Forty-three percent of Alexandria children ages 2-5 are overweight or obese. This shocking statistic galvanized the community to join together to address the problem. The Childhood Obesity Action Network (COAN), a community-led partnership, was formed, and with input from all sectors of the community, developed an action plan. One of the key elements of the plan is to promote breastfeeding, since
preventing childhood obesity begins at birth and breastfeeding is associated with reducing the risk of pediatric overweight. The Breastfeeding Promotion Committee goals are to: develop consistent and culturally appropriate health messaging for providers (including non-health providers) about the benefits of breastfeeding; advocating for more accommodations for breastfeeding mothers; advocating for local policy changes to encourage breastfeeding; and developing an outreach plan to businesses of all sizes in the community. An early success of the committee’s efforts was the successful adoption by Alexandria City Council of a resolution promoting breastfeeding, which specifically includes language that ensures women are allowed to breastfeed on City property, encourages business to adopt breastfeeding policies, and requests the City Manager to create a breastfeeding support policy. The City Council also amended its indecent exposure law to specifically exclude breastfeeding. The new co-chairs of the Breastfeeding Promotion Committee are Julia Schneider, MPH and Katie Potestio, MPH, RD, both of whom work for national non-profits that support chronic disease prevention. They are excited to reinvigorate this group and have many activities planned for 2015.
