$50,000 gift donated to expand breastfeeding programs throughout county
Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition will benefit from this magnanimous gift
– The Center for Family Strengthening received a generous $50,000 gift from an anonymous MindBody employee last Thursday to benefit the Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition. The employee expressed commitment to creating awareness of the benefits breastfeeding can have for an infant, both immediately and long-term. The purpose of the gift was to expand breastfeeding programs, education, resources and support for families in their breastfeeding journey.
“Breast milk is not only nourishment but is also medicine for infants,” said Ann Berry-Gallegos, a representative for the Center for Family Strengthening. “It contains antibodies, disease-fighting stem cells, anti-virus, anti-allergy, anti-parasitic, and anti-cancer properties that provide both short and long-term protection. Breast milk contains growth factors, enzymes, hormones, probiotics and other nutrients that help infants to grow and to develop optimally. Breastfeeding provides benefits to the mother with increased bonding with baby, better healing post-delivery, less incidence of postpartum depression, and decreased the likelihood of developing breast or ovarian cancer.”
The Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition programs have already achieved high positive impact on the local community. San Luis Obispo County is now ranked fourth in California for exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge, according to the Central Coast Breastfeeding Coalition, up five ratings from ninth place last year. Eighty-eight percent of all babies born at a hospital in SLO County were exclusively breastfed.
The gift will provide additional resources to the coalition to expand its programs in several areas, including an educational outreach conference on May 19 called “Breastfeeding the Premature Infant” featuring Dr. Paula Meier. Educational conferences of this caliber are signature events for healthcare professionals in San Luis Obispo County and throughout California. Up to 300 healthcare professional are expected to attend the May 19 conference, including physicians, advanced practice healthcare providers, community educators, advocates and supporters of breastfeeding.
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