Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

From left, Danetta Jensen and her son, = Izaiah,=20 8-months-old, enjoy time with Ethan Slish, 9 months, his mother = Trish and=20 (in the back) Kayleigh Hamon, 9 months, and her mother, Krystal, = during=20 the Amador/ Calaveras Breastfeeding Coalition event at Detert Park = Wednesday. More than 40 people attended the event designed to = support=20 breastfeeding moms in the home, community and workplace.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
More than 2,500 people across the = state=20 participated in a special event, and in Amador County there was no = paucity of=20 enthusiasm for the occasion.

Nearly 40 moms, dads and community = members -=20 not to mention several cherub-faced little ones - showed up for the=20 Amador/Calaveras Breastfeeding Coalition's "First Step to a Healthy = Life" walk=20 Wednesday at Detert Park in Jackson. The California Breastfeeding = Coalition and=20 several California Women, Infants and Children Agencies spearheaded = similar=20 walks in more than 25 events across the state to recognize the = importance of=20 breastfeeding as "a first step to a healthy life," according to a = pamphlet=20 available at the walk.

In addition to local coalition members, = other=20 agencies, including the Human Resources Council Motherlode WIC and the = SAFE KIDS=20 of Amador/Calaveras, were on hand with booths containing books, = information and=20 other resources for nursing mothers.

New mother, Trish Slish, = who=20 attended the event with her 9-month-old son, Ethan, said she's been=20 breastfeeding her son since birth. "He just came out and latched on," = she said,=20 while she sat with him on a blanket on the grass with two other mothers = and=20 their infants. "I had a really easy time," she said, noting that she was = really=20 lucky.

Slish said she likes going to breastfeeding support groups = to=20 learn more and talk with other mothers about their breastfeeding issues. =

"I wanted to breastfeed from the very beginning," said mother = Jennifer=20 Jones, as she helped her napping baby, Tyler, a 2-month-old. "You end up = with a=20 healthier baby."

Jones, and several others at the event, have=20 participated in Lamaze classes and breastfeeding support groups at = Sutter Amador=20 Hospital in Jackson.

The facilitator of such groups, Cheryll = Haight, a=20 delivery nurse at the hospital, told the Ledger Dispatch during the = walk, that=20 there are three reasons mothers should breastfeed their children. = "Breastfeeding=20 makes children smarter, healthier and better looking," she said, adding = that=20 "cow milk is for cows and human milk is for babies."

Brandy = Astwood, a=20 member of the coalition, said that breastfeeding is good for babies = because it=20 naturally provides nourishment for them. It's also more cost effective = than=20 purchasing formula, she said. Some mothers fear breastfeeding, she = added,=20 because "some think they won't be able to do it or they worry that their = baby=20 won't be getting enough (to eat)."

Some women, however, just = aren't able=20 to breastfeed for different reasons, Haight said. In those cases, = mothers should=20 do what works best for them and their babies. Normally, the woman's = doctor will=20 work with her to find the right formula to give her baby.

Those = who do=20 breastfeed should drink plenty of fluids and should eat healthy for = herself and=20 her baby, said Robin Bunch, the local coalition chair.

Sutter = Amador=20 Hospital in Jackson offers a free breastfeeding support group at 10:30 = a.m. each=20 Wednesday. For more information, call 223-7460. For more information = about the=20 HRC Motherlode WIC program located in Jackson, call 223-7685.

For = information on how to breastfeed and other issues related to the topic, = visit=20 the California Department of Public Health Web site at=20 http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/wicworks/Pages/WIC-BFResource.aspx.
Contact=20 the Amador/ Calaveras Breastfeeding Coalition at (800) 218-2427 or=20 772-0511.

Bethany A. = Monk