World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)’s 22nd Annual World Breastfeeding Week begins this week (August 1).

The theme is BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT: CLOSE TO MOTHERS.

This year they have chosen to highlight peer counseling – training community members to support breastfeeding mothers in their local communities.

WABA-logoWABA’s vision is “A world where breastfeeding is the cultural norm, where mothers and families are enabled to feed and care optimally for their infants and young children thus contributing to a just and healthy society.” Their peer counselor program is a cost-effective and highly productive way to reach many more new mothers, fostering “continued day-to-day support for the breastfeeding mother within her home and community.”

To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, I’m happy to be able to point out some of the positive breastfeeding stories in the news:

breastfeeding-receiptA mom was breastfeeding her one year- old son at a restaurant during her birthday dinner. She then went out to the car to finish feeding him since she thought it might be upsetting other diners.

When her husband went to pay the bill he found a note from their waitress on the receipt, “I bought one of your pizzas … please thank your wife for breastfeeding!!”

And also:

“In what will be seen as a huge coup for the Breast is Best lobby, royal sources have revealed that Princess Kate, 31, has decided to feed baby George naturally rather than use formula milk in a bottle,” writes the Daily Mirror in this 7/23 article about the royal baby’s feeding habits. “The Duchess’s decision to breastfeed her son is expected to trigger a trend among new mums keen to emulate her.”

Breastfeeding is not just for royalty, though. It’s cheaper, easier, and more convenient than feeding babies artificial milk and economically disadvantaged women can benefit tremendously, physically, psychologically, and financially from nursing their babies.

We’re eager to see how Kate’s healthy choices create a ripple effect for young moms around the world.

Here at Fearless Parent we know that women’s social networks and mother-to-mother support are powerful, generating positive wave patterns everyday. This type of advocacy will change the world, one mother-baby pair at a time.

So the next time you’re out in public and see a breastfeeding mom, give an encouraging and compassionate smile. You just might make her day.

This post is the last in a series of three articles. (Part 1) (Part 2)

Cornelia Mazzan is a co-founder, writer, and all-around design guru for Fearless Parent. She believes in mothers and the power they have to transform the world.