 p.m. ET to discuss the report and its findings.

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State & Community News

Working Meeting for Lactation Supporters in Michigan

The Michigan Breastfeeding Network is hosting the Skilled Lactation Supporter Representation and Compensation Meeting on October 11, from 9 a.m. -1 p.m. ET. This is a working meeting among lactation consultants and supporters across Michigan who are both clinically skilled and community rooted. Participants will work toward diversifying and equitability compensating the field of lactation supporters by establishing a shared understanding of the current landscape and developing an advocacy strategy to change policy and practice. Clinically skilled, community rooted lactation care providers are those who directly serve families and are committed to advancing practice through an explicitly anti-racist lens. 

Workplace Lactation Support Resource from Mississippi WINS

The Mississippi Communities and Hospitals Advancing Maternity Practices (CHAMPS) program launched the Workplace Breastfeeding Support webpage. The webpage includes resources developed through the Mississippi WINS (Workplaces Improving Nursing Support) initiative to support Mississippi businesses with implementing lactation policies and support.  

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News & Views

Media Highlights

Buzzfeed: "The Bar Exam Is Incredibly Difficult To Pass. It’s Even Harder For Those Who Are Pregnant Or Nursing."

Civil Eats: "As the Infant Formula Shortage Drags On, Food and Farm Workers Focus on Breast-Feeding"

Journal Enquirer: "Senate fails to pass breastfeeding law for 9 million working parents despite calls for flexibility amid formula shortage"

The Sylva Herald: "Breastfeeding holds a wide array of benefits for both infants and mothers"

Journal Publications

Breastfeeding Medicine:

• "Persistent Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Reduces Breastfeeding Exclusiveness and Duration: A Prospective Cohort Study"
• "Measures of Maternal Metabolic Health as Predictors of Severely Low Milk Production"