2009 Annual Report

La Leche League of Washington 2009 Annual Report 1


“Thank you so much, it just felt
good to talk to someone.
I feel so much better.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I probably
would have given up.”
“I feel empowered through my
breastfeeding experience.”
“Thanks to what I learned
at your meeting, my baby is
gaining weight!”
“I have a breastfeeding question.
Can you help me?”
Yes, we can.
Across Washington, in phone calls, group meetings
and home visits, trained and experienced volunteers
answer the call for help for issues ranging from “is
this normal?” to “my milk supply is dropping” and
everything in between.
Mothers know the importance of breastfeeding.
Many mothers find that breastfeeding might be
natural, but it doesn’t always come naturally. And
information in books, online and from health care
professionals can be confusing and contradictory.
La Leche League Leaders provide one-on-one,
compassionate support, and help new mothers
succeed at breastfeeding. This vital assistance
increases the number of women who choose to
breastfeed. Many go on to reach the American
Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of exclusive
breastmilk for six months, and continue for at least
the first year of life. Many of the women La Leche
League helps are able to breastfeed for as long as the
World Health Organization recommends – to two
years and beyond.
La Leche League of Washington 2009 Annual Report
La Leche League volunteers provide benefits to
the mother, baby, and family, health care providers
and the greater community. By providing free,
accessible breastfeeding information, La Leche
League enables women to make smart decisions
about breastfeeding challenges and opportunities.
La Leche League Leaders are volunteers who are
mothers themselves – including many grandmothers
– who have breastfed their own children. To become
Leaders, women study and train extensively in
areas of breastfeeding management, infant growth
and development, and communication skills.
Once accredited, Leaders continue that study and
training to stay on top of the latest breastfeeding
developments. Many La Leche League Leaders
are also Internationally Board Certified Lactation
Consultants.
La Leche League is a key component in the care
of breastfeeding mothers, complementing the
wider health care community. Last year alone, La
Leche League Leaders in Washington volunteered
approximately 26,000 hours to the community and
helped an estimated 71,000 women.
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“You made a difference in my life!” Throughout Washington
• Washington leads the nation in the percentage of women exclusively breastfeeding at six months, and is one of
13 states to meet all of the Healthy People 2010 goals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By increasing the incidence and duration of breastfeeding in the community, La Leche League helps reduce the
disease burden of families in Washington. Healthy babies use fewer health care dollars. Working mothers miss
less work to care for sick children, which means that breastfeeding helps increase employee productivity.

• La Leche League provides free public outreach and education at health fairs sponsored by WIC, state and county
health departments, baby fairs, the Green Festival, neighborhood street fairs and other public venues.

• La Leche League Leaders and members lobbied for the successful passage of HB 1596, which adds the civil right
of a mother to breastfeed her child in any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement.

• Breastfeeding has a significant financial benefit for a families and a communities. According to one study, in the
United States a minimum of $13.1 billion would be saved if 90 percent of U.S. babies were breastfed for a year. The
figure represents the costs savings from the treatment of many serious childhood diseases. This number doesn’t even
reflect the lost productivity of parents staying home to take care of sick children; the impact to the environment
of producing and shipping formula; the costs of disposing of solid waste generated by formula feeding; or the
“Thank you for being impact on maternal health.

non judgemental of my Environment

mothering choices.” La Leche League works to educate the community about the environmental benefits of breastfeeding. At the Seattle Green
Festival in 2009, La Leche League of Washington provided a rock-and-rest booth where hundreds of families stopped by to
change diapers, take a break from the huge convention, nurse their babies and learn more about the environmental benefits
of breastfeeding.

“I didn’t think nursing • Feeding at the breast eliminates the need for packaging.

• Bottle feeding has become even more controversial in the past year, as research has started to show the negative
could be this easy!” effects of the chemical BPA, commonly found in many plastics, on developing fetuses and young children. The
FDA recommends that the negative impact of BPA can be reduced by breastfeeding all children for the first year.

• Formula is made from cow’s milk, often from factory-farmed milk cows producing huge quantities of methane gas
and water-polluting manure; or from soy, which is often a genetically modified monoculture treated with massive
“You have changed my life!” quantities of fertilizer and weed killer.

• Formula must be shipped long distances, and containers become part of the solid waste stream.

• Formula is occasionally contaminated with foreign substances.

La Leche League of Washington 2009 Annual Report 3

 “I am so grateful these Babies
La Leche League meetings exist.” Breastfeeding is universally recognized as the gold standard in infant nutrition. La Leche League Leaders support mothers
wherever they are in their breastfeeding journeys, helping babies receive optimal infant nutrition for as long as mother and
baby both desire.

• Human milk is far more than good food, it is a living fluid that protects babies from disease and actively
2009 Income contributes to the development of every system in babies’ bodies.

• Breastmilk is uniquely suited to meet babies’ nutritional needs. The composition of breastmilk changes from day to
day to meet the changing needs of children.
Community Outreach - 79%

Leader Workshop - 7%
• Breastfeeding helps reduce the incidence of many major childhood diseases, and confers a lifetime reduction in the
risk of developing other diseases, including some cancers.
Leader Assessment - 6%
• Breastfeeding affects that shape of children’s faces, teeth and smiles. Children who breastfeed for a year or more
Fundraising - 4%
require 40 percent less orthodontia than those who were bottlefed.
Membership Sales - 3%
• Breastfeeding is linked with lower risks of lifetime obesity.
Donations - 1%
• Breastfeeding soothes and comforts babies.
Leader Accredidation Income - 0%

Mothers
La Leche League helps mothers build confidence through monthly meetings, phone help and online mother-to-mother
forums. Many mothers find that they start their breastfeeding relationship intending to nurse for the U.S. standard of six
“I would have quit if you months and go on to breastfeed to at least one year or beyond because of their involvement with La Leche League.

hadn’t been here for me!”
• Every time a mother breastfeeds, the hormone that triggers her milk to flow floods the mother with a sense of calm.
Oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone,” helps mothers feel better able to manage the stress of early
motherhood.
• Women reduce their risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancers and the longer they breastfeed, the greater the risk
reduction.

• New data strongly suggest that breastfeeding cuts a woman’s risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes long after
her infant has grown up.

• Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of experiencing postpartum depression and mood disorder.

• Breastfeeding mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight more quickly than their non-breastfeeding
counterparts.

• Mothers know that breastfeeding is one of the best tools to soothing a tantrum or a tumble.

La Leche League of Washington 2009 Annual Report 4

 2009 Expenses
Family
Community Outreach - 63%
Often, a family member will call La Leche League on behalf of an overwhelmed mother. A grandmother might remember
LLLI Leadership Education - 15% calling La Leche League for help and want her daughter to find that same assistance.
Programs - 8%
• Breastfeeding saves families money by eliminating the need for formula, which typically costs between $1,200 to
Contribution to LLLI - 7% $2,000 a year.
Grou
up Funds Sharing - 3%
• Nursing the baby helps soothe and calm the baby and the mother, helping everyone get more sleep.
Areaa Administrati
tioon - 2%
• Breastfeeding helps mothers build confidence in their mothering, confidence that transcends breastfeeding.
Leader Supporrt Administration - 1%

Proffessional Liaison - 1% • Mothers can breastfeed in any type of emergency, particularly when access to clean water and heat may be limited.
Communicatio
on Skills Classes - 0%

Fundraising - 0% Health care providers

Countless health care providers rely on La Leche League to provide accurate, up-to-date information on breastfeeding.
Doctors, pharmacists, WIC providers, midwives, nurses, naturopaths and dentists contact LLL with questions about
breastfeeding management, access to the latest breastfeeding references and more. La Leche League of Washington provides
health care providers with important educational opportunities.

• Any health care provider can call or email a Leader at any time for free breastfeeding information.

• La Leche League of Washington offers regular workshops, conferences and health care professional seminars
where continuing education credits are available.

• Many Leaders own reference texts with up to date information.

• La Leche League of Washington has a direct line of communication with the vast resources of La Leche League
International.

• LLL Leaders hold meetings at hospitals and clinics all over the state.

“Your selfless giving not only La Leche League makes a substantial contribution to the health and well-being of
changed the way my husband and mothers and children throughout Washington.
I will experience parenting but our La Leche League is an international nonprofit, non-sectarian organization dedicated to providing education, information,
children will benefit endlessly.” support, and encouragement to women who want to breastfeed. Monthly group meetings are held throughout Washington to
discuss breastfeeding and related parenting topics. La Leche League Leaders are experienced mothers who are accredited by
La Leche League International to help mothers and mothers-to-be with all aspects of normal breastfeeding.

Thank you to Jessica Skintges, www.PortraitPlaytime.com, for her donation of photographs and David James for layout.

La Leche League of Washington 2009 Annual Report 5