The Sunrise Health Region/Yorkton Tribal Council Skin2Skin Collaborative kicked off its first awareness project on May 8 with the unveiling of the winners of a recent photo contest.
Posters featuring the winning photo entries will be on display at the Yorkton Public Library for the next month.
Between June and October of last year, the Skin2Skin Collaborative offered prize money to selected photo submissions depicting infants and their family members in close physical contact. The collaborative developed the contest as part of its mission to promote skin-to-skin contact as a crucial part of infant development and caregiver bonding.
"Skin-to-skin allows you to help regulate their temperature, their heart rate, their respiration, their blood sugars," explained lactation consultant Heidi Russell at the unveiling. "For moms, it helps with bonding, it releases maternal hormones such as oxytocin that will help establish breastfeeding and help establish a good [milk] supply."
About 20 entries were submitted into the contest.
Contest winners Krystal Spray, Jennifer Haas, Stacey Tress, Bonnie Rodgers, Joanne Fourier, and Joani Litchfield are featured on the collaborative's initial six posters, which may be toured through the region's rural libraries once their stay in Yorkton is finished.
Other photos are planned for use in future awareness campaigns, including a billboard to be displayed during World Breastfeeding Week in October.
.JPG;w=120;h=80;mode=crop)
