MOUNT HOLLY – August is National Breastfeeding Month and Burlington County is hosting a special resource fair to help educate new and expecting parents about breastfeeding benefits and supports.
Burlington County’s Breastfeeding Celebration & Resource Fair will be held Wednesday, Aug. 13, from 10 AM to 2 PM, at the Lyceum of History and Natural Sciences, 307 High Street, Mount Holly. The event will feature presentations and discussions from lactation experts, counselors and health care advocates about the importance of breastfeeding and available resources, along with children’s games and activities, handouts, information tables and raffles.
The event is being organized by the Burlington County Health Department and the County’s Women, Infants and Children Program, also known as WIC. Some of the other participants include: Aspire Youth Development, The Cooperative of Southern New Jersey, Legacy Treatment Center, Virtua Pediatric Mobile Services, Virtua Maternity & Breastfeeding Services, Safe Kids Southern NJ, Horizon NJ Health, Pinelands Family Success Center, Burlington Community Action Partnership, Food Bank of South Jersey, Generations Family Success Center and Mosaic Early Learning Head Start (Center for Family Services).
“Burlington County strives to make a difference in all our residents’ lives and one of the ways we do that is through education and promoting healthy choices and, resources and services,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Dr. Felicia Hopson. “The upcoming Breastfeeding Celebration & Resource Fair is a great place for new or expecting parents to come for information, support and resources that can benefit them and their babies. It’s a great initiative by our Health Department and WIC program and we are hoping for a nice turnout.”
Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months and that they continue to breastfeed for at least a year while other foods are introduced.
Research has also found that breastfeeding provides infants with nutrition and supports healthy brain and immune system development and that breastfed babies have decreased risk of many chronic diseases, including childhood asthma, gastroenteritis, diabetes and childhood leukemia.
In 2019, about 82.5% of all infants born in New Jersey were initially breastfed, however, the percentage dropped to 55.4% after six months and less than 34% after one year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control 2022 Breastfeeding Report Card.
Information will also be available about civil protections and the rights of nursing mothers. Under New Jersey law, employers are required to provide reasonable break times for mothers to express milk, as well as a suitable location other than a toilet stall for an employee to breastfeed or pump in private. The law also forbids an employer from firing or discriminating against women who choose to breastfeed or express milk during breaks.
Commissioner Tyler Burrell, liaison to the County Health Department, said the upcoming event would connect residents with other important information about breastfeeding and other health resources, including services available through the WIC program.
WIC provides supplemental food, education, health care and social service referrals and other social services to income-eligible pregnant women, new mothers and children 5-years-old or younger.
WIC households come from all parts of Burlington County and include military families residing on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Last year, more than 51,624 residents received services and more than $4.5 million in nutrition assistance was awarded through the County program.
“For more than 50 years, WIC has delivered new and expecting mothers with nutritional support and other resource that are critical for their health and the health of their children,” said Commissioner Burrell. “The upcoming Breastfeeding Celebration & Resource Fair is a great example of their work and how they improve the health of thousands of Burlington County mothers and children.”