AWARENESS MONTH
Family Fun Month: Family fun month is an opportunity to create more beautiful memories with the people that you love! It is a time to enjoy extra fun activities and new experiences with one's family. Use this month to incorporate anything that your family loves to do, like go to the farmer's market, go for a family walk or hike, have a picnic together, or even go on a family vacation.
August is also a perfect time to make and indulge in your favorite snacks and meals as a family. You could have a pizza and movie night once a week, you could have a s'mores night, or go out for ice cream or froyo on a hot, August day.
Use your imagination and creativity to come up with the perfect activities for your family! We invite you to share your family fun with the CCCN by commenting or posting with the #FamilyFunMonth. Feel free to tag the CCCN's Facebook or Instagram!
National Breastfeeding Month (NBM): Every August, the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) hosts a campaign for individuals to have a conversation about the policy and practice changes that are needed to create a safeguard of support for breastfeeding (USBC, 2021). Because the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee envisions "a world in which every family is supported along every step of the way through their breastfeeding journeys," the 2021 National Breastfeeding Month theme is Every Step of the Way. (USBC, 2021). Click here to register for the theme launch event webinar: "Continuity of Care in Breastfeeding Support: A Blueprint for Communities" on August 24 at 1 p.m. ET.
AWARENESS WEEK
August 1st - August 7th, World Breastfeeding Week (WBW):
The first seven days of August are dedicated to World Breastfeeding Week! World Breastfeeding Week aims to highlight the benefits that breastfeeding brings to babies' as well as parents' health, overall nutrition, food security, and also poverty reduction (World Breastfeeding Week 2021). Each year, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) chooses a theme for World Breastfeeding Week. This year the theme of WBW is “Protecting Breastfeeding, a Shared Responsibility.” This focuses on the links between breastfeeding and survival as well as the health and wellbeing of all (World Breastfeeding Week).
You can continue to observe National Breastfeeding Month with U.S. Breastfeeding Committee and these additional weekly highlights:
Week 1: World Breastfeeding Week
Theme: Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility
Week 2: Native Breastfeeding Week
Week 3: Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Week
Theme: Reclaiming Our Tradition
Week 4: Black Breastfeeding Week
Theme: The Big Pause: Collective Rest for Collective Power
To celebrate this wonderfully informative week, make sure to spread the word about World Breastfeeding Week: as the first objective of this celebration is to inform celebrants of the yearly theme and why it is so important. If you know someone who is nursing, we at the CCCN invite you to take a moment and acknowledge them and the amazing work that they are doing. If you are a parent that is breastfeeding, feel free to share your feeding journey with us in the comments below!
Image credit: https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/
AWARENESS DAYS
August 19th, World Photo Day: Thursday, August 19th, celebrates the art, history, and overall craft of photography. World Photo Day encourages people from all over the world to share a photo that represents their world. For many of you, this photo may be of your birth story, your family, or maybe even you experiencing the ins and outs of parenthood like breastfeeding, spending quality time, or key bonding moments. Who wouldn't want to capture these wonderful memories? To do so, the CCCN celebrates #cccnmember and San Luis Obispo photographer, Taylor Enerle. Taylor specializes in not only engagements and weddings, but also newborn and family portraits.
Make sure to engage in World Photo Day this August 19th by sharing the picture that captures your life at this time with the CCCN! Tag us @centralcoastchildbirthnetwork on Instagram.
Do you know of any other important Awareness days or months for August? Please share in the comments.
Sources:
Taylor Enerle Photography
Authored in collaboration with:
Julianna La Coco, CCCN 2021 Intern