The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) has announced the theme for 2011's World Breastfeeding Week. "Talk to me! Breastfeeding-- A 3D Experience" acknowledges that breastfeeding support has traditionally been two-dimensional, focusing on time (pre-pregnancy to weaning) and place (communities, health care systems). However, a three-dimensional approach that includes communication is key. The artwork is a nod to social media, turning the image of an RSS Feed into a breastfeeding family.
I'm intrigued by where they will be going with the theme this year and whether or not they will focus on social media, like the breastfeeding advocacy done online via blogs, Facebook groups and Twitter. We are communicating globally in ways that were unimaginable even a few short years ago, and Web 2.0 is a huge part of that. We've seen how important Facebook has been to breastfeeding advocacy for everything from milk sharing with Eats on Feets to support groups like The Leaky B@@b. Weekly breastfeeding chats on Twitter bring together moms and lactation professionals and bloggers are educating moms on the importance of the WHO Code. So I do think breastfeeding advocacy is useless without communication and a lot of that communicating is now happening online.
So what do you think of this year's World Breastfeeding Week theme?
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