Boston Celebrates Black Breastfeeding Week

Black Breastfeeding Week was celebrated locally this year on August 31st in front of the Boston Children’s Museum. Vital Village Network and the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition organized the event to raise awareness of the disparities and lower breastfeeding rates families of color face in the United States.This is the 5^th year for the national Black Breastfeeding Week celebration.  It was started by Kimberly Seals-Allers, Kiddada Green, and Anaya Sangodele-Ayoka, all leaders in the field of maternal health. Across the country, families and advocates have been celebrating by social gatherings, social media awareness, art, photography, fundraising, blogging, and news articles.“Bet on Black” was the theme for this year’s celebration which ran from August 25^th-through August 31^st. The gathering of moms, babies, and advocates who attended Boston’s event this year participated in a Black Breastfeeding Week tradition to “lift every baby”.  “Lift Every Baby”  is an homage to the poem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” written by James Weldon Johnson and later set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson. This song became the Black National Anthem in 1905. The lyrics start out:Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us, Facing the rising sun of our new day begunLet us march on till victory is won.While families across the country typically aim to lift their babies to the sky at 3pm on the Saturday during Black Breastfeeding Week, the group of moms and supporters in Boston met on Thursday to coincide with a weekly breastfeeding support group inside of the Boston Children’s Museum facilitated by volunteers from Vital Village Network. The attendees gathered and socialized by a large sculpture of a milk bottle that stands outside of the museum. When the event concluded, some attendees proceeded to attend a breastfeeding support group held inside of the museum.At blackbreastfeedingweek.org , nationwide event leader Kimberly Seals Allers, listed five reasons to advocate for, and support this event:

1. To reduce the high black infant mortality rate through the lifesaving benefits of receiving  breastmilk.
2. To reduce the high rates of diet related diseases by providing breastmilk as the first food.
3. Increase awareness for the diversity needed in lactation leadership.
4. Address the cultural barriers that are specific to black women.
5. Create communities that are filled with support and breastfeeding role models, and eliminate environments that are “first food deserts”.

Local Black Breastfeeding Week event organizer and Vital Village blogger Waetie Sanaa Cooper Burnette, put together this list of ways that we can support this movement throughout the year on a local level.

1. Offer your Boston space that is baby friendly and “T” accessible as a meeting site for one of our breastfeeding groups.
2. Earmark a donation to the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition to support the training, education, and travel of the many women of color seeking to become IBCLC's.
3. Volunteer your time to translate lactation materials into some of the popular local languages that our populations speak. Being able to have reference materials and study materials in a home language can make a huge difference in our ability to connect with a variety of populations.
4. Become familiar with your local breastfeeding resources and share that information with new moms who are breastfeeding. We need all the encouragement we can get to counteract the negative messages that tell us that breastfeeding isn't all that important or should be done only in private.
5. Cheer on moms you don't know when you see them breastfeeding and note how proud you are that they are figuring out how to stick with it.
6. For those who already have an IBCLC, choose to mentor a person of color or someone who would otherwise have significant barriers in attaining this credential. If every person with an IBCLC did this, the ripple effect would be really huge!
7. Employ lactation professionals that look like and reflect the target community. Train them and then hire them if you are not finding them or they are not aware of this opportunity.

Learn more about efforts like this and check out Waetie Sanaa’s blog by visiting bostonbreastfeeding.weebly.com and vitalvillage.org. If you want to get involved with the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition and Vital Village Network contact them at vitalvillage@bmc.org. To stay up to date on events, including Black Breastfeeding Week 2018 events, follow the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition and Vital Village Network’s Facebook pages https://www.facebook.com/bostonbreastfeeding/   and   https://www.facebook.com/vitalvillagenetwork/You can follow the movement nationally by visiting these websites: blackbreastfeedingweek.org and blackwomendobreastfeed.org . To review current information on racial and geographic differences in breastfeeding rates among populations in the U.S. visit the CDC page https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6627a3.htmA special thanks to Waetie Sanaa Cooper Burnette for her help in providing insights and information that were contributed to this article.  

We Agree: Fed IS Best

Initiated by a US physician and mom, The Fed is Best Foundation is a non-profit, volunteer organization of parents and health professionals who study the scientific literature on infant feeding and the experiences of mothers through clinical practice and social media connections. The foundation's website - www.fedisbest.org is an eye-opening experience, detailing, among other things, a variety of tragic stories, the outcome of which, according to the information provided, could have been avoided.My first response after reading these tragic stories was one of heartbreak and confusion. It’s hard to believe that despite all the advances in medical and breastfeeding care, that there can still be devastating outcomes for the very ones we care so deeply about – breastfeeding babies and their families.The outrage and call to action by these families, is understandable and necessary. I’m addressing it today because I know that none of us would ever, ever want to be involved in a situation where our actions contributed in any way to an outcome such as those described on the Fed is Best website. These cases represent a huge breakdown in our healthcare system, and we would be wise to contemplate ways in which we might personally do better in order to eradicate these outcomes. This is not to imply that there was anything in the stories that pointed directly to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), but as MLCA's Chapter President, I wanted to reflect on the importance of our role in general, when it comes to the care of breastfeeding families.I would like to suggest the following four strategies in order to provide the best care possible –1. LISTENIt’s simple to say, sometimes hard to do. You’ve heard some things over and over, to the point that maybe you tune out what a mom is trying to tell you. Make a renewed commitment to listen well – it’s the core of good communication. Put aside the thoughts of what you want to say next, and give your full attention to the person talking. Ask for clarification and reflect back to the other person to make sure you’ve gotten the message.2. COLLABORATEThere sure is a lot of talk in healthcare about collaboration, but is it actually happening? IBCLCs are in a unique situation in that we care for two individuals, usually with separate healthcare providers. We have a professional obligation to communicate with these providers, with parent’s permission - particularly in complicated cases. You are the expert in terms of breastfeeding – don’t be afraid to share your knowledge and insight. You are an important part of the healthcare team. One way to enhance collaboration is to reach out to the providers in your community. Find opportunities to meet with providers – get to know them and let them get to know you. Let’s face it; there are some common misconceptions about lactation consultants. Taking time out to introduce yourself, and to talk about your background and experiences, will go a long way in garnering support and respect, and this will undoubtedly improve outcomes for the families we serve.3. KEEP UPI know we’re all busy people. Most of us are struggling to balance our work and family lives, and staying on top of the latest research can be a challenge. But we need to make time. There are breastfeeding conferences, online educational opportunities, websites, social forums, journals, podcasts and of course, membership in professional organizations. It’s just not enough to rely on your own personal and professional experiences - you have to continue the quest for learning. Ask yourself this – “When was the last time I read a research article?” Take a look at the research articles cited within the Fed is Best accounts. Did you know about them? MLCA will be working on ways to support you in this endeavor as we develop plans to highlight and communicate some of the latest research.4. GET INVOVLEDConsider becoming involved at a higher level. IBCLC professional organizations range from the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA-International Level), United States Lactation Consultant Association (USLCA – national level) to the Massachusetts Lactation Consultant Association (MLCA- state level). And there are other organizations that support breastfeeding families as well. Think about becoming a member of one or all of these organizations in order to receive and give support to other IBCLCs and lactation professionals. MLCA is currently working towards licensure of IBCLCs – an endeavor, which we believe, will allow more mothers to receive the expert lactation care they need.Most of us have dedicated our life’s work to understanding how breastfeeding works – or sometimes doesn’t work. We live by the motto, “first feed the baby.” That in no way changes our core understanding that a mother’s own milk is best for her baby. If she doesn’t have milk, for whatever reason, we know that breast milk substitutes are indicated and we recommend and use them in such situations.As this campaign so pointedly reminds us, we work with an extremely vulnerable population. We all want what's best for families, moms and especially babies, and most assuredly we want to “first do no harm.” I urge you to visit The Fed is Best Foundation's web site and see for yourself what the organization is all about, and how you, as a health care professional can expand your awareness of the issues the foundation is dedicated to address. To the IBCLCs of Massachusetts, I thank you for your dedication to your profession, and I applaud the work you do every day to ensure safe, quality lactation care. 

Welcome!

Welcome to the Massachusetts Lactation Consultant Association! I hope you are here because you are on the journey of promoting, supporting and protecting breastfeeding for mothers and babies everywhere, particularly in Massachusetts. If so, it is also my hope that you will find support for your journey, and that you will consider supporting others on their journey as well.As each new year begins, it typically brings with it a sense of hope and optimism. I realize that as 2017 begins, there are some events that instead of causing hope and optimism are causing despair and division among family, friends and colleagues. When people feel strongly about issues, and the stakes are high, there is a tendency to become less inclined to work together, and the divisions become wider. I imagine some of you have experienced that kind of division in your careers as lactation consultants – I know I have.My vision for this organization is that as lactation professionals we can be united in our common goal of providing the best care possible to breastfeeding families in Massachusetts. Whether you are currently and IBCLC, a peer counselor, home visitor, physician, or an aspiring lactation professional, I hope you will find support here and that you will feel represented and welcome at our meetings, at our conferences and on our website. We’re here for you – and we need to hear from all of you as to what that should look like in the coming year.Yes, we may have different roles, different opinions, different practices, but we are all on this journey together - most likely begining from the same place – wanting to help mothers to breastfeed. With that as our foundation, I believe we have much more in common than not.As we begin this journey – a new year, a new organization, and changes all around us, it is my hope that our common goals and unity will help us to build a strong organization, a strong profession and strong connections with each other. If you feel the same – I hope you’ll join us.I look forward to meeting and working with each of you – I’m hopeful and optimistic that 2017 will be an exciting year for all of us!Sincerely,Mary FoleyPresidentMLCA