World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) and National Breastfeeding Month (NBM) offer an opportunity to celebrate our families and to be part of the INTERNATIONAL and NATIONAL celebrations as we create welcoming and safe communities for nursing families! WBW and NBM are important events for advocates and supporters, providing important space for increasing awareness and highlighting challenges and barriers. We are reminded again this year that it takes the whole community – international, national, regional, and local – to support and welcome lactating families! Breastfeed Orange NC is delighted to share information about these international and national celebrations and how they connect with our Orange County community!
World Breastfeeding Week!
WBW is officially celebrated yearly on August 1-7. The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) has been coordinating World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) since 1992 to create public awareness and support for breastfeeding, and, since 2016, WABA has aligned the event with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, calling it the “WBW-SDGs Campaign”.
This year’s theme, Prioritise Breastfeeding | Create Sustainable Support Systems, aligns with Thematic Area 3 – Environment and Climate Change – of the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign. WBW calls us to work together to create a sustainable environment to support breastfeeding and reduce the impact of the artificial infant feeding supply chain on our climate.
Prioritising and supporting breastfeeding will reduce the growing climate impact of artificial infant feed supply chains. However, breastfeeding can be challenging when parents are not fully supported. WBW2025 will outline the roles and connect the actors…to create a breastfeeding-friendly environment together at all levels; national, health, workplace and community. By connecting the actors working at different levels, a synergistic effort to support the parents will be in place.
Climate change is a core concern in our Orange County community. Natural disasters and public health emergencies are impacting our local communities and all of North Carolina with greater frequency and ever-increasing intensity. This year’s WBW theme provides the important connection between supporting breastfeeding families and supporting our environment!
National Breastfeeding Month!
The US Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) 2025 National Breastfeeding Month theme, Forward Together, “centers on unity, solidarity, and hope and celebrates the strength and determination of the organizations and advocates committed to advancing policy, systems, and environmental change in the first Food field and improving access to human milk.”
USBC https://www.usbreastfeeding.org/national-breastfeeding-month.html
National Breastfeeding Month is a beautiful palette of celebrations that is growing and redefining the “month” with observances in August and September. International and national observances include WBW and the National WIC Breastfeeding Week celebration, which also takes place on the first week of August.
Cultural observances “celebrate different communities, identities, and perspectives.”
• Indigenous Milk Medicine Week (Unapologetically Indigenous: Love, Landback, & Liberation);
• Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week (Diverse Voices, One Vision);
• Black Breastfeeding Week (Boots on the Ground; Rooted in Breastfeeding Success, Grounded in Community Support)
• Semana de la Lactancia Latina (Territorio del Corazon/Lactancia sin Fronteras • Territory of the Heart/Breastfeeding without Borders)
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week (Close the Gap, Bridge the Divide: Establish Breastfeeding Support Access)
Social observances focus “on the societal systems that impact our collective lived experiences.”
• Military Lactation Celebration (Decade of Dedication)
• Workplace Lactation Week (A World of Support: Creating Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplaces Everywhere)
This is just a glimpse of the many observances. There is so much to celebrate and lift up in all of our communities. We hope that you check out the USBC website for more information: https://www.usbreastfeeding.org/national-breastfeeding-month.html
Additional Resources
Background on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Global Nutrition Cluster Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies: https://www.nutritioncluster.net/thematic-areas/infant-and-young-child-feeding-emergencies
US Breastfeeding Committee Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E): https://www.usbreastfeeding.org/breastfeeding-in-emergencies.html