Title
To declare August 2017 as National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the City of Columbus and remind Columbus residents that breast feeding is about “working together for the common good!”
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WHEREAS, Breast feeding is organized and promoted worldwide by the (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action), WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) to improve the health of babies; and
WHEREAS, optimal nutrition is of vital significance in the early months and years of life and has a lifelong impact on health; and
WHEREAS, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and continued breastfeeding, along with appropriate complementary feeding at six months and beyond, ensures that both mothers and infants receive maximum health benefits; and
WHEREAS, breast milk is physiologically tailored to meet infants’ maturing digestive systems, ensuring proper growth and development; and
WHEREAS, breast milk helps prevent a variety of infections and many chronic diseases, including diarrhea, asthma, diabetes, obesity, and certain childhood cancers; and
WHEREAS, BLaC was founded to help connect central Ohio women of color to evidence-based information, community resources and sisterhood through the shared experience of breastfeeding, thus improving the health of both mother and child; and
WHEREAS, BLaC will be in celebration of Black Breastfeeding Week with a community forum on Saturday, August 19 to kickoff working toward lowering the infant mortality rates of children of color in Central Ohio; and
WHEREAS, the theme of this year’s Breastfeeding Awareness Month is “working together for the common good!” -as the promotion of this message supports the city’s efforts to improve public health in our community; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby declare August 2017 as National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the City of Columbus and remind Columbus residents that breast feeding is about “working together for the common good!”