The Breastfeeding Coalition of Ventura County works to establish breastfeeding as the cultural norm and to promote maternal and child health through breastfeeding education, support and outreach in Ventura County. The Coalition's intiatives include:

Awards

The Awards Committee coordinates the Annual Breastfeeding Friendly Awards, which are given to businesses, not-for-profit organizations, licensed childcare provders and physicians located within Ventura County in recognition of outstanding promotion, advocacy and support of breastfeeding.

Education

The coalition provides advocacy and education to health care providers, policy makers and the community at large.
 
First Quarter 2010 (January-March)

• Certified Lactation Education Counselor (CLEC)/ UCSD extension course provided 38 new lactation counselors to the community.

Second Quarter (April-June)

• To create and provide promotional breastfeeding materials to locations where pregnant and breastfeeding families gather.

Third and Fourth Quarters (July-December)

• We hope to create educational seminars aimed at health care professionals to guide them in recognizing problems and referring to appropriate resources in the community.

Outreach

Through community outreach and promotion, the coalition strives to increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as availability of breastfeeding support resources for mothers and their families, health care professionals, employers, childcare providers and anyone involved in the support of breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

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BCVC Meetings recently included discussion about the WHO Code. To learn more about this important topic, see these links:

ILCA Speaks Out About Dropping Medela

Medela, the WHO Code Violator

Letter from ILCA to its membership