Each year August 1 to 7 marks the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)—a week set aside to commemorate the signing of the Innocenti Declaration, a document produced and adopted by participants at the WHO/UNICEF policymakers’ meeting on Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative, held at the Spedale degli Innocenti, Florence, Italy, July 30 to August 1, 1990.

This year’s WBW theme, Mother Support: Going for the Gold, was selected to reflect the spirit of the Olympics, scheduled to begin August 8 in Beijing, China. A list of WBW events, along with suggestions for how individuals and organizations can celebrate in their communities, can be found on various websites including La Leche League USA, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and International Lactation Consultant Association.

Exceptional or normal?
I am an avid supporter of WBW and applaud any effort to increase awareness of a public health strategy that is essential to mother-child survival. I realize that this year’s WBW theme is based in part on the stated belief that human milk is liquid gold and breastfeeding, the gold standard. But maybe it’s time to rethink our analogies if we truly hope to increase breastfeeding rates worldwide.

Consider the number of athletes going for the gold—only those that are exceptional. And yet we want all mothers to breastfeed their children.

Only exceptional athletes win gold medals. And yet we want all mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months.

Exceptional isn’t normal.

Breastfeeding is normal. And maybe it’s been perceived as exceptional for too long.

Instead of encouraging mothers to go for the gold, perhaps it’s time to focus instead on giving mothers the knowledge and support they need to do what is normal.

You can do this. I can help. Tell me how.