I Support You Movement

This week is World Breastfeeding Week. I know that I bang on about breastfeeding a lot - because it's important to me.

However, one thing that trumps breastfeeding or anything else everytime is support, and love. It was with much excitement that I heard about the I Support You campaign. Suzanne Barston, the Fearless Formula Feeder, Jamie Lynne Grumet (of Time Magazine cover fame) and Kim Simon of Mama By The Bay have launched the "I Support You" campaign.

The I Support You movement is a respectful, empathetic, compassionate exchange between parents. We all feed our children differently, but we are all feeding with love, and in ways that work for our individual circumstances and family dynamics. I Support You is the first step in helping formula-feeding, breast-feeding, and combo-feeding parents to come together and lift each other up with kindness and understanding. We have chosen to announce this movement during World Breastfeeding Week, to honor the commitment of those who fight for better support for breastfeeding moms; we are inspired by this, but believe that by changing the focus to supporting all parents, we can truly provoke positive change without putting the needs of some mothers above the needs of others. The “I Support You” movement aims:

1) To bridge the gap between formula-feeding and breastfeeding parents by fostering friendships and interactions.

2) To dispel common myths and misperceptions about formula feeding and breastfeeding, by asking parents to share their stories, and really listening to the truth of their experiences.

3) To provide information and support to parents as they make decisions about how to feed their children.

4) To connect parents with local resources, mentors, and friends who are feeding their children in similar ways.

With that in mind, I submit the above. I chose a coffee cup, because I'm not super keen on photos of my daughter and me being publicly available, but also because a friendly chat over a cup of coffee has often been a source of support for me. So, regardless of if you are a coffee drinker or not, to all the loving mothers out there - I support you.

I urge you all to celebrate support, diversity and inclusiveness, to leave the MummyWars behind, and to share the love around.