(SAVANNAH, GA) In celebration of National Breastfeeding Month in August, Healthy Savannah and partner organizations are supporting several events planned for new parents, those considering breastfeeding, and breastfeeding advocates.
The theme for National Breastfeeding Month 2024 is Nourish, Sustain, Thrive; which aims to highlight the importance of lactation for the human life cycle. Human milk provides the nutrients, calories, and fluids needed for a baby’s health, brain development and growth. National Breastfeeding Month also recognizes the work of organizations that make the world more welcoming for new families and parents. But it also serves as a reminder that disparities that discourage breastfeeding still exist.
Upcoming events in the Savannah area include:
World Breastfeeding Week Celebration, from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, at Forsyth Park Farmers Market. Presented by the Coastal Health District, with activities to include a walk for breastfeeding awareness, games, raffles and photos. Register in advance to be eligible for a free gift (while supplies last): https://app.formdr.com/practice/MzM5Mzk=/form/TzxtdfdhLOlFYMyBxYWXBBCCDjl7FSoE
Breastfeeding Community Conversations – Two meetings are scheduled from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 12 and Monday, Aug. 26 at the African-American Health Information & Resource Center, 1910 Abercorn St, Savannah, Ga., 31401. The sessions will be led by Dr. Nandi Marshall of Georgia Southern University’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Healthy Savannah team members and other community leaders. Giveaways will be provided to participants. To learn more about joining the conversation, visit healthysavannah.org or email Margie Watson at margie@healthysavannah.org.
Black Maternal Health Support Group –Meets from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 22 and every fourth Thursday of the month at Restoration Chiropractic, 5102 Paulsen St. Building 7, Savannah, Ga., 31405. Presented by Akwaaba Wellness, led by Morenike Tyehimba, IBCLC, certified holistic doula, certified Reiki & meditation master. Call 912-421-0526 or 843-476-83-82 or email welcome@akwaabawellness.com or healthylowcountrylady@gmail.com.
A Breastfeeding Initiatives community engagement and planning group is forming now. Community members and leaders are invited to become involved or learn more. Email Margie Watson at margie@healthysavannah.org.
Healthy Savannah is co-administrator, along with the YMCA of Coastal Georgia, of a five-year, $5.1 million Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant issued in 2023 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A portion of the initiative is focused on increasing awareness of the disparities that discourage breastfeeding by Black mothers in Chatham County and identifying opportunities to remove those obstacles, especially in the workplace.
The grant administrators additionally work in conjunction with the Chatham County Health Department and Georgia Southern University’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health to encourage local businesses to increase support of their employees by establishing and publicly posting a written breastfeeding and lactation support policy that sets expectations for organizational leadership and staff members.
“There are many struggles when parenting, but breastfeeding doesn’t have to be one of them,” said Nandi A. Marshall, DrPH, MPH, CHES, CLC, CDE. “We are working to connect families in the Savannah area, particularly in the Black and Hispanic communities, with the tools, skills, and knowledge to support their families at home, at work, and in the community. Our strategies include community conversations, support groups, and education focused on the PUMP Act, which provides employee protection for pumping at work.”
Marshall is an associate professor and associate dean for Academic Affairs, in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University and is the 2024 Executive Board Chair for the American Public Health Association. She is at the forefront of local efforts to encourage Savannah businesses to adopt breastfeeding-friendly policies and environments and make them aware of REACH grant funds to help.
Healthy Savannah’s REACH team recently gathered new information in a landscape survey from new parents living in priority areas who said their choice to breastfeed is generally supported by medical advocates and the health system, but they do not typically experience support where they work, shop, or play.
While a majority (61%) of new, expecting or potential parents surveyed said they plan to breastfeed, nearly all (81%) said they had not participated in breastfeeding resources like support groups. Less than half (43%) considered Savannah-Chatham supportive of breastfeeding parents in general.
Survey participants specifically talked about the continued lack of lactation spaces in the workplace or at restaurants and other public locations. They did acknowledge support services provided by the Coastal Health District’s WIC center, lactation consultants, midwives and birthing centers.
Healthy Savannah is continuing to collect responses to the survey and welcomes additional participants: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HealthySavannah_BFMom
The Coastal Health District offers a variety of education, support, and lactation services, including: prenatal breastfeeding classes, a peer counselor program, lactation consultations, monthly support group meetings, breast pump loan program, community resource for breastfeeding education, and breastfeeding rooms
For additional information:
Contact the Coastal Health District WIC Call Center at 1-855-262-7670. Or visit online: https://coastalhealthdistrict.org/programs-services/breastfeeding_1/#:~:text=For%20more%20information%20about%20lactation,9874.&text=1%2D800%2D994%2D9662,888%2D220%2D5446).
Use the guided search feature of the H.E.R.O (Health Effective Resource Organizations) online health and social services database [https://herohelpme.com/ ] and click on the Breastfeeding image.
Visit Healthy Savannah online: https://healthysavannah.org/our-programs/breastfeeding/
ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH: In September 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded a second grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) to Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. $5.1 million in funding is being deployed over a five-year period to be utilized in an “upstream” approach to foster sustainable health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations in low-wealth neighborhoods in areas of nutrition, physical activity and the reduction of chronic diseases. The renewed funding enables work to continue which began under the initial, five-year, $3.4 million REACH grant awarded in 2018, and a supplemental grant awarded in 2021 to increase awareness and acceptance of COVID-19 and flu adult immunizations. Working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, the Savannah/Chatham County project team’s specific goals in implementing the new five-year grant include fostering physical activity by creating greater access to safe places to walk, run, bike and play; elevating the health and wellness of the community through policy, systems, and environmental change; and providing education and awareness regarding adult immunizations, especially as they relate to health disparities in chronic conditions of hypertension, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity. The administrators will also continue to foster stronger connections between people and the healthcare providers who serve them by supporting awareness and use of the HERO Help Me database. In July 2022, Healthy Savannah received the CDC’s 2022 REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity Challenge. The award recognizes extraordinary individuals and entities whose work has contributed to advancing health equity.
healthysavannah.org ymcaofcoastalga.org.
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