Murray woman is co-leader of local ‘La Leche League’ support group

Promoting healthful habits for mothers and babies through breastfeeding support and awareness is the goal of Timbra Wiist, 30, of Murray.

Wiist is one of three co-leaders of La Leche League of Murray. The group is an international nonprofit, nonsectarian organization dedicated to providing education, information, support and encouragement to women who want to breastfeed their babies.

“The basic premise of La Leche League is support and reducing misconceptions about breastfeeding,” Wiist said.

The Murray group meets at noon on the first Tuesday of each month at the Murray Park Church of Christ, 494 East 5300 South.. Women are encouraged to visit the meeting before they give birth in order to be prepared for breastfeeding.

Wiist had her first baby in Fiji, where she and her husband Mike were working in Christian ministry. The couple moved to Utah in 2006 to be with family. Wiist heard about La Leche League when she bought some breastfeeding books. One was titled, “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding,” which is a La Leche League publication.

After finding her local group, Wiist was impressed by the women and the supportive nature of the organization. She started the Murray group as a lone leader in January 2009, after attending meetings with La Leche League of Sandy for nearly two years.

The two other co-leaders of the La Leche League of Murray say the supportive nature is what drew them to the organization as well. “It’s nice to know someone else has gone through this and can give you advice,” said co-leader Laurel Miller-Jones, 32, of Murray.

Co-leader Katherine Wojnowski, 28, of Sandy, points out that not only does the group offer education and helpful advice, it also is a forum for women to brainstorm and talk out their problems. “Sometimes there are no answers – or there are 10 different answers from 10 different moms,” she said.

La Leche League was founded in 1956 in Chicago by seven women who aimed to promote breastfeeding for the healthy benefits of the mother and baby. There wasn’t a lot of open information on breastfeeding available at the time – even from physicians. There are now numerous La Leche League groups worldwide and 15 groups in Utah.

La Leche League doesn’t tell mothers when to wean their baby. “We can offer information on how to gently wean a baby or child that takes both mother and child's needs into account,” Wiist said.

Outside recommendations vary from 9 months to 3-and-a-half years of age. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until the baby is at least 2 years.

Some La Leche League group members actively stand behind the right to breast feed in public. They sometimes orchestrate protests by having mass breastfeeding events or “nurse-ins” at the site, usually a restaurant or store – although La Leche League doesn’t take a stance or organize protests.

In 2010, La Leche League members asked local businesses if they would display the international breastfeeding symbol as part of “World Breastfeeding Week.” Many businesses put stickers in their windows to show the site is supportive of breastfeeding families or is child friendly. It is a blue and white symbol of a breastfeeding mother.

For more information, call La Leche League of Utah at 801-246-5683 or go to http://www.lllofmurray.blogspot.com/ or the international website http://dev.lllusa.org/UT/Utah.html