First Annual Breast Feeding Support Walk 5-26-16
Joseph V. Sowmick - May 27, 2016
In an effort to provide bonus coverage, Team Observer was taking it to the streets on May 26 as Nimkee Healthy Start Program and the Nimkee Public Health 4x4 Grant Coordinators hosted their First Annual Breast Feeding Support Walk. The community event took place at the Native Farmers Market Pavilion where the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police led a procession of walkers and strollers across Broadway, down Leaton Road through the Yah Bay Estates subdivision and back.
Nimkee Healthy Start Nurse Helen Williams believes the health of the entire community depends of the health of the babies, they are the future. “We want to give the babies the best start possible and that is a commitment and promise to the infant that mothers make when they chose to breastfeed. Breast feeding is not easy at first so you may need some help,” Williams said. “ Nimkee Memorial Wellness Center has four certified lactation counselors that are ready to serve the community.”
Williams and fellow Healthy Start Nurse Anna Hon provide comprehensive care to pregnant women and their children and are both board certified lactation consultants.
“If you are breastfeeding, pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant please call and we would be happy to help you on your journey to motherhood and beyond. Breast milk is the first food for infants,” Williams said. “Science has proven that the new born babies who have human breast milk for their first feedings do better. Every woman's journey to motherhood is different, but one of the first decisions a new mom makes is how to feed her child.”
Williams informs when women choose to breastfeed, they make an invaluable investment in their baby's future. The health benefits from breastfeeding can be seen by the cells, hormones, and antibodies found in breast milk that helps protect babies from illness. This protection is unique and changes to meet you’re the needs of your baby.
Research suggests that breastfed babies have lower risks of asthma, childhood leukemia, childhood obesity, ear infections, eczema (atopic dermatitis), diarrhea and vomiting, lower respiratory infections, necrotizing enterocolitis (a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in pre-term infants), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and type 2 diabetes.
A full story on the First Annual Breast Feeding Support Walk will be featured in an upcoming issue of your source for Tribal news … the Tribal Observer.