Over 100 certified breastfeeding peer counselors, lactation consultants, nurses, physicians, dietitians and community health workers are expected to gather at Rush University Medical Center on Thursday, August 6 from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. in Room 500 at 1725 W. Harrison Street, Chicago, to attend the Griffin Inaugural Conference on Breastfeeding: The Primary Foundation for Health.
At the conference, experts from Rush, Illinois Department of Human Services, Chicago Department of Public Health and Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association will discuss strategies for organizing Chicago communities to reduce breastfeeding disparities.
Dr. Myrtis Sullivan, associate director of the Office of Family Health, Illinois Department of Human Services, will be discussing Chicago's current breastfeeding rates and where there are gaps within the neighborhoods and communities of Chicago.
Dr. Terry Mason, commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health, is scheduled to speak about the importance of breastfeeding to the reduction in health risks throughout the lifespan. Recent studies show that breastfeeding reduces the risk for infection, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases throughout the lifespan, and as such is the primary foundation for health.
Keynote speaker Kiddada Ramey, president of the Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association in Detroit, Mich., will give a feature presentation on effective strategies for community breastfeeding. Ramey will also address reasons why African American women breastfeed at lower rates than other populations in the United States.