Does alcohol consumption improve milk production for mothers who breastfeed their infants? Not according to Julie A. Mennella, Ph.D., one of the authors of a study jointly funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the Office of Research on Women’s Health.

“If a mother is drinking alcohol just to improve the quality or quantity of milk, she needs to know that here is no evidence to support this claim,” says Mennella. “In fact, what happens is quite the opposite, as alcohol disrupts the hormonal milieu of lactation in a way that may impede successful breastfeeding.”

Knowing the facts about breastfeeding is essential to the optimal health and development of the newborn child through the age of two years old. Getting these facts to families across the globe is the aim of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), which begins Monday, Aug. 1. WBW is an annual event that celebrates and promotes awareness of the many, and often irreplaceable, benefits of breastfeeding.

“Mother’s milk enhances the growth, development and well-being of infants by providing the best possible nutrition and protection against specific infections and allergies and these benefits are strongest when exclusive breastfeeding is practiced for the first six months of life,” says J. Nick Baird, M.D., director of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).

WBW marks the beginning of Breastfeeding Awareness Month (August) in Ohio. This year’s WBW theme, Breastfeeding and Family Foods: Loving and Healthy, focuses on how to appropriately feed children other foods while breastfeeding is continued. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants be exclusively breastfed for six months and that breastfeeding should continue until the infant is at least one year old.

“Breast milk continues to be an important source of nourishment for children after the first six months when appropriate complementary foods start to be added to an infant’s diet,” says Baird.

Breastfeeding Awareness Month offers the Athens community an opportunity to promote exclusive breastfeeding for six months, with the addition of healthy, properly prepared, complementary family foods after baby’s first six months, as the cornerstone of a healthy family diet.

Research has shown that breastfeeding enhances intellectual development and decreases the risk of obesity. The January 1998 edition of Pediatrics contained a study that showed children breastfed for eight months or longer had higher IQ test scores and performed better in high school than those not breastfed. The February 2004 edition of Pediatrics reported breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity in non-Hispanic whites.

Public health clinics in Ohio, including all Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clinics, have trained staff that can provide research-based, culturally sensitive information about breastfeeding and introducing complementary foods.

“Eating habits develop at the family table,” says Mary McPherson, R.N., C., Child and Family Health Services perinatal project coordinator for Community Service Programs.

“Feeding infants and young children healthy, properly prepared, complementary family foods while breastfeeding continues can lay the foundation of good health and development for a lifetime.

“We must provide Ohio mothers-to-be and their families with enough information to make informed choices about feeding infants and young children. Once the decision to breastfeed has been made, we must provide a supportive environment to encourage the continuation of breastfeeding. Ultimately, our whole society will benefit from having healthier mothers, babies and children.

“Breast milk is the most perfect food for babies,” says McPherson.

During WBW, OU-COM’s Department of Social Medicine and Community Service Programs, Athens La Leche League, Athens-Perry WIC, O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, Ohio University’s School of Human and Consumer Services and University Medical Associates, with the support of ODH, are co-sponsoring local public service events that promote awareness of the importance and benefits of breastfeeding. These events begin Aug. 1.

Aug. 1–7

World Breastfeeding Week banner will be displayed across Court Street

Wednesday, Aug. 3

“World Breastfeeding Week”

Live from Studio B, 12:30 p.m.–1 p.m., hosted by Jackie Wolf, Ph.D., OU-COM associate professor of social medicine, with guest, Michele Biddlestone, O’Bleness Memorial Hospital lactation consultant

WOUB (1340 AM)

Monday, Aug. 8, and Tuesday, Aug. 9

OU-COM’s Family Health Radio^® will air segments on the importance of breastfeeding

WOUB (1340 AM) 8:45 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.

WOUB (91.3 FM) 7:35 a.m.

WCVJ (90.9 FM) 12:15 p.m.

WLOH (1320 AM) 10:10 a.m.

WMOA (1490 AM) 9:45 a.m.

WAIS (770 AM) 12:25 p.m.

WMCO (90.7 FM) 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

WCLT (1430 AM) 10:31 a.m. and 2:31 p.m.

WHIZ (1240 AM) 3:45 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 10

Open House, Noon–3 p.m.

Family Health Care and Athens County Women, Infants and Children

88 North Plains Road, Suite 1

Plains, Ohio

(740) 594-8143

Thursday, Aug. 11

“Breastfeeding and Family Foods”

Health Matters, 10 a.m., hosted by Nancy Schell, OU-COM Community Service Programs coordinator, with guest Susan Klingelhafer, WIC breastfeeding expert

WATH (970 AM)

WIC and the Athens County Breastfeeding Advocacy Group are making informational bookmarks and lists of books and videos about breastfeeding available in libraries and bookstores during the month. Also, the Family Medicine newspaper column (available in local newspapers) by Martha Simpson, D.O., associate professor of family medicine, will feature the topic, “Breastfed babies are healthier both physically and mentally,” during WBW.

For more information about breastfeeding, please call the “Help Me Grow” Helpline at (800) 755-GROW or McPherson at (740) 593-2481. Internet resources are available at www.breastfeeding.com, www.who.int/child-adolescenthealth/nutrition/complementary.htm, www.linkagesproject.org/publications/index.php, www.ncbi.lm.nih.gov and www.ibreastfeeding.com.