Mayor Lydia Lavelle (re)proclaimed the Town of Carrboro to be a Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community. Mayor Lavelle reminded us that the Town of Carrboro continues its commitment to “helping families to thrive by ensuring that they receive community support to develop and sustain healthy lifestyles.” Shawna Daniels represented the initiative and spoke about the importance of this Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community proclamation in support of health equity for families in our community, connecting this work in Carrboro to the words of JP Grant, when UNICEF Director, that breastfeeding is the “Great Equalizer”, because it confers the same optimal benefits to all families regardless of economic status, race or ethnicity, or family structure.
Families are a priority in the Town of Carrboro, and part of helping families to thrive is ensuring that they receive community support to develop and sustain healthy lifestyles.
Carrboro Proclamation
View the proclamation. The text of the proclamation is included here.
PROCLAMATION BREASTFEEDING FAMILY FRIENDLY COMMUNITY” WHEREAS, families are a priority in the Town of Carrboro, and part of helping families to thrive is ensuring that they receive community support to develop and sustain healthy lifestyles; and WHEREAS, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, and other leading health organizations, breastfeeding is the optimal food for infants; and WHEREAS, breastfeeding is associated with lower rates of childhood illness, such as obesity, diabetes, and infectious diseases, as well as reduced risk of maternal breast and ovarian cancers and a faster recovery from childbirth as compared to formula feeding; and WHEREAS, breastfeeding promotes social-emotional development, benefits the entire family, and is associated with lifelong health and development; and a parent’s decision to feed human milk to infants directly or by expressing should be supported by family members and the community; and WHEREAS, promoting best practices in human milk feeding for healthcare providers and clinics encourages families to start and continue to feed human milk; and WHEREAS, creating a local Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care designation supports parents and childcare staff to continue breastfeeding and offering expressed milk, when returning to work or school, and supports childcare staff with on-site breastfeeding facilities or spaces; and WHEREAS, encouraging our local education systems to include breastfeeding and human milk feeding curricula at all levels normalizes breastfeeding; and collaborating on community resources and building community awareness can positively impact breastfeeding success; and WHEREAS, our community is proud to have attained broad support and direct community actions - UNC Women’s Hospital, and a birthing center, Women’s Birth and Wellness Center, have attained Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative designation; the Orange County Health Department has received the NC Breastfeeding Coalition Mother-Baby Clinic Award; and childcare programs in our community have been designated breastfeeding-friendly; and WHEREAS, by providing a supportive and welcoming environment, a breastfeeding friendly community encourages families of all races, ethnicities, and family structures to initiate and continue optimal infant feeding/nursing; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, Lydia E. Lavelle, Mayor of the Town of Carrboro, do hereby proclaim the Town of Carrboro to be a 2021 “Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community.” This, the 27th day of April 2021.
Thank you to Mayor Lavelle and all on the Town Council for your continued support of Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities.