Board Position Opening for the SDBFC Foundation

Are you passionate about breastfeeding and want to make a difference in the lives of local breastfeeding families?

Do you feel frustrated with the way our healthcare system marginalizes and often provides unequal care for low-income families?

If you answered ‘yes’ to both of these questions, keep on reading!!!

The San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation is looking for a dynamic and creative person, who is passionate about resolving inequities in breastfeeding support, to join our board of directors for a 2-year term.  This is a volunteer position.

San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation mission:

The mission of San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation (SDBFCF) is to reduce socioeconomic disparities in breastfeeding support by increasing access to qualified lactation consultants for low-income families.  We do this by subsidizing free or reduced-fee breastfeeding consultations and classes to low-income and financially-limited families.

Board Member Roles:

• Attend about two 2-hour board meetings per year  

• Attend our Big Latch On event during World Breastfeeding Week, the first week of August.

• Help fundraise during our end-of-the-year email fundraising campaign

• Provide creative ideas for community collaborations and fundraising campaigns/events

• Assist with small tasks throughout the year that support/foster donor relations and solicit new donors

• Available to respond to emails within 24 hours

Qualifications:

• Passionate about breastfeeding and supporting breastfeeding families

• Passionate about resolving inequities in the healthcare system

• Availability to attend board meetings during business hours a few times per year

• Natural ability to cultivate relationships

• Willingness to fundraise within your own social circle, as well as through social media

• Willingness to create and share new ideas for fundraising and community collaborations.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Robin Kaplan, board president, by April 22, 2019.  sdbfcfoundation@gmail.com

Diaper Donation Drive to Support Refugee Families Resettling in San Diego

Written by Anna Choi, BS, IBCLC

When you think of having a baby, and the items that are an absolute MUST have, diapers are pretty close to the top of the list, second only to breastmilk or formula. Whether you choose to cloth diaper or use disposable diapers, you need something to cover that sweet baby’s bum! For families on a limited or fixed income, the cost of diapers can be very overwhelming. Since part of our mission at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center is to give back to our community, while working to grow a strong network of support for families in San Diego, we are excited to announce the details for our next diaper drive!

This year’s diaper drive will support refugee families who have resettled in San Diego, with diapers going to three organizations who make a hugely positive impact on the lives of refugee families: The International Rescue Committee of San Diego, The Syrian Community Network of San Diego, and Catholic Charities of San Diego. Having fled war, persecution, and poverty, these families need our support more than ever. During our last diaper drive, we collected more than 3,000 diapers for San Diego refugee families. This year, our goal is to collect 5,000 diapers! Our diaper drive will begin on Wednesday, April 3rd and end on Wednesday, May 1st.

To tell you a little more about the refugee families that will receive these diapers, here are a few words from Chris Williams, a Program Manager for Refugee Services in San Diego:

“We are currently working with a number of Haitian families that have recently arrived in San Diego and are in a very difficult situation. Haiti is often described as the poorest country in the western world, with more than half of the entire population living below the poverty line and a quarter living in extreme poverty - surviving on less than $1.25 per day. This, on top of devastating natural disasters over the past decade, has caused many Haitians to flee their homes in search of a better life.

The relatively few families that make it to San Diego typically only get here after years spent living in similarly bad conditions in South and/or Central America and have often been victimized by human traffickers and other malicious actors. They are granted admission to the U.S. on humanitarian grounds, and in the past they have been offered a limited amount of government support along with work authorization to help them get on their feet here. In recent months, the government stopped providing this support and stopped providing new families with the documents they need to work - which is unfortunate, because all of them want to work.

This leaves the families in a precarious situation, and many of them are staying in church shelters. They don't have access to public benefits like food stamps and Medi-Cal, though many of the women are pregnant or have recently given birth. We are working to support these families - and these babies - in a number of ways, though a great deal of help is still needed. Diapers aren't cheap and are always in short supply, though always very much needed.”

Having met many refugee families and spoken with resettlement workers, I can’t tell you enough how much these donations are appreciated and needed. All donations can be dropped off at our weekly Breastfeeding Support Group, held at our office in La Mesa {8325 University Ave La Mesa 91942}, every Wednesday from 11:30am-1pm. If you would like to donate diapers, but are unable to drop off during that time, please contact Anna Choi to schedule a drop off. We hope you will help us reach our goal and stand with us as we support the refugee women and mothers in our local community.

Are Tongue and Lip Ties Being Overdiagnosed and Overtreated?

Written by Robin Kaplan, M.Ed, IBCLC, Owner of San Diego Breastfeeding Center

That has been the million dollar question of the week.  Since Rachel Cautero published her article in the Atlantic last week about this topic, conversations about tethered oral tissue (TOTs) have had a resurgence of epic proportion.  To discuss this topic, I was interviewed by Meghna Chakrabarti on NPR’s On Point this week. Her interview, entitled To Improve Breastfeeding, Babies Get Their Tongues Clipped.  Is it necessary?, included the Atlantic journalist (Rachel Cautero), a pediatric ENT from John Hopkins (Dr. Jonathan Walsh), and me, an IBCLC from San Diego.  

I encourage you to listen to this interview, as there were many important issues brought up that parents need to hear.  I also encourage you to consider listening through an unbiased lens, as the first 30 minutes are fairly skewed due to the sharing of personal breastfeeding experiences by Meghna and Rachel.  They talk about being informed of their infants’ tongue ties during a very vulnerable early postpartum period and how upsetting this information was to them. They shared how they both decided to stick with breastfeeding, despite significant pain for weeks and months, instead of considering a tongue tie release.  And they both ended up finding that breastfeeding eventually got better and that they felt frustrated with all of the discussions online about tongue tie and upper lip tie releases, which they feel is being sold as the ‘cure-all’ to lactation woes.

Keep in mind….these are just two individuals’ stories out of many.  We all have our personal stories of parenthood/breastfeeding/labor, etc that skew the way we view a situation because they evoke an emotional response in us.  These emotional reactions are normal, but are that person’s point of view.

What I would like to share are the most pertinent points about tethered oral tissue (TOTs) that were shared in this interview, as well as a few more that weren’t shared due to time constraints.

4 Main Take-Aways about Tethered Oral Tissue (TOTs)

Tethered oral tissue can restrict range of motion in the tongue, lips, and cheeks

• All people have frenulums, but to have tethered oral tissue (TOTs) means that the frenulum is restricting range of motion and impacting function.  Here is a handout that includes many of the symptoms that can be related to TOTs.

• These TOTs do not stretch over time, but some children/adults learn to compensate despite the tightness.  This is why some children and adults don’t show or feel that they have long-term complications.

• Releasing restricted frenula can have a profoundly positive effect on both parent and baby and their ability to meet their breastfeeding goals, but is not always necessary.

International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) identify tethered oral tissue at a higher rate than pediatricians/ENTs because they are the professionals completing full oral/feeding assessments.  

• IBCLC assessments are not 15 minute well-baby checks.  They are extensive assessments, lasting 1-3 hours, using research-supported evaluation tools.  

• TOTs cannot be evaluated just by looking in the mouth or at a photo of the mouth, tongue, and lip.  Function must be taken into account.

• Parents should be walked through each part of the oral/feeding assessment so that they can make an informed decision about what is best for their child.

• It is always necessary to go back to basics (positioning and latch) first, before blaming a tongue or lip tie. If the symptoms for the breastfeeding parent or baby are not relieved with the basics, then further assessment is necessary.

• Parents should be presented with a menu of options: bodywork (CST/PT/OT/Chiro, etc); oral exercises; tummy time; supplementing; exclusive pumping, etc. - everyone deserves to be supported regardless of their decisions.

There has been an increase of identification of and recommendation to release tethered oral tissue in the past two decades, with good reason

• Increased research and ultrasound investigation on how the tongue and lips function while feeding have shown what is necessary to achieve comfortable, effective breastfeeding and milk removal.  This information was not available until the past two decades.

• There has been a shift in the international culture to be more pro-breastfeeding than it was during the 1900s.  It is unfortunate that some families feel ‘pressured to breastfeed’, as Rachel mentioned in the interview. Personally, I think this shift in societal views towards breastfeeding has more to do with current research identifying the vast health-promoting and immunological benefits to mom and baby when breastfeeding, rather than parents feeling pressured to breastfeed.

• TOTs are nothing new.  Tongue ties and frenotomy descriptions can be found in early Japanese writings, other historical documents, and even the bible.  In the 1600s, frenotomy was widely known and there is documentation that describes that midwives would keep one fingernail long and sharp so that she could release the tight frenulum without the use of an instrument.

• In the early 1900s, formula was advertised as better than breastmilk and breastfeeding was considered as something that only impoverished people do.  Up until then, if a mother could not breastfeed her baby, the family hired a wet nurse or the baby would die due to lack of nourishment. Formula changed the way we looked at infant nutrition and breastfeeding, which meant tethered oral tissue wasn’t viewed as important to address.  With this pendulum shift to positive views about breastfeeding, parents want answers when challenges arise. And many of these challenges can be attributed to TOTs.

There is a lack of evidence specifically studying the long term effects of tethered oral tissue (TOTs)

• There are several case studies and randomized control studies on how frenotomies improve breastfeeding outcome.

• There are some correlations between TOTs and challenges eating solid foods, speech and change in oral/dental structure, but there is only a small amount of research to back this up.   We clearly need more research.

• What we do know is that children with TOTs often mouth breathe, which is widely recognized as pathological and may lead to:

  • open-mouth posture, which can block the airway when sleeping, leading to bruxism, snoring, sleep apnea

  • impaired swallowing, which can lead to a palate that doesn’t naturally expand and Eustchian tubes not opening and equalizing pressure in the middle ear

So, what’s the overall take away message?

When a family has breastfeeding challenges and doesn’t receive a comprehensive oral/feeding assessment that evaluates tongue and lip function, then we run the risk of tongue/lip ties being overdiagnosed and overtreated.   

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For more information about tethered oral tissue, check out these resources:

Dr. Ghaheri’s website

SOS for TOTs by Lawrence Kotlow, DDS

Tongue-Tied by Richard Baxter, DMD, MS

Kellymom: Breastfeeding a Baby with a Tongue Tie or Lip Tie (Resources)

SDBFC Will Match Your Donation Until the End of 2018!

Looking for an awesome nonprofit to donate to before the end of the year? Everyone wants a tax write-off, right?

With only 5 days remaining in 2018 and $975 left to go to reach our goal of raising $5000 for the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation, we thought we would offer you a little incentive.  

From now until January 1, 2019, the San Diego Breastfeeding Center will match donations to the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation (up to $1000 total)!  

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Want to know where our money was spent in 2018?

• 65 low-income families received a free-$25 private initial breastfeeding consultation

• 39 low-income families received a free-$25 private follow up breastfeeding consultation

• 150 families enjoyed festivities at our free Big Latch On 2018 event

With a new partnership with Black Infant Health in 2019, we hope to increase the number of consultations by at least 25%.  Will you please help fund our programs in 2019 by donating today?

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Inspired to make a difference in the life of a new family?

• $85 pays for one initial 90-min breastfeeding consultation for a low-income family

• $55 pays for one follow up breastfeeding consultation for a low-income family.

• Any amount will help us to reach our goal of $5000 for 2018!  We are only $975 away from reaching our end-of-year goal!  SDBFC will match funds up to $1000 total until the end of 2018.

Donate online through our CrowdRise campaign or directly through our SDBFC Foundation website.

To donate by check, please send to:
San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation
3355 4th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

We're Moving!

Did you hear our big announcement on Facebook and Instagram yesterday???

We’re Moving!

Check out our adorable new office!

It is with great pleasure and excitement that we get to share this HUGE news with you!  After months of looking for a new home for SDBFC, we have officially signed a lease and are moving at the end of December.  Our new home is an adorable 1000sf house with two consultation rooms, a classroom, patient parking/tons of free street parking, close freeway access, and walking distance to family-friendly restaurants/coffee shops (the perfect place to hang out after a consultation or class!)  For the past 9 years, it has been Robin’s dream to have a free-standing breastfeeding and parent-education center and our new location feels absolutely perfect! 

Now that we will have our own classroom space, we hope to offer a variety of prenatal and postpartum classes, ranging from childbirth education and newborn care to postpartum exercise, infant massage, and interactive parent/baby classes.  Please stay tuned as we begin to announce new class offerings for you and your kiddo, as well as a grand opening sometime in February/March.  

New Location Details:

New address for San Diego Breastfeeding Center (as of January 2, 2019)

8325 University Ave.

La Mesa, CA 91942

Breastfeeding support group info:

December 2018 - Wed breastfeeding support group will remain at our Hillcrest office for the rest of the month from 11:30a-1p

January 2019 - Wed breastfeeding support group will move to our University Ave office.  Same time: 11:30a-1pm

Class details:

If you, or someone you know, teaches prenatal, postpartum, or parenting classes and are interested in teaching in our new space, please contact our Administrative Assistant, Stephanie, at info@sdbfc.com.

We look forward to supporting you along your breastfeeding and parenting journeys! See you in La Mesa!

Help Us Extend Lactation Services to ALL families in San Diego

We'd like to introduce you to Dania Lindenberg, one of the most caring, passionate pediatricians in San Diego and a board member of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation.

I joined the SDBFC Foundation Board because I believe so strongly in its mission to extend lactation services to all moms.  Lactation services, especially from skilled, caring, and professional lactation consultants such as Robin Kaplan and her colleagues at the SDBFC, can make or break a new mom’s breastfeeding experience.  Many of us no longer have a “village” to help us with breastfeeding. Caring, knowledgeable and supportive lactation consultants help fill this gap.

As a pediatrician, I refer the majority of my new breastfeeding moms for lactation support.  An inability to pay for services without significant hardship prevents many new moms from scheduling these consultations; frequently, new mothers become overwhelmed trying to navigate breastfeeding and give up.  The benefits of breastfeeding for both mom and baby, including economic benefits, are well known. Making lactation services available to more women will help increase breastfeeding success. Breastfeeding is hard!  As a currently breastfeeding mom of 4 children, I have sought help with each baby, most recently from Robin with my 2 month old daughter. I want all new moms to be able to benefit from skilled lactation support. The SDBFC Foundation’s mission is to help make this happen.  I am honored to be able to be a part of something so important.

In order for this incredible nonprofit organization to continue its important work, it needs your support.  Please consider donating—anything helps. And spread the word to any new moms you know, as they too may benefit.

- Dania Lindenberg, MD

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Inspired to make a difference in the life of a new family?

• $85 pays for one initial 90-min breastfeeding consultation for a low-income family

• $55 pays for one follow up breastfeeding consultation for a low-income family.

• Any amount will help us to reach our goal of $5000 for 2018!

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Donate online through our CrowdRise campaign or directly through our SDBFC Foundation website.

To donate by check, please send to:
San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation
3355 4th Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103

Increase Access to Breastfeeding Support this #GivingTuesday

We’d like you to meet AnaKaren.  She is one of the moms who was able to access affordable breastfeeding support because of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation.

Breastfeeding was something I always knew I wanted to do, I just didn't know how hard of a process it was going to be. When I had my baby girl I suffered from postpartum anxiety and pretty bad baby blues. Diana, like all babies, lost a lot of her birth weight and was not gaining it back as fast as she should've been. Breastfeeding her became a real struggle, and with my anxiety I was at a loss. I almost gave up multiple times because I didn't know what I was doing wrong, and I always had this anxious feeling that she was going to lose weight again because she was not feeding well.

Someone recommended I reach out to the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, so I called and made an appointment with Robin. When I arrived for my appointment I was welcomed with a warm smile and I instantly felt more comfortable. During our meeting I felt reassured and was given many helpful tips and advice. When our appointment was over I received an email with my breastfeeding plan and all the tips she had provided. I was so happy at how efficient the appointment was, and how fast Robin emailed me with the information. During our appointments, Robin was able to point out to me that my baby had a lip and tongue tie and I was referred to two dental specialist. Diana was able to get both her lip and tongue tie revised which helped immensely with breastfeeding. During our appointments, I was not only able to receive great advice but I was able to afford coming back two more times.

With limited income and a husband in school, it would've been very difficult to be seen at SDBFC without their affordable $25 appointment fee. Being able to afford the appointments made the difference between breastfeeding my baby and not breastfeeding. My baby and I are now three months into this incredibly breastfeeding journey, and I continue to see all the support I receive from the SDBFC team every time I go to their free breastfeeding support groups. Without their affordable cost fee and support I know my baby and I would've had a completely different outcome on this breastfeeding journey. The bond that my baby and I have created through breastfeeding has been possible because of the support and help from San Diego Breastfeeding Center.

AnaKaren

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Breastfeeding is a right. It is not a privilege for only those who can afford support. That is why I give. - Robin

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Join me in helping local families, like AnaKaren’s, gain access to critical breastfeeding support on this #GivingTuesday.

Wondering how to do this?

We are asking you to help us #SupportSDMoms by donating your weekly coffee money!  It’s that simple!  If everyone reading this email donated $20 today, the amount they would spend at a coffee shop this week, we would be able to raise over $40,000 on #GivingTuesday.  

Can you help us reach this goal?

All you have to do is click on this CrowdRise link or on this SDBFC Foundation link to donate this week’s coffee allowance and help bring affordable breastfeeding support to hundreds of local low-income moms.

To donate by check, please send to:

San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation

3355 4th Ave.

San Diego, CA 92103

READ THIS BEFORE YOU SHOP ON AMAZON THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

DID YOU KNOW….

• While 93% of moms start breastfeeding exclusively at birth in San Diego, only 56% continue doing so at 3 months, largely due to a lack of financial resources and access to ongoing lactation support.

• You can donate to the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation with every purchase you make through Amazon Smile?  

• You can help low-income mothers gain access to critical breastfeeding support by purchasing Amazon items online, just by shopping through smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com!

GUESS HOW EASY THIS IS???

We are asking you to take 60 seconds of your time today to designate the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation as your charitable recipient for Amazon Smile.  All you have to do is go to their website (smile.amazon.com) and choose the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation as your Amazon Smile recipient.  Or you can click on our direct charity link (https://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-1935497) Then as you make your holiday purchases, as well as your staples of diapers, nipple cream, baby toys, book, etc, the SDBFC Foundation will receive 0.5% of every purchase, at no extra cost to you.  This money will go directly to paying for lactation consultations for families in need.

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I met with Robin after the birth of my second baby to help with nursing pain and latch difficulties. I had been laid off from my job during maternity leave and enrolled my children in Medi-Cal coverage. The reduced fee for Medi-Cal patients encouraged me to seek help for my breastfeeding journey. It eased a financial burden as well as a mental and emotional need as Robin is an expert in her field. As a Medi-Cal patient, you often wonder if you are receiving the same level of care as privately insured patients. There is no question here. Robin and her staff are with you for life, breastfeeding and beyond.

Megan

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Amazon Smile Details:

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization.

To donate to the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation directly, you can send a check to:

San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation

3355 4th Ave.

San Diego, CA 92103

Or donate through our website: https://www.sdbfcfoundation.org/donate.

Baking for a Cause - Petite Paleo Bakery

Community. It’s what makes living in a particular location worthwhile and fulfilling. I have had the pleasure of living in San Diego for most of my life and each new life chapter has encouraged me to broaden my community. Becoming a mom 13 years ago (and having a child with severe food allergies) led me to search for a more environmentally-conscious, wholistic, and wholefoods-based community. One of these generous community members has asked to kick off our ‘end of the year nonprofit fundraising campaign’ with a Bake Sale! We are so grateful to have Rose, of Petite Paleo Bakery, in our community and for her incredible generosity. Please allow me to introduce Rose!

My name is Rose Malihan and I am the owner of Petite Paleo Bakery. Our delicious homemade Paleo inspired baked goods are free of gluten, grains, dairy, soy, and refined sugars. Our natural sweeteners are dates, coconut sugar, or honey. We also offer savory wraps and rolls and use organic and local ingredients as much as possible. And most importantly, all of our sweets and treats are kid-tested and mom-approved!

I was passionate about health and fitness before I became a mom, so breastfeeding was an obvious choice after my baby was born in 2010. We met Robin at her weekly breastfeeding support group when my daughter was less than a month old.  I am so thankful that we found her, because unfortunately for us, breastfeeding was challenging!  My newborn baby girl was not latching correctly, nursing was painful, and she was slow to gain weight. Robin was so compassionate and put us in touch with the right healthcare providers, and soon thereafter, I gained more confidence about being a mom, nursing in public, and advocating for what I felt was right for us. My daughter started gaining weight more steadily, and we continued our nursing journey until she was two years old.

I am forever grateful for Robin and the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, and for the resources they provided to us when we needed it the most. Being able to breastfeed my baby for as long as we did was the most amazing experience, and I am thankful that we had that time to bond, and that my body experienced the beauty of nourishing a life. 

When I started Petite Paleo Bakery earlier this year, one of my goals was to make a difference in the community, and especially with families. I chose to bake in honor of Robin and the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation, because they made what I feared at many times to be impossible, possible. I was able to provide one of nature's most precious gifts of love and health to my daughter the first two years of her life. Through our bake sales, we will raise money to help provide this gift to other local families in need, in hopes that they may also have this beautiful and empowering experience. We appreciate your support!

Rose will be offering two separate bakes sales. One for pick up before Thanksgiving and one before the Christmas holiday.

If you are interested in just donating to our nonprofit foundation, feel free to head over to our website. Our End of the Year Fundraising Campaign starts next week and we would love to include you as one of our donors!