Pedestrian
Safety & Attentive driving
·        
D-51 students go back to school on Monday, Aug.
3. Parents should establish safe routes – on sidewalks or paths or through
reduced speed zones – to school with children, and drivers should be extra
cautious in the mornings and afternoons, when kids are on their way to school.
·        
Walking and biking to school can improve a
child’s overall health and well-being. Walking or biking a safe route with your
child before school begins will improve his or her safety.
·        
Remind your kids to cross at crosswalks when
possible and to make eye contact with drivers before crossing. Walk against traffic.
·        
Cyclists should obey all traffic laws, ride
single file whenever possible and ride with
the flow of traffic.
·        
If your child is walking or biking at dawn, or
before sunrise, utilize reflective clothing or tape, or bright colored
clothing.
·        
Motorists should focus on driving. Avoid using cell phones and keep your
eyes on cyclists and pedestrians. When passing a bicyclist, give at least three
feet between your car and the bike.
·        
We all walk, bike and drive. Let’s all share the
road.
Breastfeeding
and work
·        
Breastfeeding is beneficial for both mothers and
babies. The longer a mother breastfeeds, the more benefits she and baby see.
·        
Breastfed babies:
o  
Get sick less often.
o  
Have fewer allergic reactions than their
formula-fed counterparts.
o  
Perform higher on vocabulary tests at age 5.
o  
Have less risk of becoming overweight or obese.
o  
Have less risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
·        
Colorado law requires a business of one or more
employees to provide reasonable time for mothers to express milk at work –
either on unpaid break time, paid break time or meal time.
·        
Employers should provide a private room, a
supportive environment and a short break from work to allow nursing mothers to nurse
or pump.
·        
The Mesa County Health Department Women, Infant
and Children (WIC) program offers information and support to nursing moms. Call
248-6900 for more information.

For more
information, visit
health.mesacounty.us and mesacountyhealth.com.