Announcements
WABA - announces the theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2010 – Towards a Baby-Friendly World Event. For every pledge to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week by organizing an event, WABA will place a “Baby Step” on the world map on the WBW website.
Were you around at the beginning of the Ten Steps and BFHI? WABA is inviting anyone who helped implement the BFHI and the Ten Steps to submit articles and historical reflections on how they or their organizations were involved in these momentous projects. Send your entries to: wbw@waba.org.my
WBW 2010 Photo Contest. Pictures from the contest are available on the website - www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org.
Downloadable calendar and banner. The calendar is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Bahasa Malaysia, Italian, French, and Chinese. The banner about World Breastfeeding Week can be put on your website. It is available in various sizes. For more information, go to www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org/.
March of Dimes and Babies – March of Dimes formed a national partnership with the FocusFeatures’ movie, Babies. The movie opened Mothers’ Day weekend and follows four babies from first breath to first steps. The movie is getting great reviews from movie critics.
New way to market formula – Nestle/Gerber has joined forces with HouseParty.com, an internet-based site to entice people to host a party for a product brand. Prospective hosts apply on-line at the House Party website. If selected, the host receives free products for themselves and product samples to distribute to friends, family, and neighbors that they invite to the party. Guests receive a Gerber insulated backpack filled with coupons and samples of Gerber products. The host receives a box of gifts, including infant formula, to display at the party. Hosts are encouraged to take photos of the party and provide glowing comments about the party.
Marketing research has found that anecdotal comments from family and friends have striking power to persuade others during the decision-making process. Even an off-hand comment is more powerful than research-based evidence and statistics. Breastfeeding promoters might want to consider using anecdotal stories about breastfeeding when talking to new mothers about infant feeding. Perhaps we should be including stories in our promotional efforts, rather than just statistics. This might not apply only to new mothers, but also to businesses, agencies, and legislators!
USLCA issued a press release stating they joined the US Department of Health and Human Services in celebrating National Woman’s Health Week, May 9th to 15th. This week is dedicated to empowering women to make their health a top priority. In honor of this week, USLCA wanted to remind women that breastfeeding is a health preventive behavior that reaps benefits for a lifetime.
USBC issued a press release in honor of Mother’s Day, reminding us that we have much to celebrate in our effort to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. Specifically, workplace support legislation passed for the first time on a national level as part of the health care reform package, the joint commission’s new core measure on exclusive breastfeeding went into effect on April 1, and a new study published in Pediatrics provided an updated cost analysis which was widely quoted by the media and focused attention on supporting breastfeeding mothers.
The Army of Women needs four hundred African American women who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer to participant in the GAP study. The goal of the study is to better understand the differences in breast cancer treatment experiences between African American and Caucasian women. To find out more about this study and other studies currently underway, click here.
The Army of Women is teaming with the Livestrong Foundation to ensure that the voice of people affected by cancer is heard and is part of the national dialogue on electronic health records. If you have had cancer and want to take a 5-10 minute survey to share your views, click here.
ILCA’s 25th anniversary will be celebrated at their conference in San Antonio with two fun events. On the evening of the 21st, make sure you visit the Exhibit Hall for a grand opening reception that includes birthday cake, country line dancing, and extended exhibit hall hours. An optional anniversary dinner with Texas-style barbecue will continue the celebration. Wear your favorite 1980s fashions and hair-dos for a fun evening of celebrating how the ILCA profession got to where it is today. Music will be provided by an all-female mariachi band. You will need to purchase a ticket for this event. The evening will end with the closing of the official anniversary time capsule. You will have the opportunity to network with friends, old and new, get updated on all the new information, and visit San Antonio while at the conference. For more information on the ILCA conference, click here.
Plan to spend a few extra days in San Antonio if you can. There is a lot to do there – from visiting the Alamo and the Riverwalk to going to the zoo and the botanical gardens. Families will love going to Fiesta Texas and SeaWorld. Not to mention the many wonderful restaurants you need to try. You will be in the Texas hill country, just a short drive to Fredericksburg, New Braunfels, and other picturesque towns. If you have enough time, you might want to visit the Painted Churches of Central Texas. There are more than 20 of them in Czech and German settlements across Texas, eight are near San Antonio. According to the website, “They look like regular wooden churches from the outside, but when you go inside, you are met with a profusion of color. Nearly every surface is covered with bright painting: exuberant murals radiate from the apse, elaborate foliage trails the walls, wooden columns and baseboards shine like polished marble in shades of green and gray.” For more information on the painted churches, click here.
The Hartmann/Hale Human Lactation Research Conference on June 10-12, 2010, in Amarillo, Texas, has a great line-up of speakers. We are pleased to have Dr. Carol Wagner, a leading vitamin D researcher, and Dr. Kerstin Uvnas Moberg, a leading oxytocin researcher, join our speaking team this year. Offering 16 continuing education credits, this conference features Dr. Tom Hale, Dr. Kathy Kendall-Tackett, and Dr. Peter Hartmann and Team Australia, in addition to Dr. Wagner and Dr. Uvnas-Moberg. We also have a fun evening event planned that includes horse races, wagon rides, and TexMex fajitas and all the trimmings. So bring your boots and jeans and come join us for our fifth research conference in beautiful Amarillo, Texas! For more information, click here.
If you've got a few extra days, there are many interesting things to do in and around Amarillo. You can visit Palo Duro Canyon, the Cadillac Ranch, the Kwahadi Indian Museum, and the Quarter Horse Museum. Families will enjoy the Amarillo Zoo, Splash Amarillo, Don Harrington Discovery Center, and the Wonderland Amusement Park. If you are into cultural activities, you can attend the Amarillo Opera, Amarillo Symphony, Amarillo Little Theatre, or the Lone Star Ballet. For those who like to exercise, you can walk through the Amarillo Botanical Gardens or the Wildcat Bluff Nature Center or go for a horseback ride at the Old West Stables or Palo Duro Riding Stables. After a full day of sightseeing, you can have dinner at the world renowned Big Texan Steak Ranch. To find out more about Amarillo, click here.
