ST. CLAIRSVILLE - The Ohio Valley Breastfeeding Coalition along with the Belmont County WIC office and other local WIC offices and agencies will hold the annual Breastfeeding Awareness Walk at the Ohio Valley Mall Saturday.
Registration begins at 11 a.m. and the walk begins at noon. The location will be outside Victoria's Secret and Books-A-Million. Participants may use the Crafts 2000 entrance. There will be activities for children, a drawing for door prizes, free educational materials and tote bags.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2011 66.8 women in Ohio initiate breastfeeding, ranking the state 40th in the nation. Only 8.6 percent are exclusively breastfeeding at six months.
Article Photos
T-L Photo/ ROBERT A. DEFRANK
THE BELMONT County Commissioners recognized World Breastfeeding Awareness Month in conjunction with the Women, Infants and Children program, noting the health benefits of breast milk. Pictured are Commissioners Charles R. Probst Jr., Matt Coffland and Ginny Favede, Claire Shorts, RN and WIC coordinator and Linda Mehl, RN, BSN, CLC, WIC director.
Research shows that infants not exclusively breastfed for their first six months of life are more likely to develop chronic and acute diseases and conditions. Also, mothers who do not breastfeed are at an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
WIC and other organizations are committed to raising awareness about the benefits of choosing to breastfeed.
For more information, contact Claire Shorts at (740) 676-2232 or Becky Williams at (304) 234-8154.
DeFrank may be reached at rdefrank@timesleaderonline.com
