About Baby-Friendly

Baby-Friendly Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) is the primary forum for protecting, promoting and supporting NL families during pregnancy and in the first years after birth. The website is directed at pregnant women, mothers and their families. The goal of the site is to support parents in choosing and continuing to breastfeed.

We offer accurate information with local resources and ways to get help and support. We also provide the following information, features and links:

• Breastfeeding events
• New research
• Photo gallery of NL families
• Baby-friendly Mom Blogs
• Baby-friendly Dad Blogs
• Facebook page
• Twitter account,
• YouTube channel.

The babyfriendlynl.ca website and the poster campaign are initiatives that the Breastfeeding Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador is working on with our regional breastfeeding partners.

You’ll See Plenty of Strange Things: The Posters
Perhaps you’ve noticed one of our posters in a hockey arena, school, college, Memorial University, community centre, shopping mall, business or at your doctor’s office or public health centre? These are the showcase items in our public awareness campaign.

You’ll see plenty of strange things….breastfeeding isn’t one of them is a fun, humorous campaign designed to promote public acceptance of breastfeeding. The posters touch on the positive health benefits of breastfeeding, but focus more on minimizing the stigma about breastfeeding in public. It’s all about building confidence in women to breastfeed! Through this public awareness campaign we hope to encourage the families of pregnant women and the communities in which they live to support new mothers and give them the confidence they need to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.

The posters are available at your local public health office for display within the community or at community events.

About The Breastfeeding Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Breastfeeding Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador was established in 1992 as a forum for collective action by breastfeeding experts and advocates. The NL Provincial Perinatal Program is the lead agency for the Breastfeeding Coalition. The babyfriendlynl.ca website and the poster campaign are initiatives that the Breastfeeding Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador is working on with our regional breastfeeding partners. Health professional education, community-based mother-to-mother support, new public education resources, workplace supports, regional health authority policies and education in the schools are all initiatives that complement the public awareness initiatives.

The Breastfeeding Coalition of Newfoundland and Labrador has five working groups.

• Health Professional Education
• BFI Assessment Tools/Resources
• Research
• Public Education and Awareness
• Building Community Capacity

Purpose
The Coalition’s purpose is to provide leadership for the implementation of the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Initiative (BFI) and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (and subsequent, relevant WHA resolutions), as the evidenced-based standard to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Objectives:

1. To support the implementation of key actions within the Provincial Wellness Plan, The Provincial Food and Nutrition Framework and Action Plan and other relevant provincial strategies.
2. To work collaboratively with the Breastfeeding Committee for Canada
3. To support members working to protect, promote and support breastfeeding within their regions
4. To make recommendations about policies, guidelines, protocols and educational resources to support the implementation of the BFI
5. To provide a forum for dialogue, consultation and advocacy on issues that influence BFI process
6. To monitor provincial BFI progress
7. To contribute to the development of comprehensive, multi-sectoral health promotion strategies that work to establish a breastfeeding culture in the province
8. To advocate for interdisciplinary breastfeeding research

Membership
The membership of the Breastfeeding Coalition is comprised of representation from, but not limited to:

• Department of Health and Community Services from Nutrition and Parent and Child Health
• NL Provincial Perinatal Program
• Memorial University Faculty
• Representatives from hospital and community health services selected through regional breastfeeding committees
• Community-based organizations e.g., La Leche League
• Additional expertise as deemed necessary