It’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) and National Breastfeeding Month (NBM)! This time of year, we come together to celebrate our successes, reflect on the challenges we’ve overcome and those that are still ahead, to continue our momentum and reignite passion and purpose.
The 2024 World Breastfeeding Week campaign’s focus is on survival, health and wellbeing. It showcases the need to improve breastfeeding support to reduce inequalities that exist in our society with a special focus on breastfeeding in times of emergencies and crises. There are so many ways to engage. Check out this interactive map here.
And this year’s NBM theme, Nourish, Sustain, Thrive, shines a light on why protecting, promoting, and supporting lactation is so important for the human life cycle. This summer, we honor the incredible work that organizations are doing to make the world a little more friendly for new parents and families, and highlight how individuals, funders, and policymakers can contribute to a strong and sustainable lactation field.
We are excited to kick off NBM sharing a short Q&A with U.S. Breastfeeding Committee’s Senior Collective Impact Coordinator Erin Fortuna, IBCLC. Among her many amazing achievements, Fortuna designed the beautiful NBM logo. 
Fortuna’s personal, adverse experiences with birth and breastfeeding in 2017 led her down the path of wanting to make a difference for people in her community, particularly in service to LGBTQIA+ families. As a queer parent, she became a peer-to-peer lactation counselor because she says she wanted to better support those who wished to feed their babies human milk. This ultimately led her to her journey toward becoming an IBCLC. In 2022, when she came to the USBC, she was newly postpartum with her second child and “knee-deep in the throes of [on-cue] nursing a 3-month-old, constant diaper changes, and all the challenges that come along with new parenthood…at the same time navigating a career change.”
“The USBC was so incredibly accommodating, which enabled me to nurse on demand for an additional two-and-a-half years,” Fortuna continues. “I knew that my ‘luck’ in having this flexibility shouldn’t be luck at all – this should be the standard! From paid leave to equitable lactation support compensation, this journey is a long and winding road toward change, and I am grateful to be a part of such a hardworking team dedicated to a vision for thriving families and communities.”
Q: What else makes you proud to be a part of USBC?
A: Honestly, so much work happens behind the scenes at the USBC, and this is exciting for me! I get to see organizations come together to collaboratively work on a common goal and knock down barriers that previously separated them. I get to learn from those in the field who are breaking barriers to get the work done and carving their own path to progress. I get to be there to support and celebrate legislative wins and learn how to navigate the disappointment when efforts become derailed or stalled. It’s pretty incredible to watch these building blocks get stacked at the USBC and built as a collective!
Q: What are you most looking forward to this NBM?
A: I love seeing how many organizations and community-led initiatives create events and celebrations for National Breastfeeding Month. From cultural weekly celebrations to milk banks to hospitals to lactation support programs, every year, I look forward to seeing photos of celebrations and achievements shared with the USBC! It’s a really exciting time, and the momentum from all the awareness generated and the actions taken in support and celebration of NBM-related activities can continue to have an impact year-round.
Q: You created the NBM logo to reflect “a special harmony and peace that aligns when a nursing dyad’s needs are met.” Can you please describe your approach to creating the design?
A: I have been exploring the possibilities of AI generation as it relates to people and faces. We have such limited access to stock images that it becomes challenging to not use the same parent-and-baby or breastfeeding-baby photo that the rest of the field is using. The USBC does have a photo gallery that organizations can use for non-commercial, educational purposes, but I was looking for a new face! With the help of AI tools, I was able to generate a generic likeness of a dyad that harnessed feelings of harmony and togetherness. From that image, I creatively styled it to reflect a more illustrated and colorful feel. I really wanted it to feel vibrant and lively but also “close to home” for those partners and organizations that would ultimately use it. My hope is that even if the likeness of the dyad doesn’t resonate with folks, the warm embrace between the parent and baby will.
One of my favorite things about NBM is seeing the creativity behind each weekly observance logo and how each organization makes its celebration(s) unique. I like to collect things that support the efforts of these observances like stickers and t-shirts. I have a whole drawer full of them at home!
Q: What’s the best way for folks to get involved with USBC’s important work during NBM?
A: Be sure to subscribe to USBC communications! In each edition of our Weekly Wire newsletter, starting in mid-July and ending in mid-September, there is a special section related to National Breastfeeding Month activities. We have a searchable archive of past editions, a form to submit news and information for future issues, and an open call to the field asking for NBM-related activities that the USBC can amplify. Our team sends emails throughout NBM: offering opportunities to celebrate, learn, connect, and take action to help create a landscape of breastfeeding support for families across the U.S. We hope your readership will join us in making a difference this National Breastfeeding Month!
A few more suggestions from OMW on how to participate in WBW, NBM and beyond 
Raise awareness by purchasing your NBM gear here.
Healthy Children Project has released a new round of Accessing the Milky Way scholarships in celebration of WBW. Apply here.
Coffee and tea chats hosted by the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine will be available throughout WBW.
Watch the Global Breastfeeding Collective’s replay of Are we there yet? and register for Strength in Numbers.
Acquaint yourself with corporate wrongdoing, the forces that seek to destroy the power of the mother baby dyad.
