Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, BETHESDA, Md  –   In conjunction with August’s Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Walter Reed hosted a LATCH event on August 29 at a shaded pavilion near the campus of the Uniformed Services University (USU).

‘LATCH’ refers to how a baby attaches to their mother’s breast to feed. It is assumed that this comes easily but it is more of a skill that is learned by mother and baby together. Monica Brannon, Inpatient Lactation Consultant at Walter Reed, coordinated the event. She alongside fellow nursing staff members Brooke Kerst, Jamie Dow, and Jackie Kuchta were in attendance.

“I love the idea of this event,” said Kuchta. “It’s all good because there is never enough support for moms who are breastfeeding.”

CTR2 Julia Belair was in attendance with her son, Derek. She and her husband are both in the U.S. Navy and drove in from Fort Meade, Maryland for the event. Derek was born at Walter Reed three months ago and was actually five weeks early - born at 35 weeks. She said, “Derek is okay with going to sleep and is sleeping well. He might wake up once or twice a night but his
bed is on the same level as my bed.” She said she might have to pat or reassure him and then he goes back to sleep easily. His crib is on the same level as her bed, which was also helpful.

Belair stressed her appreciation of Walter Reed’s lactation support team. “I would have given up [on breastfeeding] two months ago. I was crying and having a bad time. “I couldn’t have done this without the support of Monica and Jackie”.

Brannon shared that this was the 4th LATCH event held at Walter Reed. She said it began in New Zealand to promote and support breastfeeding.

The first Big Latch On event was held in New Zealand in 2005. Latch On events increase awareness of how breastfeeding can provide notable health benefits for babies, strengthening the bond between mother and child, and normalizing breastfeeding in public.

In 2018, the Big Latch On included 28 participating countries, 778 locations, over 21,500 breastfed children, and more than 60,000 attendees.

August is National Breastfeeding Month with each week dedicated to individual populations and ethnicities. Specific breakouts for this event include:

Week 1 – World Breastfeeding
Week 2 – Indigenous Milk Medicine
Week 3 – Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week
Week 4 – Black Breastfeeding
Week 5– Semana de la Lactancia Latina

Brannon said that “For the great LATCH on day, they had a pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, it was virtual. “We had our own first LATCH event virtually with the two other baby-friendly facilities because there are only three.” Walter Reed is designated as a Baby-Friendly hospital. Currently, there are only three military treatment facilities (MTF) in the country that have earned the Baby-Friendly Hospital designation -- Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center (Fort Belvoir, Virginia), Naval Hospital Jacksonville (Florida), and Walter Reed.

Brannon concluded, “Moving forward, the great LATCH on moved their date until April because, in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s prime cold and flu season. [Next year] we may potentially do it in April.”