August is National Breastfeeding Month

Newborn and mother resting
Photo: Samuel Lee/Pixabay

by Sentinel News Service
CHAMPAIGN - Every August, communities across the United States come together to celebrate National Breastfeeding Month, a time dedicated to promoting the benefits and importance of breastfeeding. This month-long observance aims to raise awareness, provide education, and encourage support for breastfeeding mothers and their families.

In conjunction with National Breastfeeding Month, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) announced its third annual breastfeeding supplies drive. Building upon their past success the drive will take place during the entire month of August.

Mom holding a baby
Sarah Chai/PEXELS
The donated supplies will be given to parents enrolled in the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program. This program offers support to expectant and postpartum parents, helping them learn about breastfeeding and overcome any obstacles they may encounter in achieving their individual breastfeeding goals.

The WIC program's mission is to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant women, new mothers, breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. It provides nutritious food to improve diets, offers education on healthy eating and breastfeeding, and connects participants to healthcare services.

National Breastfeeding Month was established in 2011 by the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) to align with World Breastfeeding Week, which takes place during the first week of August. The initiative was created to bring greater attention to breastfeeding as a key component of public health and to advocate for policies that support breastfeeding mothers. The month-long celebration serves as a platform to highlight the critical role that breastfeeding plays in the health and well-being of both mothers and infants.

Breastfeeding provides numerous benefits for both mothers and their babies. For infants, breast milk is a complete source of nutrition that contains antibodies, enzymes, and hormones crucial for their development. It helps protect against infections, reduces the risk of chronic conditions, and promotes a healthy weight. For mothers, breastfeeding can lower the risk of certain cancers, aid in postpartum recovery, and strengthen the bond with their baby. Additionally, breastfeeding has economic benefits, reducing the need for formula and healthcare costs associated with treating illnesses.

Through the breastfeeding supplies drive, CUPHD hopes to support WIC families by providing them with the supplies they need to breastfeed longer to meet their breastfeeding goals and improve their infant's health.

Items needed include nursing pads, pillows, and covers; breast milk storage bags; electric and manual breast pumps; and breast pump accessories. All items must be received new and sealed in their original packaging.

Photo: Brytny.com/Unsplash

National Breastfeeding Month is a vital initiative that brings attention to the importance of breastfeeding for maternal and infant health. By participating in this celebration, individuals and organizations can help create a supportive environment that empowers mothers and promotes the well-being of future generations.

A curated Amazon wish list is available for virtual donations. Donated items will be sent directly to CUPHD to distribute to clients enrolled in the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor program.  Donations from this list can be made year-round. 

Products can also be donated in person at CUPHD, August 1-31, at the WIC intake window inside the CUPHD main lobby.  

Ways to donate:

Online: Amazon wish list
The wish list will remain open year-round, 24/7.

In-person:

  • CUPHD Champaign WIC desk (201 West Kenyon Road, Champaign): Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.—noon, 1:00 p.m.—4:30 p.m.
  • CUPHD Rantoul WIC desk (520 East Wabash Avenue, #2, Rantoul): Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:30 a.m.—noon, 1:00 p.m.—4:30 p.m.
  • Orchard Downs clinic (2040 South Orchard Street, Unit 2040-A, Urbana): Thursday, 8:30 a.m.—noon, 1:00 p.m.—4:30 p.m.

Urbana Farmers Market WIC booth
Saturday, August 24, 7:00 a.m.—noon
Come celebrate National Breastfeeding Month with breastfeeding-related games, giveaways, information about WIC and breastfeeding laws, and more!


Red Dress Collection Concert kicks off American Heart Month

by The American Heart Association

DALLAS – Powerful players in music, entertainment, fashion and philanthropy joined the American Heart Association, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, to celebrate progress towards health equity, while calling for a renewed commitment to investing in women’s heart health in a fashion-forward, musical kickoff to American Heart Month.

The Red Dress Collection® Concert—hosted this year from the Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City—serves as the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women national marquee event. Every year, it builds on the iconic tradition of the Red Dress Collection fashion show founded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s The Heart Truth® program, adding musical performances and personal stories of those affected by heart disease and stroke. This year, the event kicks off both American Heart Month, commemorated every February, as well as the Association’s centennial celebration, marking 100 years of service saving and improving lives, and positioning the Association as a change agent for generations to come.

Host Sherri Shepherd wore Ganni on the red carpet and Harbison on the runway. The Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host, comedian, actress, and best-selling author began the event by sharing her own connection with cardiovascular disease and spotlighting survivors and women’s health champions in attendance, before introducing the evening’s opening entertainment, GRAMMY-nominated country music star, Mickey Guyton.

The country trailblazer wore Sergio Hudson on the red carpet and Monetre on the runway. Wearing custom RC Caylan for her performance, she opened with “My Side of Country,” and performed hits “Something About You,” “Make It Me,” and “Flowers.”

This year’s concert was headlined by Award-winning musician, actor, advocate and New York Times best-selling author Demi Lovato. The Grammy-nominated artist was introduced on stage by Damar Hamlin, cardiac arrest survivor, Buffalo Bills safety and American Heart Association national ambassador for the Nation of Lifesavers™. The 25-year-old experienced his sudden cardiac arrest on the NFL football field last year and now uses his platform to raise awareness of the need for CPR and AEDs.

Lovato wore a Nicole + Felicia Couture custom gown on the red carpet, and performed wearing a custom Michael Ngo suit. The set started with Lovato singing chart-topper, “Confident,” and continued with hits “Give Your Heart a Break,” “Tell Me You Love Me,” “Sorry Not Sorry,” “Anyone,” “Neon Lights,” “No Promises,” “Skyscraper,” “Heart Attack,” and closed the evening with “Cool for the Summer” alongside all of the Red Dress Collection Concert participants.

Holding true to the Red Dress Collection’s origin in fashion, red haute couture moments were served throughout the show, reclaiming the power of sisterhood and community against the No. 1 killer of women, cardiovascular disease.

Other stars of stage and screen lending their support to the event included: Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (Co-host of ABC’s The View and CNN political commentator) wearing Alexander by Daymor, Bellamy Young (actor, singer and producer; Scandal) wearing Gustavo Cadile on the red carpet and Sachin & Babi on the runway, Brandi Rhodes (Pro wrestling star and founder of Naked Mind Yoga + Pilates) wearing Do Long, Brianne Howey (actress and mother, Ginny & Georgia) wearing Reem Acra, Dominique Jackson (model, actress, author and star of FX's Pose) wearing Coral Castillo, Francia Raísa (actress & entrepreneur) wearing Goddess Exclusive on the red carpet and Maria Lucia Hohan on the runway, Heather Dubrow (actress, author, podcast host and TV personality on Real Housewives of OC) wearing Gattinolli by Marwan on the red carpet and Pamella Roland on the runway, Katherine McNamara (award winning actor, singer, writer, and producer) wearing Mikael D, Madison Marsh (Active Duty Air Force Officer - Second Lieutenant and Miss America 2024) wearing Jovani, Mira Sorvino (Academy Award-winning actress and human rights advocate, Shining Vale and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion) wearing Dolce and Gabbana, Richa Moorjani (actress and activist, star of Netflix’s Never Have I Ever) wearing Oscar de la Renta, Samira Wiley (Emmy winner for The Handmaid's Tale and producer) wearing Le Thanh Hoa, and Yvonne Orji (actress, comedienne, author; known for the TV show Insecure) wearing House of Emil on the red carpet and Jovana Louis on the runway.

As part of its commitment to supporting women and women's health, KISS USA is proud to support the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement, and the Red Dress Collection Concert.

The Go Red for Women movement, sponsored nationally by CVS Health, exists to increase women’s heart health awareness, and serves as a catalyst for change in the drive to improve the lives of all women. Find resources to support women’s heart health at every age, through every stage of life at GoRedforWomen.org


Read our latest health and medical news

Brem Foundation announces new breast cancer screening tool

Photo: Leeloo Thefirst/PEXELS
by Brett Peveto
Illinois News Connection

CHICAGO - October has been Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in the wake of a recent study showing an increase in the incidence of cancer at younger ages, the Brem Foundation has announced a new online resource to help women assess their cancer risk.

The study, published in August, found from 2010 to 2019 the incidence of early onset cancer increased in women mainly because of cancers of the uterus and breast. The Brem Foundation has released a new online tool called CheckMate, a quiz to help women assess their breast cancer risk and determine if they should seek additional screening.

Dr. Rachel Brem, co-founder and chief medical officer at the foundation, said many women may underestimate their risk for breast cancer.


We have many things in our tool chest that can find early curable breast cancer, like screening breast ultrasound, or MRI.

"We know that the average age of breast cancer is significantly decreasing," Brem pointed out. "So that we really have to get this interactive, easy, quick tool into the hands of everybody, including younger women, because the incidence of breast cancer is happening in younger and younger women."

In the past, the only tool for finding breast cancer early was X-ray mammograms. Brem noted in recent years, many advances in screening technology have taken place and now early detection is far better.

"We have many things in our tool chest that can find early curable breast cancer, like screening breast ultrasound, or MRI," Brem outlined. "The reason that's so important is because 95% of women with early breast cancer survive and thrive five years and more."

She added finding breast cancer early not only improves survival rates, but also allows for less difficult treatments.

While mammograms are a reliable screening tool for many women, some women in higher risk categories including those with dense breast tissue often need more advanced screening methods. Brem emphasized CheckMate was developed by a panel of national experts to help address different risk factors among varying racial and ethnic groups.

"Higher risk groups like black American women, like Ashkenazi Jewish women, where breast cancer does occur younger and more aggressively, CheckMate can be a lifesaving tool to find out if they have an increased risk of breast cancer and whether they need more screening to find early curable breast cancer," Brem stressed.


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