Hello All,
Thought some of you may find this interesting. For those of you not familiar with LLLI this is a HUGE step. Maybe LLL will no longer be this country's best kept secret when it comes to breastfeeding support.
Warmly,
Dawn Martin
Austin, TX
----- Original Message -----
LLLINEWS: Groundbreaking Television Segment for La Leche League International
Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2002
Have you ever dreamed of seeing the advantages of breastfeeding presented to millions of people? Have you ever wished that LLLI could spread its message on television? Did you ever think that this could become a reality? These wishes, hopes, and dreams that so many of us have had for years will finally become a reality. Thanks to the generous donation of an anonymous LLL visionary, funds were earmarked for a television project entitled The Balancing Act.
This segment highlighting LLLI is the first paid television segment ever in our 45-year history. It is being produced by Five Star Productions, a production studio in Florida and is being coordinated by Kim Cavaliero and Mary Hurt of LLLI's Public Relations Department. The Balancing Act is hosted by actress and director Joanna Kerns and explores the "balancing act" of juggling a career by day and motherhood by night. The independently produced series will air on the following cable networks: Oxygen, The Discovery Channel, Bravo, The Food Network, and The Health Network. After its television debut, the segment may also be viewed by streaming video on the La Leche League International Web site, www.lalecheleague.org, as well
as on the Five Star Productions Web site at www.vstar.com. While the exact dates of the show are not yet known, we are expecting it to be during the latter half of March 2002. Please check the LLLI Web site for updates. [Here is the direct link: http://www.lalecheleague.org/pr/balance.html]
The segment, approximately five-minutes long, features Dr. Lorene Wu, a family practice physician who spoke at our 2001 LLLI Conference. Dr. Wu presents some of the advantages of breastfeeding including its immunological and other health benefits. During her interview, Dr. Wu also emphasizes the unique living properties of human milk that cannot be duplicated by any baby milk substitute.
Dr. Wu, who graciously volunteered her time, traveled to the Five Star Production Studios in Florida from her home in Illinois. Dr. Wu seemed at ease and natural before the camera as she went through the typical process of several "takes" until everyone was satisfied.
Dr. Wu spoke with a natural enthusiasm developed not only from her professional background but also from her breastfeeding experience. She breastfed her nine-year-old daughter, Jasmin, and her two-year-old twins,
Sofie and Olivia, are still nursing.
Other volunteers also helped with this project; chief among them was Florida LLL Leader Delaney Casey. Not only did Delaney volunteer her home so that a crew from Five Star Productions could film an LLL meeting, she also invited the mothers and babies to attend, and agreed to an on-camera interview for the show about breastfeeding from a mother's perspective. She accomplished all of this while balancing her time with her two children, Makayla and Kyle. She certainly had to create quite a "Balancing Act" to accomplish all of this.
This part of the segment will show Delaney leading an LLL meeting with beautiful babies, children, and mothers present. The crew was even able to find a mother who demonstrated just how discreet nursing can be. They had been filming her for several minutes before realizing her baby was at the breast. The final version of the segment will show these scenes with a voice-over that promotes the advantages of breastfeeding.
Approximately 44 million viewers will be able to see this program on cable television some time in March 2002. Please continue to check our Web site at www.lalecheleague.org for updates. This is a perfect time to alert anyone interested in breastfeeding and LLL to this program. Tell your friends, family members, neighbors, doctors, and local health care centers about this. Help us to spread the word that La Leche League International and breastfeeding will finally get a chance to be the best we can be on television.
[For further information, contact the LLLI PR Department at [log in to unmask] The Web page with this article and the photos is at http://www.lalecheleague.org/pr/making.html ]
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
