Toronto Public Health encourages individuals and businesses to support breastfeeding anytime, anywhere in Toronto

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

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News Release:  October 1, 2014                                                  

Toronto Public Health encourages individuals and businesses to support breastfeeding anytime, anywhere in Toronto

October 1 to 7 is World Breastfeeding Week in Canada. To help support new mothers in feeling comfortable breastfeeding in public places, Toronto Public Health is launching a new breastfeeding-in-public campaign. 

"Each year, there are over 31,000 births in Toronto and while over 90 per cent of women choose to breastfeed their baby, many do not continue for as long as is recommended," said Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health. "We know that if mothers feel comfortable breastfeeding in public, they will do so longer. This campaign is intended to help welcome mothers to breastfeed anytime, anywhere."

The campaign will feature life-sized cutout photos of women breastfeeding their babies that will be displayed across the city. It will also include testimonials from women sharing their breastfeeding experience, an online video and a social media contest. 

Breast milk is all the food your baby needs for the first six months. Toronto Public Health recommends continuing to breastfeed your baby for two years or longer. The health benefits of breastfeeding are for mothers as well as their children and include helping to protect:

● babies from being overweight or obese 

● babies from developing diseases including SIDS, childhood cancer and diabetes, and 

● mothers from developing breast and ovarian cancers and diabetes.

The City of Toronto supports breastfeeding mothers to breastfeed in all public places, including City agencies, boards, commissions and divisions. Toronto Public Health has received the Baby-Friendly Initiative designation, a global program of the World Health Organization and UNICEF aimed to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

More information about breastfeeding-friendly locations in Toronto and breastfeeding services for new mothers is available at http://bit.ly/1rq6RCS.

This news release is also available on the City's website at http://bit.ly/1wXArih and on Toronto Public Health's website at http://bit.ly/1BzwTDD.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

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Media contact: Lenore Bromley, Toronto Public Health, 416-338-7974, lbromle@toronto.ca