Media Release for World Breastfeeding Week
World Breastfeeding Week begins on 1 August 2005. Women’s Health Action is marking the event this year with: The launch
of a radical new image as a poster and bill board and an Attempt to set a Guinness World RecordTM in New Zealand for
‘the most mothers breastfeeding simultaneously’.
The record attempt is on Saturday 6 August at 11am, with celebrities Petra Bagust and Theresa Healey breastfeeding their
babies as part of the event at LynnMall in Auckland (There are numerous other venues around the country, see
www.womens-health.org.nz for details).
Louise James, Breastfeeding Advocate from Women’s Health Action says “We are using a totally new approach to
breastfeeding promotion this year centered around an unusual and unconventional breastfeeding image.”
The theme for this years WBW – which was used to develop the poster – is breastfeeding and family foods. The aim is to
promote breastmilk firstly as a total food for babies and then as a supplement for healthy first foods for toddlers to
two years and beyond.
However, as a society, we are sometimes not comfortable seeing women breastfeeding in public and we are certainly unused
to seeing breastfeeding toddlers. The new poster celebrates these aspects of breastfeeding and aims to give a clear
message that breastfeeding into toddlerhood produces optimum health and wellbeing for children and mothers.
“A breastfeeding toddler has no need of artificial baby milk or any other milk” says Louise James. The new image of
breastfeeding in New Zealand will be available on Thursday 28th of July for publication. To request a copy or for more
information please contact:
ENDS