Penn Medicine Princeton Health will host a series of events in early August for World Breastfeeding Week, an annual celebration to raise awareness of how breastfeeding benefits babies’ overall health and welfare.
About 120 countries commemorate World Breastfeeding Week every year from August 1 through August 7. This year’s theme will be “Enabling breastfeeding: Making a difference for working parents.”
Princeton Health’s festivities kick off Tuesday, August 1, when IBCLCs – international board-certified lactation consultants – from Community Wellness and the Mother Baby Unit will staff a table outside the Princeton Medical Center (PMC) restaurant from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.
The IBCLCs will share information about breastfeeding, as well as the federal PUMP Act and New Jersey laws that support mothers who are returning to work. They will also raise awareness of two pumping rooms that are available to mothers at the hospital.
On August 2, a Spanish-speaking lactation consultant will host a virtual chat with Spanish-speaking moms to discuss their experiences and successes with breastfeeding.
Princeton Health will work with Children’s Home Society of New Jersey and Zufall Health Center – a federally qualified health center on the PMC campus – to outreach to Spanish-speaking moms for the chat, which is scheduled for noon to 1 pm.
A virtual chat with English-speaking moms will be held from noon to 1 pm on August 3.
On Friday, August 4, Princeton Health will distribute celebratory goodie bags to breastfeeding mothers on the Mother Baby Unit, in the neonatal intensive care unit, and at the Breastfeeding Support Group, which will meet from 11 am to noon that day.
To continue support for breastfeeding throughout the month, Community Wellness will offer a free pumping class on August 14 and a free virtual prenatal breastfeeding class on August 17.
Learn more or register at PrincetonHCS.org/Calendar.