Cedar Valley Breastfeeding Coalition

Angela Becker
abecker@operationthreshold.org
319-292-1829

Cedar Valley Breastfeeding Coalition (CVBC)


Cedar Valley Breastfeeding Coalition Mission:
Providing, promoting and coordinating breastfeeding education and support to the Cedar Valley.
 

The Cedar Valley Breastfeeding Coalition (CVBC) provides breastfeeding education to individuals and their support networks of family and friends who want to learn the art of breastfeeding.  We passionately promote breastfeeding to not just clients and their support networks, but to coworkers, businesses and community organizations.  Through the Cedar Valley, we coordinate the efforts of diverse organizations and develop relationships that will highlight our passion for breastfeeding support.  For example, each CVBC meeting has a standing agenda item during which organizations share current breastfeeding research, webinar and conference information.    

Our World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebrations demonstrate support for the clients served by celebrating them through their breastfeeding journey.  Each organization in the CVBC chooses a day during WBW week to highlight their place of employment and the breastfeeding services they provide.  A typical celebration includes an open house with breastfeeding information and refreshments.   Each open house celebrates the moms and their babies with words of praise, encouragement, and thanks for giving their babies the best start in life, as well as celebrating the breastfeeding benefits for mom.  At each celebration information is available to moms to inform them of the next day’s WBW celebration time, date and location.   Participating organizations include Unity Point Health-Allen Hospital, Mercy One Waterloo, Operation Threshold, Lutheran Services in Iowa, Breastfeeding USA, Pathways Waterloo and Guiding Star.  The CVBC considers this event a huge success with over 200 plus families attending the activities.   Our hope is to add additional locations for WBW celebrations every year.

The CVBC meets bi-monthly, with locations rotating amongst the current members.  CVBC meetings are held vitually via Zoom Bi-monthly odd months- (Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov), 2nd Wednesday 9-10am Meeting agendas are emailed to current CVBC members a week prior to the meeting.   We have also developed a handout listing the meeting dates for members to share with anyone interested in attending our meetings. In addition, each year we update our “When Breastfeeding Mothers Want Information” brochure.  This brochure includes organizations in the Cedar Valley who offer breastfeeding support services and their staff members with breastfeeding credentialing. The brochure also provides information about breastfeeding support group locations and phone numbers, breastfeeding websites, printed breastfeeding materials that are available, upcoming CVBC meeting dates, locations and times and our supporters.  These brochures are available for each agency to print and provide to anyone who has a passion for breastfeeding and would like to join our breastfeeding coalition.