Binational Breastfeeding Coalition

MISSION: To protect and promote breastfeeding on the El Paso/Juárez border as the natural and expected means of feeding human infants. • MISIÓN: Proteger y promover la lactancia en la frontera El Paso/Juárez como el medio natural y esperado de alimentar a los infantes humanos.

Binational Breastfeeding Coalition

Look Who's Talking Lecture Series: Oct 16 Webinar Recap

Image of baby breastfeeding and with arm reaching out to mother's face

Whatcha Say, Baby?

presented by Catherine Watson Genna

Catherine Watson Genna was a SMASH!!

Catherine Watson Genna, of course, is well known in the lactation world for her book (now in its 3rd edition) Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants. Her resume is so extensive, over 20 pages long, and includes books, chapters in books, lectures, and more peer reviewed articles than most could even dream of. She is a true pioneer in the field of lactation.

On October 16, she presented the “Whatcha Say, Baby?” (¿Qué me quieres decir, bebé? in Spanish) webinar for the Binational Breastfeeding Coalition (BBC) and it included 3 topics:

  • Assessing Suck Swallow Patterns

  • Facilitating Infant Competence: Hand Use During Latch, and

  • Whatcha Say, Baby? Infant Communication.

Ms. Watson provided comprehensive technical information on suck and swallow and used multiple videos, photographs and personal anecdotes to illustrate how newborns use their hands to communicate. She gracefully answered many questions and in the full three hours only took one short break!

Who joined us? We had an incredible turnout! There were 225 people who completed the three lectures. We had lactation professionals, nurses, physicians, dietitians, peer counselors, community health workers, and more in attendance from 34 states across the United States and 12 states across Mexico! Also represented were 13 countries and 6 continents. We had participants from Australia, South Africa, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Poland, the UK and Spain.

This was our first seminar conducted online. There were other firsts for us too:

  • our first international audience that reached beyond the U.S. and Mexico

  • the first time we were able to provide simultaneous Spanish interpretation during a conference, and

  • the first time in our lecture series in which we were able to offer credits to dieticians.

We were fortunate to have great partners such as University Medical Center of El Paso, which provided nursing credits, and American Heart Association, which facilitated the registration and video teleconference capabilities along with the technical support needed to carry out the webinar. We are grateful to El Paso Health for their support as well and especially grateful for our hard working and tireless members for helping in making this webinar a reality.

Of course, we need to give a special thanks to Catherine Watson Genna for being the wonderful, friendly and approachable person that she is and for sharing her immense knowledge.

If you were among those who attended, the Binational Breastfeeding Coalition wants to thank you for joining us and making this such an incredible and unique gathering of people who love human lactation.

This lecture would not have been possible without the support of the following organizations:

Logos for Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Heart Association, El Jardin Birth and Family Resource Center, El Paso Health, University Medical Center of El Paso, Binational Breastfeeding Coalition

The Binational Breastfeeding Coalition is about to commemorate our 10th anniversary, so stay tuned for a celebration in 2022!

La Gran Tetada / Big Latch On 2021 Recap

August is World Breastfeeding Month (WBM) and World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated August 1-7, 2021. BBC celebrates every year with the Big Latch On, as does most of the world.

The BBC has participated in the Big Latch On for 12 years now, and this was the second virtual event.

During the first year of the pandemic, 2020, BBC participated in a Facebook event featuring testimonial videos in conjunction with American Heart Association to promote breastfeeding and celebrate.

This year, 2021, WBM was celebrated with a live virtual event on August 2. This year’s event is the second time BBC has joined with NaSer and La Secretaria de Salud in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to make it the biggest one so far. La Gran Tetada / The Big Latch On reached 3 states and 2 countries. The states were Chihuahua, Texas, and New Mexico and the two countries US and Mexico to create a truly binational event. New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force, Naser, Secretaria de Salud and The Binational Breastfeeding Coalition collaborated to make this event spectacular.

Participants were asked to register prior to the event and many activities were planned for that day. Our Master of Ceremony was Marisol from Luna Tierra Birth Center. We had 70 participants from as far away as Guanajuato, Mexico. Everyone was invited to feed their babies for that one designated minute simultaneously, there was a genuine effort made for total inclusion for all methods of infant feeding of human milk. New Mexico, presented a wonderful short video and were responsible for the Breastfeeding Bingo which was a great hit. We had interviews with representatives from the three organizations along with videos.

We had 163 preregistered and 70 participated in the live event. It is interesting to note that there were several women breastfeeding more than 1 child, some were feeding their babies breastmilk in a bottle and there were quite a few breastfeeders over 1 year of age. We had participants from Roswell, Houston, Weslaco Tx., Albuquerque, El Paso and the majority were from Ciudad Juárez.

Where to get your Flu Shot / Donde vacunarse contra la gripe

It’s important for everyone to do their part to stay healthy this flu season. There’s still time and the more people get vaccinated against flu, the more we are all protected from flu. Visit ​http://www.bepowerflu.com/#locations​ to find out where you can get a free flu vaccine or ask your doctor about one on your next visit.

Aun es tiempo de vacunarse contra la gripe. Es muy importante que todos pongamos de nuestra parte para mantenernos saludables durante la temporada de gripe. Entre más personas reciban la vacuna, más estamos protegidos contra la gripe. Visite ​http://www.bepowerflu.com/#locations​ para saber donde se puede vacunar gratuitamente.

week5_Take3_GetVaccinated_Twitter-2.jpg

Protect You & Your Baby / Protégete a ti y tu bebé

Changes in the immune system, heart, and lungs during pregnancy make pregnant women more prone to severe illness from the flu. A flu shot protects you and your baby too. Getting a flu vaccine during pregnancy passes antibodies on to your baby which can reduce their risk of flu by 70% for several months after they’re born.

Flu vaccine can be given safely during pregnancy and CDC recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated during any trimester of their pregnancy. Learn more: 

cdc.gov

bepowerflu.com

Los cambios en el sistema inmunitario, el corazón y los pulmones durante el embarazo hacen que las mujeres embarazadas sean más propensas a enfermarse gravemente a causa de la influenza. La vacuna contra la influenza te protege a ti y a tu bebé. Al recibir la vacuna durante tu embarazo, se traspasan anticuerpos a tu bebé. Esto puede ayudar a reducir el riesgo de que tu bebé se enferme con la gripe hasta un 70% por varios meses después de nacer.

La vacuna contra la influenza se puede administrar de forma segura durante el embarazo. La CDC recomienda la vacunación de las mujeres embarazadas en cualquier trimestre del embarazo. Infórmate más:

espanol.cdc.gov

bepowerflu.com

COVID-19 Vaccination and Lactating Mothers

Below are links to position statements from highly regarded health care organizations concerning the COVID-19 vaccine and breastfeeding. Following the links is a plain language summary. Please be advised that this information is not intended to replace the professional judgement of the patient’s healthcare provider.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists:
Vaccinating Pregnant and Lactating Patients Against COVID-19

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine:
Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination in Lactation

InfantRisk Center at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center:
COVID-19 Vaccine in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Similar to other medications, pregnant and/or breastfeeding women have not been included in studies to determine how well COVID vaccines work or how safe they are. Based on what we understand from similar vaccines, we believe the risks that come with vaccination will probably be low. Therefore, while we wait for more information, each mother and provider should discuss what choice fits their situation best. The risk and benefit of the vaccine should be compared to each mother’s individual risk for getting COVID-19 as well as how well she is expected to tolerate the disease.

– InfantRisk Center

Fight the flu! / ¡Combate la influenza!

Get your flu shot today. It’s important for everyone to do their part to stay healthy this flu season. Anyone 6 months of age or older should get vaccinated against the flu. The more people vaccinated against flu, the more are all protected from flu.

cdc.gov

bepowerflu.com

Vacúnete contra la influenza (gripe) hoy mismo. Es muy importante que todos pongamos de nuestra parte para mantenernos saludables durante la temporada de gripe. Cualquiera que tenga 6 meses de edad o más debe vacunarse contra la gripe. Entre más personas reciban la vacuna, más estamos protegidos contra la gripe.

espanol.cdc.gov

bepowerflu.com

If you are experiencing any breastfeeding problems please contact your health care professional or a lactation consultant.
Si usted está teniendo problemas para amamantar, por favor contacte a su médico o un asesor de lactancia.

Copyright 2024 • Binational Breastfeeding Coalition • A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization