Media Event Alert: Alameda County Medical Center to Hold Walk and Rally to Promote Breastfeeding This Thursday at Noon

Editors:

Please include this event in your daybooks/community calendars and

please cover the event.

Event Date:

August 4, 2011

When:

Thursday, August 4th — noon to 2 p.m.

What:

More than 200 women, children and supporters of family health will walk and rally in support of breastfeeding and healthy practices for mothers and children.

Where:

The walk begins and ends at Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland near the corner of 14th and Broadway.

Why:

The first week of August is World Breastfeeding Week, an event promoting awareness of the importance of breast milk for infants as well as education for moms and children from low-income communities.

Who:

Sponsored and organized by the Alameda County Medical Center in collaboration with Women, Infants & Children; the Alameda County Breastfeeding Coalition; and Alameda County First Five, a child health advocacy group.

What else:

Alameda Supervisor Keith Carson will present a proclamation and discuss the U.S. Surgeon General's call to action regarding the importance of breastfeeding.

Community organizations will be on hand to deliver information and answer questions from rally attendees. There will also be:

• Free food.

• A raffle for prizes.

• Free tee-shirts for the first 200 attendees.

• A children's "Tot Trot" race.

Interviews:

Access to Michele Bunker-Alberts, FNP-BC, IBCLC and a Family Nurse Practitioner. Michele is Lactation Coordinator for the Alameda County Medical Center and ACMC's resident expert in breastfeeding. She is a vocal advocate for breastfeeding and women's health in low-income communities served by ACMC which typically have low rates of breastfeeding among mothers.

Pictures:

-  Young mothers with happy children

-  Local elected officials

-  Opportunities for on-camera and on-air interviews with an expert on nutrition and breastfeeding.

Free Seminar:

World Breastfeeding Week in Oakland will also include a free seminar sponsored by Alameda County Medical Center on local strategies to increase breastfeeding and health equity in the African American Community tomorrow, Tuesday, August 2, 2011 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Niles Hall in Preservation Park in Oakland.