Host Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Big Latch On?
The Big Latch On is an annual public health initiative that promotes and celebrates breastfeeding, connecting parents and whānau across Aotearoa. It provides community and peer support for all infant-feeding journeys, helping to reduce barriers to breastfeeding by fostering confidence and opportunities for ongoing support.
Thousands participate at registered venues nationwide, with the 2018 event being the largest. In 2018 2,091 children latched on at 107 venues, covering every DHB region, plus 215 parents joined via social media with breastfeeding selfie
•Welcoming and supportive of all whānau regardless of how their child is fed.
•Support communities to identify and grow opportunities for on-going breastfeeding support and promotion.
•Connect whānau with the support and knowledge available in their communities.
•Positively support breastfeeding in public places.
•Connect parents with other parents and act as a conduit for the establishment of peer support groups (particularly in rural areas)
The Big Latch On 2025 will take place from Friday 4th to Sunday 6th April. In previous years, the Big Latch On was held during World Breastfeeding Week in August, however in 2023 the event moved to the warmer month of April. Hosts are welcome to schedule events at any time across the three days. Participants are welcome to go along to as many, or as few, events as they like, both in-person or virtual.
To make the event as inclusive as possible, hosts are able to hold their Big Latch On event at any time throughout the weekend (Friday 4th – Sunday 6th April 2025). It’s important that you highlight what time your event starts on your promotional material/advertising.
Yes, you can hold a virtual event if it is the most appropriate type of event for your community. For many years the Big Latch On was only held in person. After 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic we had to do things differently. Whilst we do encourage all Big Latch On participants to try to make it to an in-person event, we appreciate that sometimes this is not possible. People who cannot make it to an in-person event can also participate in our Brelfie initiative, by taking a picture of themselves feeding (breast, bottle, expressing, SNS etc) and posting/sharing it online with the hashtag #BrelfieNZ and #BigLatchOnNZ. These online options are designed to coexist with physical participation, rather than replacing it, as a way of creating more ways for parents to feel supported and connected.
Here are some considerations, practical ideas and protective measures for hosting a virtual event.
- What video conferencing platform will you use?
- How many people do you expect to join your event?
- How much will it cost you to use it?
- Do you want a chat room function?
- Do you need screen share function?
- Will it be a private event for a group of people that you know?
- Remember to set up your virtual event link, and add it into your registration form.
You should use a password or PIN system for accessing the virtual link to your event. We recommend that you don’t distribute this widely until closer to your event to prevent it being shared outside of your participant group. Also don’t give your host login details to anyone else.
Once you have everyone at the event, you should ‘lock’ your event so that security cannot be breached. Consider how and when you will count your number of participants.
In recent years, Women’s Health Action have made the ‘rules’ around the Big Latch On more flexible. We want the event to be as fun and inclusive as possible, and we encourage hosts to be flexible and use their discretion when organising and hosting the events.
Below are a few key ‘must do’s’ for the Big Latch On:
Participant Registration forms are no longer compulsory, however you are welcome to use the form to collect contact details or seek permission to use photos taken at your event (found under Host Resources).
You will need to count the number of participants at your event. This is regardless of whether parents are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding their children. We want to be supportive of responsive feeding and understand that babies/children need to be fed when they are hungry, or that some children may be distracted at the event. As a host, you should include anyone who attended your event with the intention of participating, regardless of whether they actually ‘latch on’ at a specific time, or at all. Please count everyone who turned up, including children, infants and supporters.
You will need to report how many people attended your event by submitting your Event Count – simply log in to My Account and submit the count for the associated event (found in the Big Latch On section). The Live Participant Count shows attendees from all events on the BLO homepage.
Any individual, organisation, community group or company interested in supporting parents.
Any entity that is in violation of the World Health Organisation International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. You can find out more about the Code here. This means that you cannot market, distribute or accept funds/donations/prizes from manufacturers or distributors of breast-milk substitutes (i.e. formula), related equipment such as feeding bottles and teats/artificial nipples, or commercial foods marketed for children under six months (this list is not exhaustive).
A café, marae, playgroup, church, local meeting room, hospital, health centre, workplace – one year there was a Big Latch On held on a plane! You can hold the event wherever you want to meet, as long as it is in Aotearoa New Zealand. You also have the option to hold your event online.
Yes. When you register your event on our website, the final question asks about event privacy. You can select ‘private’ or ‘public’. If you would like your event to be private and therefore not listed/visible on the website, please select “Private”.
No, we are not running an official “Latch Count”. Over recent years our focus has shifted from counting the number of people breastfeeding their children at one time, to inviting people at all stages on the infant feeding journey to gather together and find connection and support in their communities, at events able to be held at any time across three days.
Once you have registered your event, you can download all the promotional matrial you need from Host Resources, including posters and invitations in different languages. To cut down on running costs, we are providing these materials in electronic format only. You are able to download and share them online, or print them off and display them in areas where pregnant people and mums will see them (i.e. Plunket rooms, waiting rooms, cafes, malls, church notice boards etc).
We have made it easy for you by creating official event posters, but we understand that sometimes you may want to personalise your poster. There are a couple of options – you can either add your own logo to the official event poster. Or, if you wish to start from scratch, we just ask that you do so with the spirit of the event in mind – please include the official Big Latch On logo on your poster – you can download this in the ‘Host Resources’ section.
Recent evaluations of the Big Latch On showed that most participants found out about the Big Latch On via Facebook. We suggest using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter to help spread the word. Make sure you like/follow the official Big Latch On Aotearoa Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/BigLatchOnNZ and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biglatchonnz/
Approach local businesses and see if they would be happy to promote your event on their social media pages, websites and/or publications. You may offer promotion of their goods and services in return, however you will need to make sure they meet the sponsorship guidelines – see the Fundraising, Donations And Sponsorship section below for more information.
• Approach local midwives and ask if they would be willing to put up your posters and/or give out printed copies.
• Approach your local maternity hospitals and birthing centres and ask if they would be willing to put up your posters and/or give out printed copies.
Women’s Health Action engage with print, radio and television media to promote the Big Latch On at a national level. As a registered host, we will provide you a template to produce your own local media releases and Women’s Health Action are available to provide you with further guidance about working with the media. We are here to help so please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like any assistance, even if you just want to bounce some ideas off someone. Email [email protected] or call us on 09 520 5295
Yes, you can set up your own Facebook event. If you email us the link, we will share your event on the Big Latch On Aotearoa Facebook page.
Head to My Account and select the ‘Big Latch On’ tab on the left hand side. Here you will find all the events that you have created. Click ‘edit’ to change any event details.
Before you cancel your event, consider whether someone else can take over the hosting responsibilities. Women’s Health Action can assist you with finding a new host and help to address any other difficulties you may be facing. If you still need to cancel your event, you can do so at any time. Please contact the Big Latch On team via phone (09) 520 5295 or email ([email protected]) and we can delete your event registration for you. Please be aware that you are responsible for making sure your community is informed of the cancellation. This means you need to spread the word about the cancellation in all the places you originally advertised, and you will need to make arrangements for people who have not heard about the cancellation and still turn up to your event.
If your event is public and listed on our website, then anyone can attend. If your event is private and therefore not listed on our website, only people who you invite will be able to attend
If your event is public you probably won’t know, it’s part of the fun of the Big Latch On. You may ask participants to register or to contact you if they plan to attend your event, however they do not have to do this. People may also plan to attend but on the day not be able to make it for various reasons.
Use the experience as learning and build on it for next year! Please contact Women’s Health Action and we can work with you for the following year. Please make sure you still let us know how many participants you had (in this case, ‘0’). Please submit the number of participants at your event via My Account.
No.
This is perfectly fine, they should be counted each time they attend an event.
This is fine, but they must make sure it is only themselves and their baby in the photo. They cannot upload pictures of other people without their permission.
For many years, the Big Latch On was held in the first week of August to coincide with International World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). WBW commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. You can read more about WBW at http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/. However, because WBW falls in the winter time/cold and flu season in Aotearoa, it is not the best time to encourage people to get out in public with their children. After several years of COVID-19 lockdowns and disruptions, we decided that 2023 will be the first time we move the Big Latch On to the warmer month of April.
All hosts must report how many people attended their events. Please login to My Account and click the ‘submit event count’ button in the Big Latch On tab. Please count everyone who turned up, including parents, children, infants and supporters.
No, but you can seek donations from local businesses and benefactors to cover your costs.
You can use sponsorship to help cover costs like printing, advertising and supplying food and drinks. Some events have local businesses provide goodie bags or turn their event into a pamper day with services such as bra fittings and massage!! Your local businesses might also supply you with spot prizes for participants, or with drinks and snacks for your Big Latch On.
You no longer need to supply official evidence, but we would still love to receive photos from your event. Please make sure you have people’s permission to be included in photos.
As hosts, you are responsible for ensuring you have participants’ permission for any photos and any film footage taken at your Big Latch On. Photographers and videographers should be made aware of any participants who do not wish to be photographed. By sending in photos or film to Women’s Health Action, you are agreeing that you have permissions from all those in the images. The ‘Participant Registration’ form (found in the Host Resources) includes a section for participants to give permission for their photos to be taken and for these photos to be used by Women’s Health Action.
No. We’ve worked hard to make hosting even easier this year, including no paper forms. Participant Registration forms are no longer compulsory, however you are welcome to use the form to collect contact details or seek permission to use photos taken at your event (found under Host Resources).
Yes! We’d love to hear what hosts and event attendees think about the Big Latch On and it’s future. We will post evaluation posters to all Hosts in the week prior to the event. Please ask attendees to complete this short survey. The survey link can also be found at: (coming soon!).
Please report the number of people at your event by logging in to My Account. Select the ‘Big Latch On’ tab on the left hand side and then click the ‘submit event count’ button under your event heading. Thank you!