Lactation Station

In honor of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, the Indiana State Breastfeeding Coalition (ISBC) is offering two lactation stations at the Indiana State Fair where mothers can breastfeed in a clean, comfortable place. The stations have been provided for the past five years, serving more than 25,000 mothers and families each year. Today at 1 p.m. at the main lactation station, Dr. Gregory Larkin, the Indiana State Health Commissioner, will issue a Governor’s Proclamation declaring August to be Breastfeeding Awareness Month in Indiana.

The project is part of a larger effort by ISBC to normalize and promote breastfeeding in our society. ISBC also is participating in Public Citizen’s campaign to stop infant formula marketing in healthcare facilities. In April, Public Citizen sent letters to 2,600 hospitals nationwide, including 85 in Indiana, calling on them to stop distributing industry-sponsored discharge bags containing infant formula samples to new mothers. More than 100 organizations, including ISBC, signed on to the letter.