Bacolod Breastfeeding 101 Class

Last Sunday marked the first of many parenting events and mommy meet-ups of the Bacolod Mom & Baby Club.  In celebration of the Breastfeeding Awareness month, they brought Abbie Yabot, a Philippine Certified Lactation Counselor to facilitate the very first Breastfeeding Basics Class.

Photo courtesy of SM PR Manager, May Castro

The event was held at the North Wing of SM City Bacolod where a mix of pregnant, breastfeeding and mixed feeding moms came to attend.  We also had Atty. Jocelle Batapa-Sigue with us together with Amiga Carmela-Gamboa, host and executive producer of the local TV show MagTV na Amiga.

with Abbie Yabot

With the team

It was good to see moms participate and ask questions about their breastfeeding challenges.  I was even surprised to see my high school teacher during the class.  Several prizes were given out too. Thanks to the club's generous sponsors.  One lucky mom got to take home the new Avent manual breast pump.  I was extremely happy to find out that this mom had plans of buying a breast pump after the breastfeeding class.

Happy that this event is a successful one and we look forward to organizing more mommy meet-ups and classes for the moms of Bacolod.

Bacolod Mom & Baby Club presents Breastfeeding 101 [Press Release]

Bacolod Mom & Baby Club (BMBC), in cooperation with La Leche League Philippines and The Breastfeeding Club, will be hosting Breastfeeding 101: Back to Basics on August 25, 2013. This is the first ever breastfeeding seminar in Bacolod City aimed at educating mothers, mothers-to-be and their families about the importance of breastfeeding, the Milk Code and the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009.

The Bacolod Mom & Baby Club (BMBC) is a breastfeeding support group founded in May 2013. Our primary focus is on promoting breastfeeding awareness not just in Bacolod but all over Negros.

The speaker, Ms. Abbie Yabot is a Philippine Certified Lactation Counselor. She got her certification from UP PGH where she was mentored by IBCLC Dr. Grace Agrasada. She has attended training in Hong Kong and Chicago in lactation and counselling. She is also one of three La Leche League International Leaders in the Philippines, a support group that holds monthly support group meetings. Professionally, she takes continuing education courses from Asia, Australia and the United States annually.

She founded The Breastfeeding Club, which gives a three-part breastfeeding class and holds free monthly La Leche League Meetings in Manila.  She brought this to Cebu last year and to Davao and CDO first quarter of this year.

This event is supported by SM City Bacolod, Institute for Negros Development, Counselor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, Babymama, IndigoBaby, Little Panda Shop, Philips Avent, Lifecasting PH, SaYa Baby Carrier, Rai Tie, Medela Moms, Adventures on Planet Mom, Bambino, Playful Kreations, Mommy Treats, Baby Essence Online Shop, Sweet Pea, My Baby Dragon and the Rotaract Club of Bacolod North.  Our media partner is ABS CBN’s MagTV na Amiga.

Visit the Club’s website at http://www.facebook.com/bacolodmomandbabyclub and be updated with the different parenting events in Bacolod.

Hakab na Bacolod

August is breastfeeding awareness month and what better way to start the celebration by organizing a breastfeeding mob.

The breastfeeding mob was held last Saturday in Bacolod at Cafe Bob's.  It was a simultaneous event as moms in Manila, Davao and Cagayan de Oro City also gathered together in one area to promote breastfeeding and increase breastfeeding awareness.

Nationwide, approximately a total of 200 moms participated - more than 100 in Manila, around 60 in Cagayan, 30 in Davao and 5 in Bacolod.

The low turnout in Bacolod I must say is a little disappointing but we're hoping that we could change that number by next year. The Mom and Baby Club has just been organized last May and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we'd be able to convince more mothers to breastfeed their babies even to toddlerhood. Besides there could be other reasons for the low turnout - lack of publicity or bad weather to name a few.

Sure there's just five of us but it was a fun mommy bonding moment.  We shared stories about each other, about motherhood, plan activities for the group and the kids...well the kids spent the entire afternoon eating pretty much anything at Bob's.

Thanks to Tita Yols tablet. It was enough to keep them entertained at least for a few hours.

Breastfeeding had been the best personal choice I've ever made and I'm glad that I stuck to it despite the challenges that I had to go through. I've had those nights when I cry in pain and I doubt my capacity to produce milk. Without such strong support system, I don't think that I'd be able to continue with my journey.

Breastfeeding Moms and Breastfed kids

We have one exciting event in Bacolod coming up and we would love to meet more mommies who want to learn more about breastfeeding.

Happy Breastfeeding Awareness Month everyone!