New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force Conference

22nd Annual Conference: Bonding Through Breastfeeding at Birth and Beyond

Five members of the Binational Breastfeeding Coalition attended this year's NMBTF conference held on March 3rd and 4th. Highlights were Dr. Kathleen Kendall Tackett, the editor of Clinical Lactation who held several sessions including the topic of post-partum mood disorders and breastfeeding, and Dr. James McKenna, a world renowned expert in sleeping and breastfeeding.

This 2-day conference included many other highlights and the agenda can be viewed at the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force website.

Certified Lactation Counselor® (CLC) Training Course

Binational Breastfeeding Coalition is proud to host a Certified Lactation Counselor® (CLC) Training Course sponsored by the Healthy Children's Center For Breastfeeding. The course will take place October 17-21, 2016 at the Las Palmas Life Care Center (3333 N. Mesa, El Paso, TX 79902). Only 65 spots are available, so register today!

The interested person should go to www.centerforbreastfeeding.org, and click on the "Education" tab. Under "Lactation courses", hit the "Register Online" button which will take you to the registration form. Fill out form and select "El Paso, TX, Oct 17-21, 2016" for your location.

• Tuition is $575 for early bird registration, which starts now to 28 days before the start of the course. Regular tuition is $625 (registering 28 days before course)
• Group rates are available for individuals from the same institution
• The exam is an additional $120
• Continuing Education Credits are available for varying professions: RN, IBCLC, CNM, MD, RD, etc.

The student MUST register at the Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding website- neither BBC nor Las Palmas can register students.

We are now on AmazonSmile!

When you shop @AmazonSmile, Amazon will make a donation to Bi-National Breastfeeding Coalition. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/45-4664372

We look forward to your support, thank you!

Comic Strip Comedy Club Fundraiser

The BBC is selling tickets to a show at the El Paso Comic Strip Comedy Club for November 19th. Please support us and purchase your tickets today! 100% of the proceeds will go to BBC. Each ticket is $10 and admits 2. To purchase, please email us at border.breastfeeding@gmail.com.

Twitter chat: Celebrating our Breastfeeding Traditions

The Big Latch On 2015

The Big Latch On is an international synchronized breastfeeding celebration held annually in conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week. More than 350 individuals attended the 4th annual “Big Latch On” organized by the Binational Breastfeeding Coalition (BBC). The event was held at Album Park in El Paso, Texas on August 1, 2015.

Mothers and babies started arriving at 9:00 am along with their supporting families. Upon registration, mothers received a cooler to store milk in, breastfeeding door hangers, pencils, and BBC brochures. Children received coloring sheets and crayons. The majority of the items were donated by the Texas Office of Border Health.

At 10:30 am EST, the Big Latch On countdown occurred, in which moms breastfeed their babies jointly for one full minute. This year, we had 110 mothers breastfeeding and 112 babies (two sets of twins).

All were ecstatic of breaking the record here in El Paso. The WIC program this year hosted their own BLO and 11 breastfeeding mothers participated, making the city’s total of 121 mothers.

BBC BLO by the numbers

• 2012 = 80 mothers participated
• 2013  = 82 mothers participated
• 2014 = 94 mothers participated
• 2015 = 110 mothers participated

Following the Latch On, donated items were raffled. Donors included different agencies and individuals: Bamboobies, Car seat Canopy, Department of Public Health- WIC Program, Earth Mama Angel Baby,Fairhaven Helath LLC, Happy Days Pediatrics-Dr.Alison Days, MD, Lizbeth Berkeley MPH,IBCLC, Luz Chavez,CLC, Maria Modh RN, IBCLC, Milkies Milk Saver, Nursing Pillow, Pei Wei, Rosalba Ruiz, Seven Slings, Simple Wishes, Star Kids Pediatric Dentistry, Dr. Lizbeth Holguin, DDS, Texas Department of State Health Services: Office of Border Health, Texas Department of State Health Services: U.S. Mexico Border Health Commission, Udder Covers, Under Cover Mama.

Partner agencies: Baby Café, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, US- Mexico Border Health Commission, El Paso Department of Public Health, La Fe, Alliance for Border Collaboratives, La Leche League, Texas Department of State Health Services, Office of Border Health, Providencem University Medical Hospital, El Paso WIC program.

Presentation at Healthy Texas Mothers & Babies Conference

Healthy Texas Mothers & Babies Conference: A Clinical and Community Life Course Perspective.

The Healthy Texas Babies initiative was developed to help Texas communities decrease infant mortality using evidence-based interventions. It involves community stakeholders, healthcare providers, and health care administrators. A reduction in infant mortality will improve the health of Texas babies and mothers and has the potential to save millions of dollars in healthcare costs. The conference, which was held on June 22-24, was centered on the Life Course Perspective and the information and practices health professionals need to improve birth outcomes and maternal health. There were two tracks, Clinical and Community/CHW, available to attendees to facilitate discussion and connection with their peers.

Adriana Corona Luevanos, Texas Department of State Health Services - Region 9/10, Office of Border Health and BBC member presented the "Binational Breastfeeding Coalition: The Border Experiences." Participants were able to identify potential organizations in order to work bi-nationally in the area of breastfeeding. They also learned about traditional and non-traditional partners working together to create a support network to empower women to breastfeed. The Binational Breastfeeding Coalition experience encouraged the audience to think outside the box in creating a culture of breastfeeding.