Our Breastfeeding Journey
A few weeks ago, we sent out a call for Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding/Pumping memoirs. Our desire was to flood the Internet with beautiful breast/chestfeeding and pumping stories of triumph, overcoming challenges and struggles, and positive outcomes, regardless of the total amount of milk a parent was producing. We are thrilled to share these stories with you, our readers, and hope that they offer support and inspiration for you, wherever you are in your breast/chestfeeding or pumping journey.
Thank you to all of the parents who submitted their stories! If after you read these memoirs you are inspired to submit your story, feel free to send it to RobinKaplan@sdbfc.com.
This Memoir is from Casey
Our breastfeeding journey began in June of 2018, following a traumatic (for me, fortunately not my son) childbirth. Combating an unexpected c-section, magnesium treatments, dehydration from blood loss, and significant tongue and lip ties with a macrosomic baby (11lb7oz) was a rough start. For about 5 weeks, I nursed my son with a shield, then immediately supplemented with pumped milk and formula, pumping almost as often as I was nursing him. I was recommended to see an IBCLC, and met with her a few weeks later, as well as regularly attending support groups one to two times a week. Our son had his lip and tongue ties revised, and we were able to immediately drop the shield and successfully latch FINALLY when he was about 6 weeks old. I attended support groups regularly, even once we established a solid latch and experienced success, to support others who were struggling with similar issues and for the camaraderie.
As we continued to nurse, my original goal of at least 1 year came and I had a choice to make. To conceive, my husband and I require IVF. While there are some unknowns and potential risks associated with nursing through infertility treatments, I consulted an IBCLC as well as professionals who research medication interactions with pregnancy and breastfeeding and decided the potential that the treatment wouldn’t work was worth the risk of continuing to nurse my son.
In July of 2019, we transferred an embryo and became pregnant with my second kiddo. My son nursed throughout the pregnancy, dry nursing when my supply diminished from typical pregnancy hormones, and continued as my colostrum came back in shortly after. I worked through some nursing aversion that arose from those same hormones. In March of this year, literally the same day that the state of California started a stay at home order, I went to the hospital to be induced. This was my first and only time away from my first nursling overnight, as my original plan of having him come in and snuggle with me and nurse was thwarted by the pandemic. I gave birth to my daughter via c section on my second day at the hospital, and immediately began to nurse. She was much smaller than my son, only 7lbs1oz and had some temperature and blood sugar issues shortly following birth and wound up spending her first night in the NICU. (I need to say that those long term NICU moms are the bravest women I’ve ever met, and many of them were pumping day and night to provide for their babies, even as their stay was stretched over several months.)
I traveled slowly to and from the NICU every couple hours to nurse my daughter, but her sugars needed a bit of support and we supplemented with formula after nursing those first few days.
After 5 days in the hospital, we finally got to go home and see my son. I wasn’t sure if he’d still be interested in nursing after 5 days with nothing, but as soon as I sat down at home, he instantly latched as if nothing had changed. I tandem nursed both my babies for the first time- my son at 21 months old, my daughter at 3 days old.
It’s been 4.5 months and both of my children still nurse well. I’m grateful that my daughter didn’t have any ties or other latching issues and was able to gain weight well. My new breastfeeding goal is as long as each of them want to nurse, though we have scaled back the frequency for my toddler, so that I have time to function throughout the day. He was thrilled when my full milk came back in!
I will forever be grateful to all of the IBCLCs for helping me salvage my breastfeeding relationship with my son and for continuing to support me and numerous other nursing parents to provide our children with the best start possible.
Nice Try, Covid…. But You Can’t Stop Us From Celebrating World Breastfeeding Week
The annual World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7th) is usually filled with parties, gatherings, giveaways, and more. It is a week to celebrate all of your breastfeeding, chest feeding, and pumping accomplishments with families around the world. Many of you may have attended our Big Latch On event or participated in our Ultimate World Breastfeeding Week giveaway in the past. For some of you, this may be the first time you have breast/chestfed or pumped for a child.
And while 2020 has been a complete physical and emotional circus (PG-version of what we really want to say), we are so incredibly grateful to still be here, providing our breastfeeding expertise and emotional support to all of you. So, if Covid can’t shut down the San Diego Breastfeeding Center, then it sure can’t stop us from celebrating World Breastfeeding Week!
So, who’s ready to celebrate with us??????
We have several online events scheduled for August 1-7th, with more being added (so make sure you are following us on Instagram and Facebook because you will not want to miss out!) Here is a list of what we have planned so far!
The Big Virtual Latch On
August 1, 2020; 10-10:45a | Zoom
2020 has proved to make in-person gatherings difficult (to say the least!), so our yearly Big Latch On event has moved online! If you have never attended a Big Latch On event, this is where we bring together as many breast/chestfeeding parents together to latch on their babies all at the same time to set a world record!
This is an event you won’t want to miss this year, as hopefully this will be the only time in our lifetime where we will try to set a world record for the MOST latched on kiddos at the same time during a pandemic! (Well, that’s something I never thought I would write in a million years!)
There will be a few giveaways (like some awesome Kindred Bravely bras/tanks and Tula baby carriers!), laughter, camaraderie, and celebration as we bring together our community of nursing families. And let’s face it…. we all need something fun to celebrate right now!
Share Your Stories!
Throughout World Breastfeeding Month (all of August 2020)
To celebrate and acknowledge all the ways we feed; breastfeed/chestfeed/pump/bottle, AND to encourage other families, we would love to feature YOUR story. We will be posting the stories on our blog and featuring them on our social media. Peer to peer support is so crucial, and right now (due to Covid) this may be missing for some of you. So let's lift each other up and let other parents know that they are not alone! With this project we also hope to amplify the voices of communities who are underrepresented in breastfeeding/chestfeeding/lactation and who are failed to be properly supported by the health care system and community.
Stories should be no longer than 1 page, and if you'd like to share a photo that we can include that would be amazing! Here is a link to some breastfeeding memoirs we have collected for our website in the past.
If you are interested in sharing your experience with feeding your child, please email robinkaplan@sdbfc.com
Instagram Giveaways!
August 1-7, 2020
We absolutely love giveaways because they allow us to collaborate with amazing and inventive companies/products and share with our SDBFC families and social media community! This year, instead of having ONE large World Breastfeeding Week giveaway with a bunch of products, we will be launching a monthly giveaway event (name TBD!) so that you can really get to know our favorite companies, their products that make your life easier, and their communities. We will launch our monthly giveaway event with Teat and Cosset and Baby Tula, both outstanding companies we have collaborated with many times in the past. Start following them now to learn more about them and stay tuned for the giveaways and our IG stories Q&A takeover!
And, you never know when another fun event will be planned, so stay tuned and happy feeding!
What Happens During a Virtual Breastfeeding Consultation?
Since COVID-19 has sent all of us to ‘shelter in place’, we are getting asked so many questions about our virtual consultations. Parents want to know what happens during a virtual breastfeeding consultation and how it can be helpful.
So, I wanted to take this opportunity to answer some questions we have been getting about our virtual consultations and explain all that we can accomplish during one.
Let’s get into the questions!
Can a lactation consultant actually help with breastfeeding without being in the same room?
100% yes! We are total ninjas when it comes to this! Our ‘detective’ skills and ability to see the whole picture help us understand your situation and concerns even when we can only see each other through our phones/computers!
What happens at a virtual breastfeeding consultation?
Here is how it works at SDBFC
Before your appointment:
We send you a video on how to do an oral assessment on your child. This is how we check for tongue and lip ties and how everything is working in your baby’s mouth. You can either record yourself doing this assessment on your kiddo and then send it to us before your appt (the preferred method) or we can walk you through this assessment during your consultation.
You fill out an intake form so that we have all of your background information and feeding history before we even meet.
During your appointment:
We discuss your baby’s oral assessment - which looks at suck, tongue range of motion, and overall oral structure
We watch your baby latch and breastfeed, offering advice on positioning and latch, while demonstrating these techniques with our lovely baby dolls.
We discuss milk supply and ways to make sure that your baby is getting enough
We can help with pumping and flange sizing
We co-create a personalized plan of care to help you meet your personal feeding goals.
What type of equipment do I need and is it helpful to have a support person nearby during the consult?
We use Google Hangouts Meet (HIPAA compliant), so you just need your phone. A phone is better than a computer because it allows us to get up close to your baby while we are assessing positioning, latch, and sucking rhythm.
It can be VERY helpful to have a support person with you so that you can just focus on latching/feeding your baby and have someone else hold the phone for you. Also, partner/family support is more crucial than ever now that we don’t have access to in-person support groups and consultations. Your partner will be included in the conversation and tips will be provided so that they can assist and support you with the feeding process.
How can a lactation consultant assess for tongue tie without putting her fingers in my baby’s mouth?
You actually get to do the oral assessment on your child while either recording a video to send to us, during your consult, or both! This is actually really awesome because you get to feel what the lactation consultant would normally feel, helping you better understand how your child’s tongue is functioning… either at max capacity or with room for improvement! We will look for how your baby’s tongue lateralizes, lifts, maintains suction, extends, and cups your finger. We will also view what his/her tongue frenulum and upper lip frenulum look like.
How can a lactation consultant help with positioning and latch during a virtual consult?
Using a baby doll, we can demonstrate positioning techniques, if you need guidance. Once we evaluate your baby’s latch, we can use verbal recommendations and visuals (such as YouTube videos) to demonstrate how to help your baby achieve a wide latch.
I prefer to learn in-person. How can I learn from someone without being in the same room?
We feel the same way! We would prefer to offer an in-person breastfeeding consultation when given the choice. We thrive while sharing space with a family while working with them. We miss our in-person consultations soooooo much! Unfortunately, lack of access to PPE has required us to temporarily suspend in-person consultations provided by the San Diego Breastfeeding Center. So, we all have had to fine-tune our assessment and counseling skills to meet your needs and hopefully we will change your mind about learning from someone via the interwebs :-)
How can we tell if my baby is getting enough without a lactation consultant’s scale?
Now, that is the one downside to virtual consults. No scale to weigh your baby before and after a feeding. So, we have to watch your baby carefully while feeding. We will look for jaw movement, suck/swallow ratios, stamina while feeding, and other indicators for milk transfer. We also might recommend renting a scale from the hospital for weighted feedings for a few days (since there are no in-person support groups to gather this data.) OR you might consider purchasing a scale from Amazon just to track your baby’s weight for a few days, which will give us the information we need to know if your baby is getting enough over a 24 hour period. Also we will be very conservative in our recommendations for supplementation with pumped milk and/or formula. We will make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that your baby is thriving while we work on the feeding details.
Should I just wait until the ‘shelter in place’ has been lifted so I can meet with a lactation consultant in person?
Definitely not! Breastfeeding is not fun when it hurts or feels confusing. We don’t want you to second guess yourself, especially during the heightened pandemic stress we are all under. With possible formula shortages on the horizon, we want to help you solve your breastfeeding challenges ASAP, as well as be a resource when other feeding questions arise.
So, does that help?
Remember, we accept Aetna PPO, Tricare, and UCSD HMOs. Also, we have an amazing sliding scale, so if our cash prices are a deterrent, please call our office (619-724-4117) so that we can offer you a sliding scale rate.
What other questions do you have about our virtual breastfeeding consultations? I would be happy to answer them for you!
Breastfeeding During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Covid-19 has caused an unprecedented change in how we as lactation consultants are able to support breastfeeding families. It seems like every day there is new information and new recommendations for breastfeeding parents on what is considered safe when breastfeeding during this pandemic. We just don’t have enough information about this novel coronavirus. Research is being conducted everyday to help guide these new protocols for breastfeeding families. The constant change in recommendations is based on whatever new information doctors and specialists feel creates the safest environment for families, but feels confusing both to us as lactation consultants and as parents.
So, here is what we at SDBFC can do for you.
We can direct you to the most current information and recommendations for breastfeeding during Covid-19 on our new webpage. We can sift through the complicated language and summarize how this impacts you as a breastfeeding family. My plan is to update our website whenever there is a change in recommendations for breastfeeding families, so that you don’t have to hunt down this information yourself.
You have enough to do. Let us help lighten the load.
Please, keep in mind….I am not an epidemiologist or physician. I am definitely not an expert on Covid-19. I am an IBCLC who has been collecting information through webinars and websites, like the CDC, WHO, Mother to Baby, ABM, AAP, USBC, and CBC to share the best resources for you and your family when making a decision about breastfeeding during Covid-19.
With limited in-person monitoring of infants by healthcare providers, breastfeeding support from an IBCLC is critical to make sure that a parent’s milk supply is meeting baby’s needs and that baby is feeding well to promote optimal growth and development. Virtual consultations with an IBCLC will provide breastfeeding parents with the information and guidance they need to provide breastmilk to their children.
If you or someone you know is pregnant, let them know about our virtual Preparing to Breastfeed class. We are offering if every 2 weeks, since all in-person breastfeeding classes has been cancelled. And it is LIVE and super interactive! You don’t even have to live in San Diego to participate!
If you or someone you know is struggling with breastfeeding, sign up for one of our virtual breastfeeding consultations. You would be shocked at all we can accomplish through videoconferencing and we will make sure that you have someone to rely on for infant feeding support until you can meet with your pediatrician or an IBCLC in person.
Wishing you and your family good health and safety! Please know we are here to support you in any way that we can!
Warmly,
Robin Kaplan, Owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center
Lactation Support during COVID 19 - Let's Get Virtual!
With new Shelter in Place restrictions, the San Diego Breastfeeding Center has decided that it will be safer for our staff and our clients if we all stay at home.
So, starting today, our physical space is temporarily closed, but our virtual space is WIDE OPEN! We are doing everything we can to provide the same high-quality, judgment-free breastfeeding support that we have offered in person for the past 10 years… just DIGITALLY.
Virtual Breastfeeding Consultations
For those of you looking for an individual breastfeeding consultation from an expert IBCLC, book one of our VIRTUAL BREASTFEEDING CONSULTATIONS. You’d be shocked on all we can accomplish without being in the same room!
Each virtual breastfeeding consultation includes an oral assessment on your baby (Yep! We can do those virtually!), positioning and latch assessment/recommendations, milk supply/sore nipple remedies, and a personalized plan of care. We can also do prenatal consultations and pump flange fittings, as we do these virtually all of the time!
As always, all appointments come with 2 weeks of free email support. And, we can still bill your insurance (Tricare and Aetna PPO) and have our sliding scale for those families with financial needs. If our appointments do not fit within your budget due to financial constraints, PLEASE call our office to find out the rate on our sliding scale!
Virtual Breastfeeding Support Groups
For those of you who love support groups and are looking to stay connected with other breastfeeding parents while getting some breastfeeding help along the way, pop into one of our VIRTUAL BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT GROUPS! Our community of local IBCLCs are hosting a free meeting, Monday-Friday, from noon-1pm. Click on this calendar link, choose the day, and then ask to Join Hangouts Meet.
Virtual Prenatal Breastfeeding Classes
For those expectant parents wanting to prepare for breastfeeding without an in-person class to go to, check out our VIRTUAL PREPARING TO BREASTFEED CLASS. Taught LIVE by Robin Kaplan, owner of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center (and author of LATCH), this class will get you excited about breastfeeding! From latch and positioning to preventing common breastfeeding concerns, Robin helps you and your partner prepare a breastfeeding plan that works best for your family. Facts and myths will be addressed as you get the tools and resources you need to confidently start your breastfeeding journey.
Don’t let breastfeeding challenges exacerbate during COVID19. Please reach out for help! We are here to support you along your breastfeeding journey and want to do everything we can to help make this part of your life a little bit easier!
What SDBFC is doing to protect you and your family during COVID-19
As social distancing and worldwide quarantines are affecting us all during the coronavirus crisis, the staff at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center is doing everything we can to continue to provide support for breastfeeding families. Your family’s health and well-being (as well as our’s) is our top priority. Here is what you can expect for the next few weeks.
Classes and Support Groups
Group classes are either cancelled or will be offered virtually. Please visit our website for an updated calendar.
We are partnering with several local lactation consultants to offer virtual breastfeeding support groups through Google Hangouts Meet. Here is the schedule (starting on Wed March 18):
Monday: 12p-1p (hosted by Rachelle Markham)
Tuesday: 12p-1p (hosted by Dawn Dickerson)
Wednesday: 12p-1p (hosted by Robin Kaplan)
Thursday: 12p-1p (hosted by Rachael Oeffner)
Friday: 12p-1p (hosted by Ashley Tehrani)
To attend one of our virtual breastfeeding support groups, please go to our calendar for details and a link to each daily virtual support group. We will also make an announcement with all of the details on our Facebook and Instagram, as well.
In-person Lactation Consultations
Prior to the visit
We screen all of our patients a day before the visit via text. In case of a confirmation of possible symptoms of a respiratory infection, a virtual visit will be offered instead via a HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform.
We thoroughly clean and disinfect all our supplies using CDC-approved disinfectants before every visit. We also disinfect our phones/computers before and after each visit using alcohol wipes.
We take our temperature every morning to make sure that we do not have a fever. If we or someone in our household is sick, we will reschedule your appointment.
During the in-person visit
Upon arrival, you will be asked screening questions before we can begin the consultation.
We alway clean our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Throughout the visit, we will use gloves every time we touch you and your baby.
When weighing your baby, we will use a disposable chux pad to place on the disinfected scale. You can use your own receiving blanket, if preferred.
We ask that you bring your own breastfeeding pillows, if you are using one. We will not have pillows to use in our clinic.
We are staggering our office appointments so that no one will sit in the waiting room.
We will minimize our physical contact with you and your baby throughout the consult, unless we are doing a physical/oral assessment
For in-office consultations, we ask that you leave siblings at home, if at all possible.
If we are seeing you in your own home, we ask that only household members are in the home during the consultation.
Virtual consultation options
For anyone who would prefer a virtual consultation, you can book one of these through our website. While these are slightly less-comprehensive, as we are not able to assess milk transfer, they are a wonderful option during this social distancing time. Through virtual consultations, we can provide guidance on how to maintain your milk supply and baby weight gain, optimize position and latch, and co-create a temporary plan of care until we can see you in person.
It can be very helpful to have a second adult around during the virtual consult, as you will be walked through how to do an oral assessment with your child.
Meet SDBFC's Newest Lactation Consultant - Vicky Gellis!
We are so thrilled to introduce you to our newest lactation consultant at SDBFC! Vicky Gellis joined our team in November 2019, as our Administrative Assistant and will now begin to see SDBFC families as an IBCLC. Prior to November, Vicky spent hours in our office as an IBCLC intern as she was finishing her UCSD IBCLC coursework. After over a year of clinical hours and course work, Vicky is now ready to see her own patients at SDBFC and we couldn’t be more excited! We can't wait for you all to meet her!
Vicky, tell us about yourself!
I grew up in Westchester NY and met my husband at the neighborhood bus stop in kindergarten. Our families are very close and I am the eldest of 12 cousins. I loved caring for my family and have always enjoyed working with children. At NYU, I studied child and adolescent mental health and researched child motor development. After living in NYC for 8 years, my husband and I decided to move across the country so we could experience West Coast living! We can confidently say that we love it!
We love to travel, hike, bike, scuba dive, climb, camp, and take advantage of the year round beautiful weather here in San Diego!
What inspired you to become a lactation consultant?
My sister-in-law is a doula and encouraged me to pursue doula work because she knows I love working with babies. Through my doula work, I discovered my passion for working with birthing families. Although births are incredibly beautiful experiences, my clients were just beginning their journey as new parents and they needed additional help! I wanted to be able to support them through not just their birth but their breastfeeding journey as well. I also really wanted to be a resource for my family and friends as they started to have babies.
What are you most excited about working with SDBFC?
I am thrilled to be part of such a dedicated group of consultants. I am eager to continue to learn from them so I can better serve the families of San Diego. I believe it’s a gift to be able to give back to the clients I work with and to help them through breastfeeding and new parenthood challenges.
What are you top 3 tips for a brand new breastfeeding family?
You are not alone. Having a baby can be very overwhelming and sometimes isolating so I want to encourage families to seek out help from a community of friends and professionals that support them. Find other new parents who can resonate with all of the emotions and feelings you’re going experiencing. Look for professionals who align with your values.
Trust your instincts. There is so much information out there about breastfeeding and everyone will gladly share their opinion with you, even if you don’t quite ask. There is no universal breastfeeding plan that works for everyone. Trust your gut and remember that the most important thing is to find tools and plans that work best for you and your family.
There are no silly questions. Breastfeeding is a brand new skill and just like anything new, there is a learning curve. Parents typically have many questions about breastfeeding expectations, milk supply, positions, latching, breastfeeding accessories, and more! All of your questions are valid and important. Seek out the help of friends, classes, support groups, and lactation consultants because we are eager to share our knowledge and experience!
Welcome to the SDBFC team, Vicky!
Countdown to Baby Event: a resource luncheon for expectant and new parents
Pregnant? Adopting? Navigating the 4th trimester?
Looking for some professionals and friends to round out your circle of support during the expectant and postpartum periods?
At SDBFC, our mission is to provide compassionate care and help families find their circle of support. We want all families to feel like we are a safe place to turn to in times of need (and joy!) and a resource of professionals to lean on as they navigate the prenatal and postpartum period.
We also have the honor of working with passionate, local professionals who round out this circle of support, by providing education and medical/emotional/physical support during the prenatal/postpartum period.
Please join us for a FREE event that will encompass many of the different local professional resources you need to best prepare for your new little one and navigate the 4th trimester. We know that new parenthood can feel incredibly isolating, so we want to share our collective knowledge and professional expertise so that your new family feels supported and surrounded by your community.
Our vendors will include midwives, doulas, prenatal/postpartum classes, prenatal/postpartum yoga, pelvic floor therapist, baby photographers, babywearing experts and more! Meet them, ask them questions, and get their contact information!
This is also a great time to meet your new group of friends who are going through familiar experiences!
We will have giveaways and free tacos! (Did you say tacos??? What could be better?) This is definitely worth dropping by on a Sunday morning!
We hope to see you there!
The Scoop
Who: Pregnant parents, adopting parents, parents of babies being born by surrogate, parents navigating the 4th trimester
What: Vendors and speakers who specialize in services and products preparing for your baby and during 4th trimester
When: Sunday, March 29, 11am-1pm
Where: SDBFC, 8325 University Ave, La Mesa, CA 91942
Speakers
11:20a - Robin Naughton - Ergonomics - taking care of YOUR body during pregnancy and postpartum
11:40a - Nikki Helms - Nighttime Routines and Why They're Important
12:20p - Dr. Cassidy Freitas - Preparing Your Partnership for Postpartum
12:40p - Robin Kaplan - Assembling your Breastfeeding Circle of Support
RSVP are a must so that we don’t run out of tacos!
Our 2019 Fundraiser was a HUGE Success!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Our 2019 end-of-the year fundraiser was such a HUGE success and we cannot thank you enough for all of your support. Our goal was to raise $10,000 between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve and we ended the fundraiser with donations totaling $5,850! We are truly humbled by our community’s support, which allows us to forge forward in 2020 to provide free and reduced-fee breastfeeding consultations for families with financial and racial barriers to receiving breastfeeding support. The recipients’ testimonials say it all…. these consultations were lifesavers!
Due to your generosity, we will be able to provide over 50 free/reduced-fee breastfeeding consultations in 2020. This covers about 25% of the consultations we plan to provide in 2020, so while our fundraising efforts never end, this gets us off to an amazing start in 2020!
Something new we added during this year’s fundraising campaign was dedicating a week’s donations to fund a scholarship for a local woman of color to become an IBCLC. We are pleased to announce that we raised $1920 for our scholarship fund and look forward to gifting this to an IBCLC student in 2020!
Thank you to our donors!
Each of our donors is incredibly important and imperative for funding our programs, which is why we like to share their names on our donor pages! There also are a few donors we would like to personally thank today for their very generous donations this year. These individuals and businesses donated $250 or more to our foundation in 2019:
Schoenith Foundation, TUA
Dr. Stanton, Victoria, and Alana Hom at Future Generations
Dr. Najmeh Hannahvash at Little Star Pediatric Dentistry
Kindred Bravely
Rawr Naturals
Gymboree
Good Vibrations Chiropractic
Rebecca Hammond
Jamie Reichling
Cheryl and Greg Williams
Becoming Peaceful
Nutrition in Bloom
Blissful Bellys
Sugar Night Night
Rise Physical Therapy
Sakura Bloom
Thank you, from all of us at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation! You have truly made a difference in so many families’ lives and we so appreciate it!
Still want to donate?
You can make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation (which is one of our favorites!), through our website at any time!
Racial Disparities in Healthcare and Breastfeeding Support
We’d like you to meet Chardá Fontenot. She is a Perinatal Navigator with Project Concern International Healthy Start, a Doula, a Certified Lactation Educator & Counselor (CLEC), and one of our board members. She is someone who is truly committed and already making enormous strides to improve health and breastfeeding outcomes for our local African-American and black families. We feel honored to know her and to work with her!
I‘m so excited to be a part of the SDBFC Foundation Board! A personal and professional goal of mine is to increase the breastfeeding rates for all families, but particularly black breastfeeding families due to the low initiation and duration rates.
The most recent statistics from the CDC show that White and Hispanic families have an 82% breastfeeding initiation rate, with 27-31% breastfeeding at 1 year. Black families have a 64% breastfeeding initiation rate, with 17% breastfeeding at 1 year.
In order to eliminate that disparity there needs to be a sense of urgency and a group of individuals that are dedicated to helping these families. The SDBFC foundation has the capacity, skill and drive to help break down the barriers that prevent black families from breastfeeding successfully.
I believe anyone that wants to breast/chest feed, should be able to do so and with proper support. Having access to a lactation professional that is knowledgeable, inclusive and affordable is key. SDBFC Foundation fits that role and fills a gap that needs some focus.
In my job, I work with many families both prenatally and postpartum. I see the struggles first hand and the first thing I do is offer support as a CLEC, but if it’s something that needs to be addressed by an IBCLC, some families simply can not afford the help they deserve so they quit. The SDBFC foundation is here to prevent families from quitting due to lack of support and assistance. This is why I’m so excited to be a part of the foundation. I want all of those who want breastfeeding help to be able to obtain it.
For us to continue doing this amazing work, we need your support in order to support those who need it most. Your donation of any amount helps towards our mission and will keep breastfeeding babies and families happy, healthy and thriving!
Chardá Fontenot, SDBFC Foundation Board Member
Ready to help us reduce racial disparities in breastfeeding?
All is takes is your donation. $5, $50, $500.... it all makes a difference!
Can you help us reach our $10,000 goal?
For more information about the racial disparities in healthcare and breastfeeding support, particularly for African-American and black families in the United States, please see Chardá’s interview with Robin, by clicking here!