Several nursing mothers gathered Saturday in Fountain Square Park downtown to breast-feed their babies at exactly 10:30 a.m. as part of The Big Latch On, a worldwide celebration for World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from Aug. 1-7 annually.

“This is just a great event,” nurse and midwife Lisa Dalporto said.

Saturday’s rain held out just long enough for the mothers to sit in the grass at the park and nurse their children to be part of the celebration, which took place at 10:30 a.m. local time in every city that participated.

“Breast-feeding doesn’t require any special knowledge, but it does require support,” said Dalporto, of Bowling Green.

Women from prior generations could rely on their mothers for support. But now that family members have moved away from each other, women sometimes have to rely on other mothers to support their desire to breast-feed, Dalporto said.

Dalporto is a co-chairwoman of BabyNetKy, a network of professionals and community members who actively support families during the childbearing years through education about pregnancy, childbirth, breast-feeding and parenting. BabyNetKy.com organized the local Latch On event.

The purpose of The Big Latch On is to raise awareness about breast-feeding and its benefits to babies.

“I’m a huge supporter of breast-feeding,” said Julia Belden of Bowling Green, who attended the event and fed her 7-month-old daughter, Savannah Lee. “I feel that it’s the healthiest thing for my daughter. It’s extremely easy.”

Belden attributes her daughter’s good health to breast-feeding, which has been proven to help a baby’s immune system.

“She hasn’t been sick yet,” Belden said.

Seven-week-old Daniel Rush slept soundly throughout the event while his mother, Meredith Rush of Bowling Green, nursed him. His sister, Anna Jo Rush, 7, sat beside the two with her doll in her lap.

Rush wanted to send the message to others that nursing a baby is a natural, healthy thing to do.

“It’s good for your children,” she said.

“Our bodies were created to grow our babies and feed our babies,” said Melissa Jolly of Bowling Green, who participated with her 7-month-old daughter, Dehlia. She also breast-fed her oldest daughter, Maggie, who is 6 years old and never gets sick, she said.