RVA Latches On! this Saturday

Help promote the benefits of breastfeeding by taking part in RVA Latches On! at the Capitol Square Bell Tower on August 2nd.

August 1, 2014; 8:55 AM • by Valerie Catrow

At 10:30 AM on Saturday, August 2nd, nursing mothers will gather at the Capitol Square Bell Tower at the intersection of 9th and E. Franklin Streets for RVA Latches On!, a synchronized breastfeeding to help increase awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding.

Now in its third year, RVA Latches On! is sponsored by the Richmond Health Action Alliance, which (according to the press release) is “a Healthy Communities Action Team (HCAT) funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and administered by the Richmond Healthy Start Initiative, a division of the City of Richmond Department of Social Services.” RVA Latches On! also is supported by all three Richmond-area hospital systems: HCA, Bon Secours Richmond, and VCU Medical Center.

From the press release:

The 2013 Breastfeeding Report Card issued by the Centers for Disease Control, reports that 77 percent of infants in the U.S. start breastfeeding and we are making progress in increasing this number. HCA Virginia supports breastfeeding efforts such as skin to skin contact, breastfeeding in labor and delivery and keeping mothers and their babies together – recognizing that the immediate postpartum time is critical in establishing successful breastfeeding,” said Denise DiCicco, Lactation Services Coordinator, HCA Virginia. “Participation in RVA Latches On! provides an additional opportunity for HCA Virginia to partner with families, communities and our health care colleagues to raise awareness of the benefits that breastfeeding provides as well as collaborating to increase the numbers of infants who continue to breastfeed for at least one year.”

Per the event’s Facebook page, participants (and their families!) should arrive at the Bell Tower at 10:00 AM to register (pre-registration is also an option and encouraged). Off-street parking is available in the garage at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on 8th Street, between E. Grace and E. Franklin Streets. The synchronized latch will take begin at 10:30 AM.

Photo by: RVA Latches On!