I have been in my element these past few weeks blogging intensively about breastfeeding and watching the World Cup, the largest sporting event on our planet earth.

Every four years I overdose on watching the ‘Beautiful Game’; it is called soccer here in the U.S. and football (futbol) in the rest of the world.  The  coverage of  the 2010 World Cup from South Africa has been amazing.  In the past, I had to watch most of the matches on my local Spanish language channel or at a bar with closed-circuit tv because they were not aired in English until the semi-finals.   

This year, I have watched it not only in pubs or my home, but also on my phone at Starbucks. Twitter and Facebook have allowed me to share the experience in real time with family, friends and fellow fans all over the world.  Social networking in its most pure form.

It has struck me on more than one occasion during this marathon of writing and sports watching that my two passions have things in common. 

• Global Reach
• Really beautiful use of human body
• Entry to experience is free or very low-cost
• Avid Fans
• Teamwork necessary for success

ESPN has developed a series of promotional videos on a variety of themes that are raised by this global sport.  A shorty funny one refers to the mini baby boom noted in Germany 9 months after the previous World Cup in 2006.  Since the Germans are not in the finals, it will be interesting to see what, if any, impact this has by the end of April 2011. 

Who knows maybe there will  be a mini baby boom the world over of passionate  new soccer fans who are breastfed!

FIFA , the international governing body of football, is supporting an important global initiative during this 2010 World Cup, Football For Hope.

The object of Football For Hope is to bring together, support, advise and strengthen sustainable social and human development programmes in the areas of peace, children’s rights and education, health, anti-discrimination and social integration as well as the environment…

Over the past 25 years, the profession of lactation consulting has worked hard to shine the spotlight on breastfeeding.  World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated each year from August 1-7.  It would be amazing if these two groups would unite forces and make some enduring connections for the good of our global community.

It is my fantasy that someday soon, breastfeeding will garnish some of the same economic clout and mass appeal that continues to grow for the ‘Beautiful Game’.

Viva España!  Breast is Best!

I had always wanted to go to ‘the Running of the Bulls’ since I first read James Michener’s novel ‘The Drifters’.  I finally made that dream a reality when I went with two of my brothers and my sister-in-law during The World Cup of 1998.

Today is the first day of the feast of St. Fermin, the patron of the festival which runs annually from 7.7-7.14 in Pamplona, Spain.

Pamplona Memories flood back to me.  I vividly remember cheering for Holland with the legions of orange clad fans that followed their matches in the local pubs.  Now, 12 years later, the Dutch have made it into the finals of the World Cup.  Spain plays Germany in the semi-finals on this auspicious Spanish feast day for the other slot.  This 2010 World Cup will be an all Europe final falling within the week of ‘the Running of the Bulls’.

Leather wine flasks, Botas, were being used by many of the festival goers.  My teaching mind saw an immediate and workable analogy between the human breast and those popular items of the festival of St. Fermin.  It occurred to me that the breast also expands and contracts with the volume of milk within it.  Both a wine sack and the breast are never really empty, but will always have some residual left at the bottom once filled with liquid.  To new moms who might be tempted to think of their breasts in terms of being full or empty this new frame of reference makes much better sense and alleviates much unnecessary anxiety.

As you may have noticed in the video above, the assembled crowds all got the memo and were unified in wearing a garb of white and red.  It was difficult to distinguish ourselves among the sea of people dressed the same way.  People were assembled from all over the world.  We were all part of one big family, more alike than different.  A unity that should also apply to breastfeeding.

The notion of solidarity by costume or color is not new.  Pink is for Breast Cancer awareness.  Purple is worn by those who support research for Alzheimers.  The lactation consulting world has made efforts to make Gold be the color of breastfeeding promotion to represent the liquid gold of human milk as the gold standard of infant feeding.

I watched from the sidelines while my brothers joined the ranks of those actually running with the bulls. I may have been a mere observer for those runs, but the same thing cannot be said about my participation in breastfeeding promotion.  I am steadfast in my efforts to inspire, educate, support and empower mothers to revel in the grandeur of their bodies which are so perfectly designed to nurture their babies for 9 months and beyond through the miracle of breastfeeding.

I envision the day, in the not too distant future, when the same fervor I witnessed for the running of the bulls of Pamplona will be expended on being bullish for breastfeeding.

Won’t you join me?  Be part of the change we want to see…Be Bullish for Breastfeeding!

Today is Father’s day. It is a day where we express our gratitude to our dads. For those of us whose fathers are no longer living, it could be a bittersweet occasion. Rather than be sad, I choose to celebrate my dad, Arthur Clements, by dedicating this post to his memory.

I was always a daddy’s girl. Being the first born of five children, I was extremely close to both of my parents. That had its moments. They ushered me into this world and I ushered each of them out.

Dad came to the United States from Ireland in his mid-twenties. He ultimately married my mother, his first love, after a decade of courtship. Those were the real days of “Mad Men”, when the culture was especially sexist and much more formal than it is now. Dad had lost his own father when he was eleven and spent much of his time with nannies or in boarding school. He relished being a father and, later in life, becoming a grandfather.

In many ways my dad was ahead of his time. He was very hands-on, especially when we were babies. My mother had many health challenges over the years, so by necessity, in addition to night school and a full-time job, he did a lot of things that stay-at-home dads do now. He was very comfortable with my mother breastfeeding all of us in a culture that did not support that as normal. His positive attitude toward women being empowered by their bodies and being educated and treated as equals set him apart from many men of his generation.

Brazil is playing this Father’s Day in the World Cup. My dad was so passionate about football and made us fans long before soccer moms and dads became a demographic. Growing up we went to all the matches of the Cosmos with Pelé. He would be thrilled to see the US holding their own and with a great shot to move on to the round of 16. More so to see his eldest daughter such a rabid fan!

My dad Art was very friendly and was a consummate broker. Passion and playfulness were his secret weapons. He had tons of energy for things he believed in and enjoyed. He encouraged me and my siblings to pursue our dreams with the same gusto and urged each of us to make our avocations into our life’s work.

Taking this advice to heart, I have blended all of my life learning and fashioned a new model of conscious breastfeeding. It is my joy to empower mothers and families through an optimized experience of breastfeeding which fits their modern lifestyle.

Thanks to you dad I am a passionate advocate for women. Even if I won the Lotto, I would always keep this passion alive a la your example.