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The Niagara Region Breastfeeding Coalition (NRBFC) was established in September of 1996 with over 30 members sitting at the table. Over the years many projects have been completed.

"Need Help with Breastfeeding" is a resource pamphlet developed by the NRBFC to assist families in the area to access support and help with breastfeeding and information about pump rentals.This project is now maintained by the Niagara Region Public Health Department.

"The Breastfeeding Link" was a co-operative project with the Public Health Department. Peer support has been found to be very influential in a mother's success and continuation of breastfeeding. The program provided new mothers with breastfeeding support and information, using experienced trained volunteers (links) from the community. The one-to-one telephone peer support program linked lactation women with experienced, knowledgeable and trained volunteers who had attended orientation sessions provided by a Certified Lactation Consultant. The volunteers aimed to give the new mothers the confidence and support they needed to enjoy a positive breastfeeding experience. This program ran successfully until the Healthy Babies/Healthy Children program, available through Public Health, began their post partum telephone call support. Every mother receives a phone call from a Public Health Nurse. The mothers seemed to find this helpful and were not participating in "The Breastfeeding Link" program and it was terminated due to lack of interest from the mothers.

With the onset of regionalization, and the formation of the Niagara Health System (NHS), the need for consistent, current information is increasing rapidly. In order to establish this consistency in all health care settings, the NRBFC developed "Breastfeeding...... Getting it Right, Early Breastfeeding Days" This resource booklet is produced by the coaltion and all the hospitals within NHS, West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Niagara Region Public Health Department and the Renaissance Midwives purchase these booklets at cost to be distributed to all breastfeeding mothers in the Niagara Region. The coaltion updates these annually to ensure that the most recent information is available to breastfeeding families.

The NRBFC has made a presentation to area pharmacists to make them aware of resources in the community and how they can assist breastfeeding mothers to continue successfully.

A dinner was held at the Minolta Tower and area physicians attended an informative evening presented by the coalition and Niagara Region Public Health with guest speakers from St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton.

The coalition has been active in community advocacy. We have written letters to the NHS encouraging continued support for breastfeeding support to families, approached retailers who provide baskets to new mothers to replace soothers and bottles with more baby friendly items such as bibs or blankets. We have worked with the Public Health Department in approaching malls and restaurants to provide supportive breastfeeding environment to their customers. We have participated in mall displays during World Breastfeeding Weeks and have worked with the Public Health Department in organizing Breastfeeding Challenges.

We have worked in co-operation with the Hamilton Lactation Committee to provide very successful and informative Breastfeeding Conferences for Health Professionals and consumers.

Coalition members met with Parks and Recreation staff from Niagara Region's municipalities to encourage Baby Friendly areas in the Region's Parks and at events held at the various parks. A pamphlet was developed to be distributed to agencies when parks are reserved for events. Baby Friendly Areas, Caring for your Festival's Youngest Participants.

The coaltion continues to meet regularly to work on our mission and maintain a supportive environment for families in the Niagara Region.

If you are interested in helping with the coalition endeavours please call:
Karen at
905-735-5697 Ext 7624
for information about our next meeting

History of NRBC ~ Breastfeeding Getting it Right ~ Is My Baby Getting Enough?
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