New moms have a wide range of challenges, but one of the more subtle ones is where they can take care of their children while in their community. The Baby Friendly Business Initiative is a way for new moms to tell which businesses offer a welcoming place for their young family, including places where they can breast feed their babies.
Vanessa Roebuck with the Baby Friendly Initiative Working Group says that it was easy to get businesses on board with the project, which she admits was a surprise, especially given that there has been controversy surrounding breast feeding through the province.
“They were very supportive and responsive, they thought it was a great idea, and a lot of the businesses had areas in their business for moms, so this is just letting the community know they exist.”
The goal of the Baby Friendly Initiative is to make things easier for all moms, no matter how they choose to feed their children, Roebuck says.
“I think that being a mom is tough enough as it is, breast feeding is even harder. Just knowing that the community is providing that support, that you’re welcome, that you don’t have to worry about someone coming up to you and telling you to cover up or go to the bathroom or all these negative things... We know that in these businesses we’re comfortable, we’re accepted, and we don’t have to worry about those things happening to us.”
Local mom Jessica Kuzma says that she’s glad to see the city taking the initiative and make mothers feel welcome.
“It’s awesome, I’ve nursed all my kids and I’ve never had a problem, but I know lots of moms who feel uncomfortable, as though people are going to stare at them or say rude comments to them.”
The Baby Friendly Business is only the most recent project by the Baby Friendly Initiative, including posters promoting skin-to-skin as well as cutouts to try to help get people more accustomed to breast feeding. The event was also used to raise funds and awareness for their next project, the Yorkton Milk Drop. Alanna Armbruster with the Yorkton and Area Parents for the Milk Drop says that they’re fundraising to buy freezers to allow mothers in the area to donate breast milk.
The milk donated will be sent to Calgary to be pasteurized and processed, before being sent around the country and being fed to babies who need it. Those children are in the NICU, often the severely premature. She says it’s often the case where mothers in this situation have difficulty producing milk, as it’s usually a stressful situation following a difficult pregnancy.
The decision to donate milk is a difficult one, Armbruster says, because it is usually mothers who have lost a child in pregnancy or shortly after delivery. She says that they need to be recognized, for helping another mom in need even after they have suffered a loss of their own.
“The need for human breast milk is actually quite great because there is only a limited population of people who can actually provide it, and you have to go through rigorous screening before you can donate,” Armbruster adds.
The group needs to raise at least $3,000 to buy the freezers, and Armbruster says they will use any more money to purchase breast pumps for the hospital or breast feeding chairs for high traffic areas.
