Breastfeeding awareness events highlight support available in community
Jul. 31, 2025
Breastfeeding awareness events highlight support available in community
When Ceranda Hines was pregnant with her daughter Ophelia, she figured she would use formula after her baby was born.
But a visit with breastfeeding counselor Lynne Ryan at Monongalia County Health Department’s Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) program convinced her to give breastfeeding a try.
“What stuck with me is that what I was giving her helps with her gut health and provides antibodies,” Hines said. “It’s the best start for their immune system.”
More than four years later, Hines just weaned Ophelia this spring and now works as a certified breastfeeding specialist at MCHD WIC.
That doesn’t mean breastfeeding started off easily, but with WIC counselors guiding Hines on how to get Ophelia to latch, she was able to exceed the recommended minimum threshold of six months for the practice by 3-½ years.
“It was one of the most difficult but one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done,” Hines said.
To highlight August’s Breastfeeding Awareness Month, MCHD WIC will hold two events to get the word out about breastfeeding’s benefits as well as the support that exists in the community to help individuals who want to nurse their babies.
The 15th Annual Baby Buggy Stroll will take place from 10 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Aug. 6 at the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport, coordinated by MCHD WIC’s Harrison County office.
Participants can meet at 10 a.m. in front of JCPenney in the center court to register for prizes and then stroll around the mall with decorated strollers to raise awareness.
Then the Breastfeeding Awareness Walk will be held (for the first time since 2019) from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7 at the Morgantown Farmers Market Pavilion, featuring vendors, food trucks, MCHD Smile Express and a walk around downtown Morgantown.
“In the past, the walk was focused on the rebellion of breastfeeding,” said Anna Ash, an MCHD WIC certified breastfeeding specialist who spearheaded the event. “The walk was started because of a mother who was having pushback around breastfeeding in public.
“The transition is now more based around an educational need. There are so many women who don’t know the benefits of breastfeeding and don’t know they have support in the community.”
MCHD WIC operates in six counties: Preston, Marion, Doddridge and Taylor, in addition to Monongalia and Harrison.
Indeed, as Angie Rebrook, MCHD WIC’s breastfeeding liaison noted, “Breastfeeding has just taken off and moms feel more supported and more educated. There is more information out there that makes moms more accepting of the idea.”
Breastfeeding offers many benefits, not just better gut health and immunity for babies. It’s also relaxing for the mom and also can aid in losing baby weight. It’s less expensive than formula and provides a bonding experience for mother and baby.
MCHD WIC’s breastfeeding support includes in-person appointments with clients. Both participants and members of the public can take advantage of a free 24/7 app through the Appalachian Breastfeeding Network as well as free breastfeeding classes offered in all six counties. More information can be found at www.monchd.org/services/breastfeeding.
WIC clients are pregnant and nursing mothers and children up to their fifth birthdays who qualify financially.
In addition to resources including WIC, another reason that breastfeeding numbers are on the rise is federal legislation enacted in 2022 called the PUMP (Providing Urgent Maternal Protections) for Nursing Mothers Act (www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work), which entitles most workers to reasonable breaks as well as an area to pump breast milk during work hours.
While the Baby Buggy Stroll took only one year off at the start of the COVID pandemic, the breastfeeding walk that WIC co-sponsored at the WVU Erickson Alumni Center fell by the wayside and is being resurrected this year with a new location and vibe.
In addition to food trucks, light refreshments will be provided and WIC members can use their issued farmers market vouchers to purchase WIC-approved items from vendors.
Also, Monongalia County Health Department’s Smile Express mobile dentistry unit will be available for tours and quick dental assessments for kids.
A few signs will be provided for the walk, but participants are encouraged to make their own if they can.
Ash noted that the City of Morgantown has been very supportive of MCHD WIC, which was reiterated in a statement from Brad Riffee, director of public relations and communications.
"The City of Morgantown recognizes that the services provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women serve as a strong support network for women in our community,” Riffee said. “With events like the Breastfeeding Awareness Walk and our continued support for meaningful causes through proclamations, we aim to inspire awareness and build a more connected community."
Ash received a proclamation from Mayor Danielle Trumble at the July 22 city council meeting.
“It has been just astounding, the amount of support we have gotten from the city,” Ash said. “They went above and beyond to assist me in all things that I didn't even know about that we were going to need to hold the event downtown. Everyone I spoke with in the city clerk’s office, police department and the parking authority were just so kind and very understanding.”