INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — More than a dozen moms brought their little ones to Troy Moody Park off Buena Vista Boulevard in Vero Beach on Saturday to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week by participating in the Big Latch On of Indian River.
They spread blankets on the ground and got comfortable, chatting with one another before the countdown to latching their child on for a one-minute nursing session. They were counted and that number – 16 – was later entered on the BigLatchOn.org site to help break the record of moms breastfeeding simultaneously around the world.
“It’s more than I expected,” organizer Christina Love said of Saturday’s turnout, given that this was the first year for the event in Indian River County. “I think it turned out well.”
The skies had been gloomy all morning as the remnants of Tropical Storm Dorian swirled off the east coast. But the rain held off long enough for the Big Latch On to take place.
The brief public breastfeeding event served to not just register numbers, but also to reinforce the community support for nursing mothers.
Co-organizer Callie Trautman said they hoped to raise awareness that support is available locally for moms who need it.
She and others are creating an Indian River County subgroup of La Leche League International’s Treasure Coast regional group.
“Last year, we weren’t quite ready” for an Indian River County Big Latch On event, she said. This year, they were.
Support can be critical for breastfeeding moms who run into a rough patch with their little one and can be the difference between continuing or giving up.
For DeeDee Williams, it was with La Leche League’s support she has been able to continue nursing her 19-month-old daughter, Zion.
“I didn’t expect I’d continue past six months,” Williams said. Having other moms to talk to helped her make informed decisions about keeping the nursing going.
Other moms attended the event, not necessarily because they needed the support but because they wanted to offer the support themselves.
“I’m very passionate” about breastfeeding, said Julie Hewitt, who nursed her now-4-year-old for 20 months. “I want to spread the word” about its benefits and “normalize” breastfeeding.
Her friend, Tiffany Smidley, agreed, saying she attended the event to show support for breastfeeding and to help remove the taboo that some still attach to it.
Nicole Coppage didn’t have family support for breastfeeding, she said. No one she could really talk to, to ask questions of, to get advice. But the local La Leche League group stepped in.
She continues to nurse her 2 ½-year-old, Karleigh, though she said she thought she would have stopped by now.
“She’s still going,” Coppage said of Karleigh. “It’s her comfort.”
Coppage said she knows there are some people out there who would question nursing a child past two years.
“Every person’s different,” she said. “Every mom is different.”
The World Health Organization recommends moms breastfeed their children for two years, the world average. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends moms nurse their children for at least one year.
“A mom really wants to nurse,” Williams said. But sometimes they’re afraid because of horror stories they’ve read or heard, or because of misinformation they’ve gleaned over the years.
She said that is why having a local La Leche League group is important.
Love and Trautman, with others, are in the process of separating out a Vero Beach La Leche League group. In the meantime, those interested in getting more information about the breastfeeding support group can visit www.LLLofTC.org – or the main site, www.LLLI.org.
There is a monthly meeting in Vero Beach on the third Wednesday of the month at 10:30 a.m. held at the WIC Office in the Department of Health Building, 1900 27th St.
There is also meeting in Sebastian on the second Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m. at the North County Library, 1001 Sebastian Blvd.
