NO MOTHER LEFT BEHIND: REDUCING RACIAL DISPARITIES IN BREASTFEEDING RATES

NEW CITY, NY - - Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Rockland County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert encourage residents to attend the presentation, No Mother Left Behind: Reducing Racial Disparities in Breastfeeding Rates, at the Rockland County Breastfeeding Coalition meeting on Wednesday, September 27th from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. The meeting will be held at the Finkelstein Memorial Library, located at 24 Chestnut Street in Spring Valley. The presentation is free and open to the public.

The presenter, Kimberly Seals Allers, is an award-winning journalist, author, and a nationally recognized media commentator, consultant and advocate for breastfeeding and infant health. She is the author of The Big Letdown: How Medicine, Big Business & Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding. A book signing will follow her presentation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-Hispanic Black women are less likely to initiate breastfeeding, have lower prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding, and breastfeed for a shorter duration. The Health Department, through the Creating Breastfeeding Friendly Communities program, received funding from the New York State Department of Health to work with many local agencies, child care and health care providers, worksites, and community partners and members to ensure that all women and families receive ongoing high-quality breastfeeding education and support aimed at reducing racial breastfeeding disparities.

Part of this funding allows the Health Department to work with the Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network to establish a Rockland County Breastfeeding Coalition aimed at reducing breastfeeding disparities in high-need areas in the Towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown.

"One of the goals of the coalition is to reduce barriers that breastfeeding mothers face, and create a culture in the community where all women feel comfortable and supported in breastfeeding their babies," said Dr. Ruppert.

Please RSVP for the meeting/presentation by e-mailing medranos@lhvpn.net or calling 914-406-6412. For more information about the Rockland County Breastfeeding Coalition and Creating Breastfeeding Friendly Communities visit http://bit.ly/1iMYXRT or call the Health Department at 845-364-3786.