Campbell Moms Come Out to Latch On

"It's nice to be able to just pick up the phone and say 'Wah! I’m awake' and know that they get it," says Param Matharu.

Matharu is talking about having a supportive parent community for mothers, and fathers that have infants.

The birth doula, who runs A Labor of Love - Doula Care lives in the Cambrian neighborhood of San Jose, along with BABI and La Leche League helped organize "The Big Latch On!" event, to help break the world record for most women simultaneously breastfeeding on Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m. nationwide in support of World Breastfeeding Week.

The event, which took place at the for the first time was one of two local events. The other was in Oakland.

More than 28 mothers, fathers, grandmothers and children from Campbell, Los Gatos and San Jose waited for the library to open.

"We got huge participation," she says.

Of the 28 mothers present, 25 were latched at the time of the count. Of these, there were three sets of twins and one tandem nurse with a 3-month-old and a 3-year-old. The youngest infant participating was 6 weeks and the oldest was 3 years.

The provisional numbers nationwide are 4,123 women and their children across 294 locations participated in the Big Latch On.

"I am real passionate about the community building aspect of this event," Param says. "The whole idea behind it is to bring breastfeeding moms together, make connections and new friends. Build a community."