La Leche League International – Everything You Need To Know About It

New mothers and moms-to-be would be familiar with the La Leche League, which is an international non-profit organization. It has undertaken the task of promoting awareness about breastfeeding.

Started by seven young mothers, in Illinois (USA), in the year 1956, the La Leche League International has now spread wings to as many as sixty-eight different countries across the globe. La Leche, in Spanish mean “the milk”, underlining the core working principle of this international organization.

What Is La Leche League International?

The La Leche League International spreads information and awareness regarding breastfeeding your newborn. This organization is dedicated to promoting the act of breastfeeding amongst all the new mothers:

• The La Leche League International was started as a small group of seven mothers who were breastfeeding their own babies. They took on the task of helping out the other new mothers in their neighborhood in Illinois.

• The idea to help out the mothers took root from the fact that these women themselves faced a lot of misinformation and felt misguided in the area of breastfeeding.

• At the time when this organization came into being, most mothers preferred to feed their babies through feeding bottles.

• The La Leche League International started consulting doctors in order to find out more about the health implications of breastfeeding vs. feeding via the feeding bottle on the mother and baby.

• In October 1956, the first ever formal La Leche League meet was organized and this started off an international movement which is very active today.

• Today, the La Leche League International is functional in a lot of countries and it aims at promoting and nurturing the process of breast feeding.

[ Read: Advantages Of Breastfeeding ]

Goal Of La Leche League International:

The La Leche League International aims at doing away with all the prejudices that young mothers and the society in general has about breastfeeding. It aims for a proper and healthy mother-child bonding and a healthy start for the baby:

• The ideology behind La Leche League International is that of mother-to-mother support. This means that an experienced mother helps out another new mother or a soon to be mother with information and facts.

• The La Leche League International promotes breastfeeding as crucial for the healthy growth of the baby.

• Breastfeeding is, according to the principles of La Leche League International, the most important part of a baby’s early life. It forms a bond between the mother and the baby and sustains the baby till the time he or she starts needing solid food.

• The La Leche League International encourages the role of the father as vital in the growth process of the baby.

• The baby’s constant need for care from the mother’s part and physical proximity with her is also emphasized in the principles that the La Leche League International follows.

[ Read: Food To Eat During Breastfeeding ]

Services Provided By The La Leche League International Inc:

The La Leche League International is known to provide full-fledged support and guidance towards breastfeeding:

• The La Leche League International actively organizes meetings and gatherings at suitable time slots every month to help out mothers with breastfeeding their babies.

• The leaders at La Leche League International are mothers themselves, who have breastfed their babies and volunteer their services.

• There are books and information brochures about breastfeeding that are made available to expecting moms and new moms.

• The organization also has helpline numbers and website portals that are open to deal with any breastfeeding query that you may have.

• Seminars are conducted regularly on topics pertaining to breastfeeding, baby health and parenting.

[ Read: Foods To Avoid While Breastfeeding ]

Now that you know all about the La Leche, feel free to join the movement. You could easily become a member, even become a volunteer and help out other mommies out there. You could also donate to the organization and help the La Leche League International in promoting the cause!

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