There were plenty of full bellies on the morning of 4 August at the conclusion of The Big Latch On event hosted by the Helensville Birthing Centre.
23 mums and babies took part in the event, with all the babies latched-on and breastfeeding at the same time.
After the official latch-on the mums to refueled with a delicious and nutritious morning tea and many went home with spot prizes, thanks to the generosity of many local businesses.
The Big Latch On is a nationwide annual event that has been running for over ten years. The local event at Te Whare Oranga o Parakai was one of 104 registered venues this year.
Altogether, 1804 breastfeeding mothers around the country took part and another 188 women send in “brelfies” - photos of themselves breastfeeding.
The Big Latch On is part of World Breastfeeding Week, designed to promote and champion the benefits of breastfeeding. The World Health Organisation says that if every child was breastfed within an hour of birth, given only breast milk for their first six months of life and continued to be breastfed up to two years of age, the lives of around 800,000 children would be saved each year.
Heena King and Ihaia Harris, aged four months.
Kylie Christiansen and Benjamin Christiansen-Baker, aged four-and-a-half
months.
Jacinda Travers and four week old Liam.
The Big Latch On.
