Jeffco WIC to offer Jeffco Breastfeeds Mini Fair
Jeffco Breastfeed s Mini Fair is one of many services JCPH offers to breastfeeding moms
Jefferson County, Colo. — When Andrea Perez-Loza had her first baby, she h ad trouble breastfeeding. She couldn’t breastfeed for very long, something she said was largely because she didn’t have good support systems in place to help her be successful. Perez-Loza isn’t alone — many moms and families struggle with breastfeeding. That’s why Jeffco WIC, or the Supplemental Nut rition Program for Women, Infants and Children, is hosting its second annua l Jeffco Breastfeeds Mini Fair.
After Perez-Loza started working at J effco WIC she saw how helpful the educators and dietitians were to the wome n who came to the clinics in search of breastfeeding support. When she foun d out she was pregnant with her second daughter, Perez-Loza knew she wanted to give breastfeeding another try. With the help of WIC, she was successfu l — so successful, in fact, that her little girl, Emmyrose, was still breas tfeeding at 9 months.
That’s the kind of support every mother should have, said Kelsey Rivera, RD, International Board Certified Lactation Cons ultant (IBCLC) and Jefferson County WIC’s Breastfeeding Coordinator. That’s why last year, Rivera started the Jeffco Breastfeeds Mini Fair, a half-day event all about normalizing, supporting and celebrating breastfeeding fami lies and helping connect them to resources that can help make their lives e asier.
This year, the event will return to Jefferson County Public H ealth (JCPH), 645 Parfet Street in Lakewood, on August 17, 2018 from 9 a.m. -1 p.m. It will feature information, games and activities for all members o f the family. Everyone is invited — whether you are breastfeeding or not! S ome highlights of the event will be:
Free 10-minute chair massages fo
r moms
Prizes and giveaways, including brand new breast pumps
A f
ire truck from West Metro Fire Department on site for kids
Free activi
ties, including face painting, kid’s games and a petting zoo
Food and
refreshments available for purchase from vendors and food trucks
But what’s all the buzz about breastfe
eding? Breast milk is like baby superfood, Rivera said.
“Breastfeedin
g is one of the best things you can do to keep your little one healthy. Bre
ast milk provides all the nutrients and vitamins they need, as well as anti
bodies to help them fight off infection,” Rivera said. “It also changes as
they grow and change. Whatever they need at certain times during their grow
th and development, they get from your breastmilk.”
According to
the World Health Organization, breastfeeding contributes to lifelong healt
h benefits for both mom and baby. Adolescents and adults who were breastfed
as babies are less likely to be overweight or obese, less likely to have t
ype 2 diabetes and even perform better on intelligence tests. Women who bre
astfeed have reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes and
postpartum depression.
But despite all these benefits, stigma around breastfeeding — especially around breastfeeding in public — still exists. “There are still people who don’t have support returning to the workplace w hile breastfeeding or pumping. There’s still plenty of women who don’t feel supported on their breastfeeding journey. We’re here for them,” Rivera sai d.
Supporting moms where they are
And even thou
gh Rivera and her team at Jeffco WIC believe wholeheartedly in the promotio
n of breastfeeding, they want all people from all walks of life, no matter
how they feed, to know they are welcome.
“In a perfect world, every mother who could breastfeed would breastfeed. But we know some can’t, and in those cases, we never shame them,” Rivera said. “We never want some one to think they aren’t welcome at Jefferson County WIC because they didn’ t breastfeed their first child, because they adopted a baby or because they ’re unsure if they want to breastfeed. We want to help you and your child b e as healthy as possible, no matter how that looks for you.”
To learn more about Jeffco WIC, please visit bit.ly/JeffcoWIC or call 303-271-5780.
Other JCPH and Jeffco WIC breastfeeding services
Lactation services in the JCPH clinic
JCPH offers lactation service
s in the clinic on a sliding fee scale. During these consultations, an Inte
rnational Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) can help with any br
eastfeeding question a mom may have during pregnancy or after a baby’s birt
h. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit jeffco.us/2193
or call 303-239-7078.
B.E.S.T.-Feeding Club
JCPH and the Mothe
rs’ Milk Bank host a breastfeeding moms group once a week at no cost to par
ticipants. The group meets every Wednesday from 10 a.m.-noon at Mothers’ Mi
lk Bank, 5394 Marshall Street in Arvada.
Breastfeeding Classes
Jeffco WIC offers monthly, hour-long breastfeeding classes at the Lakewood,
Arvada, Littleton and Wheat Ridge WIC Clinics. Take-home material is distr
ibuted during the class. Spanish-speaking breastfeeding information can be
provided on an individual basis. For more information, please contact Kelse
y Rivera at 303-239-7139 or the WIC main line at 303-271-5780.
Mothers
’ Milk Bank Donation and Outreach Center
The Lakewood WIC Clinic was the first WIC clinic in Colorado to become a donation and outreach center f or the Arvada-based Mothers’ Milk Bank. JCPH supports human milk donors by storing milk and preparing shipments to Mothers' Milk Bank. JCPH also perfo rms the one-time blood draw for new donors. If you are breastfeeding and ha ve an abundance of human milk, please consider becoming a donor. Call the M others' Milk Bank at 303-369-1888 or visit their website to find out how. For more information on dropping off donor milk, please contact Ke lsey Rivera at 303-239-7139.
Breastfeeding-friendly childcar
e
The Community Health Services and Health Promotion and Life
style Management teams at JCPH work to make sure parents in the community a
re supported in all parts of their breastfeeding journey, including when th
ey go back to work and begin taking their child to childcare. That’s why we
work with childcare providers of all types and sizes, including FFN provid
ers (Family, Friend and Neighbor) to help make sure they have the training
and resources necessary to support breastfeeding families. This includes tr
aining on providing proper storage and preparation of human milk, informati
on on infant feedings and the benefits of private, healthy places for peopl
e to pump. To learn more about this program, please visit http://www.healthyjeffco.com/breastfee
ding.
About Jefferson County Public Health
Public health is what we as a society do collectively to prevent illn
ess and premature death and promote health in our neighborhoods and communi
ties. Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) is committed to promoting and p
rotecting health across the lifespan through prevention, education and part
nerships for all people. To learn more about JCPH, visit https://www.jeffco.us/public-health.
You can also follow JCPH on Twitter @JeffcoPH and Facebook @
jeffcopublichealth.