Natasha's Pick of the Week

I love Twitter!  It has opened up a world of opportunities for me and I have met some pretty amazing people in the Twitter-verse. One of these lovely people is the mama behind MamaPear Designs.  Lara Audelo is mom to two little boys and she is a breastfeeding advocate and soon to be Lactation Education Cousellor and her company has the most wonderful Lactivist t-shirts and gear for moms, dads and kids alike.

She is also a mama on a mission.  That mission is to get Oprah Winfrey to do a show in her last season all about breastfeeding.  And she wants YOU to get involved too!  You can find all the Breastfeeding Blitz info here and sign the letter and send it to Oprah herself!   Heck, if Ellen can get on the cover of O magazine with her, then maybe, just maybe hundreds of mamas all with one common goal, can get the fabulous Oprah Winfrey to put the much needed spotlight on breastfeeding and the global health benefits that it has for our children and ourselves.  And maybe, just maybe, help to remove the stigma that nursing a baby in a public place has these days, help to educate the people who complain about it and get mothers all over North America the support and resources that are so needed to help breastfeed their children successfully.

Here is what Lara has to say in her own words:

My ultimate goal is to raise breastfeeding awareness and help change the culture of breastfeeding here in the U.S.  I think it is safe to say we need some work in the society-at-large acceptance and education area!  I had an idea a few months ago and that was to see if, through a letter writing campaign, I could convince (with the support of hopefully hundreds, if not thousands of others) The Oprah Show to feature breastfeeding as a topic on a show in its final season.  I have never seen Oprah do a show on breastfeeding, but it really is time, and there are so many aspects that need to be discussed.  A variety of people could be invited to talk about benefits of breastfeeding, where moms who struggle can find support, why we need MORE support, discrimination for breastfeeding in public, breastfeeding and the workplace, the potential breastfeeding has to save money for tax payers, and the list goes on.  If breastfeeding is discussed by Oprah, it will get people talking, and that is what we need.  If people take the time to write her and let her know why they think this show is necessary, I believe it will happen.  Every mother must make a choice about how she is going to feed her baby, and I know that a lot of mothers tune into Oprah! We are not looking just to gain the attention of pregnant women, but everyone, so we can educate them about why more mothers should breastfeed.  So I am "building it" and hoping "they will come!"

You can find Lara on the web at www.mamapeardesigns.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MamaPearDesigns and on Twitter @mamapeardesigns.  And if you visit her site right now, you can also see the lovely Spotlight she did on Natural Urban Mamas and the conversation we had about babywearing and breastfeedinng on her Favourites page.

And that is my pick this week peeps.

Natasha~