This interactive breastfeeding course is an entry-level course designed for staff and volunteers of community agencies and hospitals who work with prenatal women or new families. Completing this course will help you to:
- Protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
- Have a positive influence on pregnant women who are making their infant feeding decision.
- Be a trusted support during the early weeks of breastfeeding.
This course will take 1 to 1 ½ hours to complete.
The goal of this course is to enable health and social service providers, volunteers and individuals who work with pregnant women or new families to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- List at least 5 reasons why breastfeeding is recommended.
- Describe why mothers need support during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
- List at least 3 barriers to breastfeeding and know how to overcome these barriers.
- List ways in which breastfeeding promotes parent-infant attachment.
- Apply the 3-step plan to informed decision-making in practical situations.
- Adopt Baby-Friendly practices to promote, protect and support breastfeeding.
- List at least 3 local or provincial sources of support for mothers.
Also available in French.
This booklet was developed to support Indigenous women who are thinking about breastfeeding or who are currently breastfeeding. It will help future and new Indigenous mothers reclaim the tradition of breastfeeding. It provides information about Indigenous traditions around breastfeeding, how the teachings of the Medicine Wheel support the teachings about breastfeeding, why breastfeeding is important, how to get started and continue to breastfeed. It will answer common questions about breastfeeding, and provide useful additional information and resources.
Also available in Cree and Ojibway.
As part of a comprehensive strategy to address childhood obesity in Ontario, Health Nexus was funded by the Government of Ontario to offer targeted breastfeeding supports to populations with lower rates of breastfeeding and carried out by Best Start, a key program of Health Nexus. This project was initiated in December 2013 and wrapped up in March 2016. This online report summarizes the project strategies and results as well as recommendations to build on this investment and further support breastfeeding services in Ontario.
Also available in French.
This booklet is part of a series of five Learning from Stories booklets, in which the actions being taken in Ontario to support breastfeeding were surveyed using a Healthy Communities Approach, and the qualitative results of the interviews gathered into stories by the interviewers/writers, in the hope of inspiring and helping service providers in Ontario to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
Literature and Ontario-based birth data show that breastfeeding rates, and in particular exclusive breastfeeding rates, are linked to prenatal education. Prenatal breastfeeding education can be provided in many formats. It is often led by a professional facilitator, but can also be led by another mother (peer). This booklet gives examples of peer-facilitated prenatal breastfeeding education in part one, and professional-facilitated prenatal breastfeeding education in part two.
Also available in French.
See also the other booklets of the Learning from Stories series:
Supporting Exclusive Breastfeeding (in English and French)
Breastfeeding Promotion to Increase Awareness and Confidence (in English and French)
Breastfeeding Education for Health Care Providers (in English and French)
Breastfeeding and Younger Women (in English and French)
This booklet is part of a series of five Learning from Stories booklets, in which the actions being taken in Ontario to support breastfeeding were surveyed using a Healthy Communities Approach, and the qualitative results of the interviews gathered into stories by the interviewers/writers, in the hope of inspiring and helping service providers in Ontario to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
Women are still often made to feel uncomfortable while breastfeeding in public or asked to leave public places such as restaurants or malls. This booklet gathers inspiring stories of service providers and public health officials efforts to reduce this barrier to breastfeeding exclusivity and duration by striving to increase public awareness.
Also available in French.
See also the other booklets in the Learning from Stories series:
Supporting Exclusive Breastfeeding (in English and in French)
Prenatal Breastfeeding Education (in English and in French)
Breastfeeding Education for Health Care Providers (in English and in French)
Breastfeeding and Younger Women (in English and in French)
This booklet is part of a series of five Learning from Stories booklets, in which the actions being taken in Ontario to support breastfeeding were surveyed using a Healthy Communities Approach, and the qualitative results of the interviews gathered into stories by the interviewers/writers, in the hope of inspiring and helping service providers in Ontario to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
This booklet focuses on young mothers. Teenage mothers can and will breastfeed if given support and acceptance. Many of the young mothers in the following stories found their support and acceptance through peer role models.We hope that service providers will get inspired to be on the lookout – not only for unique ways of mentoring but also for new ways to surround young mothers with support and acceptance.
Also available in French.
See also the other booklets in the Learning from Stories series:
Supporting Exclusive Breastfeeding (in English and French)
Breastfeeding Promotion to Increase Awareness and Confidence (in English and French)
Prenatal Breastfeeding Education (in English and French)
Breastfeeding Education for Health Care Providers (in English and French)
This booklet is part of a series of five Learning from Stories booklets, in which the actions being taken in Ontario to support breastfeeding were surveyed using a Healthy Communities Approach, and the qualitative results of the interviews gathered into stories by the interviewers/writers, in the hope of inspiring and helping service providers in Ontario to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
This booklet explores various themes about teaching health care providers about breastfeeding, and the inspiring passion and commitment these teachers show. Whether the teaching happens in hospitals or community settings, whether the education is in a classroom or takes place informally, the 5 stories gathered in this booklet explain how service providers are making a difference.
Also available in French.
See also the other booklets in the Learning from Stories series:
Supporting Exclusive Breastfeeding (in English and French)
Breastfeeding Promotion to Increase Awareness and Confidence (in English and French)
Prenatal Breastfeeding Education (in English and French)
Breastfeeding and Younger Women (in English and French)
Developed by the BFI Strategy for Ontario, the Breastfeeding Your Late Preterm Baby booklet supports families who have a late preterm baby born between 34 and 37 weeks gestation and who plan to breastfeed and/or provide breast milk to their baby. Topics include: breastfeeding your late preterm baby, skin-to-skin contact and Kangaroo care, tips to getting off to a good start, pumping, feeding your baby at the hospital and tips for when you take your baby home.
Also available in French, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, Gujarati, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, Urdu and Vietnamese.
This booklet is part of a series of five Learning from Stories booklets, in which the actions being taken in Ontario to support breastfeeding were surveyed using a Healthy Communities Approach, and the qualitative results of the interviews gathered into stories by the interviewers/writers, in the hope of inspiring and helping service providers in Ontario to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
This booklet gathers inspiring stories of innovative work done across the province looking for ways to educate breastfeeding mothers, their support networks, their health care providers, their employers, and society as a whole, in the hope to overcome the many barriers to exclusive and continued breastfeeding.
Also available in French.
See also the other booklets in the Learning from Stories series:
Breastfeeding Promotion to Increase Awareness and Confidence (in English and French)
Prenatal Breastfeeding Education (in English and French)
Breastfeeding Education for Health Care Providers (in English and French)
Breastfeeding and Younger Women (in English and French)
Breastfeeding mothers benefit from the support of other mothers.
The Bilingual Online Ontario Breastfeeding Services directory at www.ontariobreastfeeds.ca will help mothers connect and receive help and support from peers, professionals and experts close to them.
Les mères allaitantes bénéficient du soutien d’autres mères.
Le répertoire en ligne bilingue des services d’allaitement de l’Ontario à www.allaiterenontario.ca aidera les mères à se connecter et recevoir de l’aide et du soutien de leurs pairs, des professionnels et des spécialistes.
