August 6, 2015

Mayors Lydia Lavelle (left) and Mark Kleinschmidt (Photo by Bob Geary/IndyWeek)

Mayors Lydia Lavelle (left) and Mark Kleinschmidt (Photo by Bob Geary/IndyWeek)

Mayors Mark Kleinschmidt, of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Lydia Lavelle, of Carrboro, N.C., announced today their support of the Breastfeeding Family-Friendly Cities initiative, an effort led locally by the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute. A public event to launch the campaign will be held Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Oasis Café, in Carrboro’s Carr Mill Mall. (See below to register.)

The initiative recognizes cities that meet criteria related to making breastfeeding families feel welcome in the community’s public areas, educating people about the health benefits of breastfeeding and offering services to breastfeeding mothers and their families. A list of the criteria is available online.

The timing of the Aug. 10 event supports World Breastfeeding Week and the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee’s National Breastfeeding Month, dedicated this year to workplace support for new parents.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro leaders aim to earn the designation before World Breastfeeding Week in 2016 (Aug. 1-7).

breastfeeding logoThe initiative is actively supported by a number of local organizations including Chapel Hill Rotary Clubs, The Catholic Community of St. Thomas More, La Leche League, the Chamber of Commerce, Orange County Health Department, Inter-Faith Council, North Carolina Breastfeeding Coalition and others. The Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute developed the program at the request of the national Baby-Friendly USA organization and the international World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and will continue in a coordination role for all program partners.

“Chapel Hill and Carrboro are cities that care about the health and welfare of all families,” Mayor Kleinschmidt said. “Once UNC Hospitals achieved their Baby-Friendly Hospital status, we realized the community could continue to support this endeavor through the Breastfeeding Family Friendly Cities designation.”

“By joining this effort,” Mayor Lavelle added, “Carrboro continues its dedication to being inclusive to all types of families. We are proud to launch the program with the Town of Chapel Hill.”

Miriam Labbok, MD, MPH, Professor of the Practice of maternal and child health at the Gillings School and director of Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute, noted that the effort was a true experience in active community engagement. “We could not have undertaken this without the initial encouragement of John Felten of Rotary, Pam Freedman of La Leche League, and all the other community organizations that have stepped forward to urge us on,” Labbok said.

Note: To register for the event, please send an email to labbok@unc.edu.



Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu
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