World Breastfeeding Week!

Today marks the beginning of World Breastfeeding Week, and I wanted to salute all the breastfeeding moms and lactivists out there, making the world a better place for moms and babies. In commemoration, there are several resources that I wanted to share with you on the topic of breastfeeding and lactivism.

The big grandmommy of all organizations is, of course, is La Leche League. Founded at a time (1956) when the medically endorsed norm was formula feeding (backed of course by the formula companies), 7 women gathered in homes to create what would become an international powerhouse of an organization, with country chapters in 19 countries! Two years after they started, LLL published the classic, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and continues to update it for modern moms everywhere. LLL is now in its 54th year, still actively working to promote its mission: to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.

Since that time, women have been organizing and there are so many resources for women to tap into:

Mothering Magazine has embraced and supported breastfeeding and natural parenting for years. Their message boards (the most active mom board of its kind on the web!), books, and magazine rock. The message boards were of great help to me to me in my pregnancy on complicated issues like VBACs and placenta previa. Now I check in there for topics like baby led weaning, teething, and more!

Best for Babes Foundation is bringing breastfeeding into the media savvy 21st century.

The Leaky B@@b has some great resources on their site and is excellent  at answering questions from moms on their Facebook page.

Dr. Momma, aka Peaceful Parenting, gives excellent content on breastfeeding, circumcision, baby wearing, and much more.

Kellymom is a site so many turn to for breastfeeding information (as well as sleeping and parenting in general) started by a mother of three, who is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

NNIPL (The Normalizing Nursing In Public League) specifically reports on and works for laws that help mothers and children be able to nurse whenever and wherever they need.

And so many are writing from their own experience at the grassroots and about what's happening in their area on this issue: great blogs like Reproductive Rites address breastfeeding, childbirth, and parenting from a feminist mama perspective in Massachusetts. There's even a great post about taking this matter to the state house, nursing all the way!

And for those of you with a sewing/embroidery machine, this blogger has a WBW free pattern for you to download!

Get your "Twibbon" to use as a profile pic this week for all your social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Linked IN, etc!

Do you have any other great breastfeeding resources, stories, tips to share?