Man Hops on Breastfeeding Advocacy Bus!

You know, when I hear of a 27-year-old single guy with a great interest in breasts and nursing, I immediately assume he means fake breasts and naughty-nurse costumes. But Ryan Comfort is not your average 27-year-old man. His idea started as a t-shirt and soon snowballed into a breastfeeding advocacy project called Latch On America.
 
It involves a pink bus, a 30-city tour, a new website, and an expert panel of lactation consultants -- and it might be coming to a town near you!

I am super-bummed to have missed the bus as it rolled through San Francisco a few days ago. The tour started in San Diego on July 13 and is heading north, then east.

The man behind this -- Comfort -- is an entrepreneur whose t-shirt with the slogan "breastfeeding is for suckers” isn't my favorite idea. But never mind that it’s not all that funny or that I wouldn’t wear it or any breastfeeding shirt on a bet. He felt like it would sell, but wanted to make sure that if he made money from this venture, it would somehow benefit breastfeeding advocacy, so he began doing online research.
 
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of breastfeeding-info sites, and worried about what he saw as conflicting information, Comfort decided to create Milk for Thought, which would collect all the best and most accurate info in one, new place. When he saw the Surgeon General’s Call to Action, he up and quit his high-paying job, determining he could make this his latest venture, and enlisted his mom, Kathy Comfort, R.N., to help start connecting moms to lactation experts and innovators.
 
This is just the beginning of the project; as the bus stops at city after city, the crew -- a group of lactation consultants as well as Comfort himself -- will meet with local advocates, develop ideas for the organization, and add content to the site. Moms (even if they’re “just” expectant or aspiring) can get information and have fun with their families. The San Francisco event featured free classes like “Understanding Your Baby’s Behavior” and “Baby-Wearing Basics,” as well as representatives from La Leche League, the local WIC program, and local stores and hospitals, plus a raffle and giveaways.
 
A documentary crew is filming the fun, collecting stories along the way, and you can also upload your own stories about breastfeeding to their site -- one poster reported a breastfeeding “flash mob” in Texas!
 
Will you be meeting the big pink bus in your town?

 
Images courtesy of Milk for Thought