At 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 3, local advocates of breastfeeding will “latch-on” to join thousands of people in a worldwide synchronized event to raise awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding and the need for global support.
Annapolis Area Doulas, Breastfeeding Works (a local lactation consulting company) and two Annapolis-area mothers are hosting the Big Global Latch On at AACC’s Student Union Dining Hall, located at 101 College Pkwy, Arnold, MD 21012, as part of World Breastfeeding Week. The event will run from 9:30– 11:30 a.m.; admission is free.
The event will feature a variety of vendors and local experts and organizations geared towards parents of babies and young children. There will also be a coloring station and a musical performance for children. At 10:30 a.m., the organizers will ask all of the moms present to begin breastfeeding their babies/children and they will take a count of participants for the Big Global Latch On.
“The Big Latch On is so uplifting and fun because it is a momentary shared experience for women and families celebrating themselves and each other in their breastfeeding journeys and normalizing the breastfeeding experience in public,” said Kim Knight, one of the organizers of the event.
Event organizers say they had over 200 participants in last year’s event and hope to continue to grow this event in years to come.
The first Big Latch On took place in Aotearoa New Zealand in 2005, it was introduced to Portland, Oregon in 2010 by Small Beginnings Group LLC and has now taken off globally. The Big Global Latch On will occur throughout the weekend in communities across the world at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 2, though Sunday, Aug. 4. This year the goal is to break the current Global Big Latch On record of almost 21,500 babies/children breastfeeding at 778 locations, across 28 countries; with a long-term vision that one day a Global Big Latch On event will be held within walking distance of every family in the world.
The Global Big Latch On is informed by the principles of community development, providing the opportunity for breastfeeding women to get together in their local communities, host their own events, and identify opportunities for on-going support.
For more information about the Big Global Latch On, visit www.biglachon.org. For more information about Annapolis Area Doulas, visit www.annapolisareadoulas.com.
For more information about Breastfeeding Works, visit www.breastfeedingworks.com.
Social Media Tags: #BigLatchOnAnnapolis2019, #BigLatchOn2019
