We are about to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. There are lots of activities planned in Pitt County. Erika Sutton, a nurse at the ECU Family Medicine Center who enjoys working with pregnant and breastfeeding women wants you to know more about this week. Here is what Erika has to say:

As we celebrate the 2008 Olympics, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action is celebrating World Breastfeeding Week August 1–7. This group calls for increased support for mothers striving to achieve the gold standard of infant feeding by breastfeeding their babies exclusively for the first six months, and continue breastfeeding together with feeding other appropriate complementary foods for up to two years and beyond.

As every country sends its best athletes to compete at these global games, it is important to remind ourselves that, in a similar fashion, a healthy young athlete can only emerge from a healthy start on life.

There is no question that optimal infant and young child feeding is essential for optimal growth and development.

Support a mother in providing a golden start for her child! With breastfeeding, everyone wins! Mothers deserve and need empathetic listening; basic, accurate, and timely information; skilled and practical help and encouragement.

The objective of "World Breastfeeding Week" is to expand awareness of the need for and the value of providing support to a breastfeeding mother; to disseminate updated information about support for breastfeeding mothers; and to create optimal conditions for the provision of mother support in all areas.

An Olympic athlete needs support from family, friends, community and sponsors in order to compete successfully. So, too, does a mother need support to breastfeed. Both an athlete and a breastfeeding mother face challenges. For a breastfeeding mother, these challenges include overcoming misinformation, maintaining breastfeeding while working outside the home, coping in emergency situations and, most importantly, overcoming doubts about her ability to breastfeed her baby. Belief in oneself is a key ingredient for success for both the athlete and the mother.

The support a mother receives can be as formal as a visit to a health care professional or as informal as a reassuring smile from another person. Support comes from professional and lay sources — health professionals, hospital and maternity facility staff and policies, doulas and midwives, lactation consultants, trained peer counselors, mother support groups, friends and family.

The Pitt County Breastfeeding Advisory Council in coordination with the Pitt County Health Department is sponsoring a Breastfeeding Fair on Aug. 9 from 1-4 p.m. The event will be held at the Pitt County Agriculture Center, 403 Government Circle. The public is invited and volunteers are needed.

Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Donna Brooks, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor at the Pitt County Health Department at 902-2381.

Babies are born to be breast fed. Breastfeeding provides the best possible start to life in all areas of development. Celebrate life and World Breastfeeding Week and support a breastfeeding mother!

Professor Kathy Kolasa, a registered dietitian and Ph.D., works with the Family Medicine Center, Brody School of Medicine at ECU. Contact her at kolasaka@ecu.edu, or C/O The Daily Reflector, P.O. Box 1967, Greenville, NC 27835