Breastfeeding Week
Dear Editor: Sitka recently celebrated World Breastfeeding Week from Aug. 1-7. More than 20 people attended the Breastfeeding Support Group at Yoga Union on Aug. 2, as we took a quiz to test our ‘‘Breastfeeding IQ’’ and door prizes were given. I would like to thank our prize donors for their support: Harry Race Pharmacy, Wintersong Soap, Hames Center, Unity Botanicals and Sitka Community Hospital. Our local businesses support and nurture the Sitka community in many ways, and we appreciate their generosity.
Breastfeeding promotes optimal life-long health for both mothers and babies, and for this reason, World Health Organization recommends that babies breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of life. WHO said that breastfed babies have lower rates of cancer, chronic illness, allergies and autoimmune conditions. Breastfeeding mothers have lower blood pressure for life, along with decreased rates of breast, uterine, ovarian cancers and osteoporosis. Although U.S. breastfeeding rates continue to rise, still only about half of U.S. babies (51.8 percent) are breastfed for six months, and less than a third (30.7 percent) continue to breastfeed at one year.
A recent survey of 100 Sitka mothers revealed that Sitka is way ahead of the national average, with 89 percent of Sitka babies breastfed six months or longer, and 60 percent of babies breastfed a year or more, with an average breastfeeding duration of 14 months. The survey also revealed that breastfeeding is not always easy, and 70 percent of new mothers at both Sitka hospitals utilized the support of a lactation consultant to address breastfeeding issues and problems. Our new moms and their families should be very proud of these impressive statistics and know that their dedication and hard work will translate to a healthier overall Sitka community now and in the future. I dare say, as Garrison Keillor might, that Sitka is a place “where all the women are strong ... and all the children are above average.”
Thank you, Sitka, for supporting breastfeeding mothers and their families.
Sharon Sullivan, IBCLC,
Sitka Community Hospital
