WV AAP BREASTFEEDING COMMITTEE
Purpose: To educate medical professionals and others about breastfeeding, why it is beneficial and how to make it work, and to promote breastfeeding in West Virginia as the optimal infant nutrition.
In the past, this committee has:
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cooperated with WV WIC on a number of projects, including a WV Breastfeeding Task Force, an obesity project, and a grant to promote breastfeeding in the southern counties of West Virginia.
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sent letters to U.S. congressmen encouraging passage of national breastfeeding legislation.
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obtained world-renowned breastfeeding experts to come to West Virginia and educate medical professionals (i.e. Ruth Lawrence, Jack Newman, and Marianne Neifert).
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encouraged and participated in enriching medical residents and medical students’ breastfeeding education.
Updates:
The 12th Annual International Meeting of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) (www.bfmed.org), will take place in Dallas/Fort Worth from October 11-14, 2007.
In May, 2007, the AAP Section on Breastfeeding awarded the WV Chapter, AAP with a $1,000.00 Lectureship Grant to promote and educate about breastfeeding to physicians in West Virginia. A speaker will be scheduled for the Spring AAP Meeting for 2008.
Information has been given to the WV Disaster Preparedness group about breastfeeding in disasters.
The 2007 legislature awarded $20,000.00 for breastfeeding education for hospital nurses. This training should help nurses who are interested in becoming lactation consultants. A week long course will be held in Charleston November 5-9. Registration forms are available online at www.wvha.org
Submitted by Mary S. Boyd, M.D., chair
