Boston Breastfeeding Coalition Newsletter
August 2022
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"National discourse often frames breastfeeding as a lifestyle choice instead of a public health matter - more akin to choosing a cloth diaper... No mother should be made to feel bad about their infant feeding decisions; however, all women deserve informed decision-making."
- Kimberly Seals Allers,
Founder of Black Breastfeeding Week, author, and breastfeeding advocate
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Social Entrepreneurs: Featuring Stephanie Crawford |
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As a public school teacher and community organizer I have learned the importance of empowering adults in the community to step up as role models and educators for the children who look up to us. I have also found the beauty in community members being a light to those who are feeling lost on their journey. Emotional & mental wellbeing at every stage of life is important to me. After the stillbirth of my son Simeon, I learned that positive healing after trauma was rare and the process that I used needed to be shared with others. When adults heal, our children take notice. When adults are hurting, children are affected. |
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My Vision is that I will help parents and educators cultivate their leadership skills by understanding the importance of personal connection and self empowerment.
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My mission is to use my desire to help and my compassion and empathy for others, to create a welcoming space to process and grow one's personal strength.
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Stephanie's work is extensive and she takes on many roles, including educator, author, doula, and advocate.
- The Belle Joie Family Center works with families with children ages 0-5 with and without special needs and provides opportunities for parents and caregivers to learn about child development, including:
- How to best provide learning opportunities at home;
- Supporting parents navigating special needs education spaces;
- Aids parents/teachers/youth workers build healthy emotional connections with children.
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Belle Joie Doula Services offer virtual and in-person full doula services, including postpartum care, approached with wisdom, preparation, and intentionality.
- Stephanie's book "The Day My Teacher Ate a Pumpkin Seed" approaches pregnancy in an educational and child-focused way, explaining the changes that may result from pregnancy - such as their teacher going on maternity leave, needing gentler hugs, and using an exercise ball as a chair - and allows children to connect what they learn from their teacher's pregnancy to others in their life who may be pregnant.
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Propa City Community Outreach |
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Propa City Community Outreach is an organization focused on advocacy around pregnancy and infant loss, focusing on personal and community bonding and resources to encourage families to "speak up and honor their child." In addition to educational workshops for parents, PCCO also facilitates training for healthcare professionals.
PCCO also hosts 8 week youth advocacy trainings for youth groups or individuals, as well as monthly themed healing sessions, focused on finding individualized approaches to processing loss.
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August is Breastfeeding Month and
August 25-31 is Black Breastfeeding Week!
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We aim to reclaim Black breastfeeding by celebrating and lifting up Boston’s Black breastfeeding families and their village through supportive and affirming community engagement events and spaces. We must challenge the dominant narrative by centralizing Black families with collective support to achieve equity in breastfeeding outcomes.
Below are resources and events celebrating Black breastfeeding families throughout this week and offering support to ensure the success of Black caregivers and families now and in the future.
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Join us to celebrate Black Breastfeeding Week 2022! |
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Every Tuesday in August, 6pm - 8pm EST
Hosted by D. Legacy Pace Setters over Zoom
Join us every Tuesday of the month from 6p-8pm for a virtual family paint night. As we gather we will be surrounded by our community and family members and music. We will highlight the work and artistry of children, youth, and families. Let's talk, and paint, and discuss "How breastfeeding makes you feel." Families in Boston: Register early to receive paint materials.
Learn more about D. Legacy Pace Setters here!
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August 25, starting at 10:15am EST
Hosted by H2HBeat at Springfield, MA, City Hall, 36 Court St.
Join us as we celebrate and uplift the beauty of Black Breastfeeding in Springfield!
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August 25th, starting at 6pm EST
Hosted by the 4th Trimester Subcommittee
This event will be held IN-PERSON at Schoolmaster Hill in Franklin Park. You are postpartum forever, so wherever you fall as a mom, come join us! Bring your questions, concerns, and joys. Light refreshments provided.
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August 26th, 12pm - 1pm EST
Hosted by Vital Village Networks
Join us for the kickoff of black breastfeeding week 2022 to celebrate the milestone of 10 years! We are delighted to feature keynote remarks from Boston City Councilor Louijeune. We will also be joined by community champions and a live children's storytime Here's to 10 more years!
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August 31st, 11am -12:30pm EST
Hosted by the Black Breastfeeding Week Committee
Join us as we celebrate the conclusion of Black Breastfeeding Week 2022 on August 31st from 11am - 12:30pm with a Drum and March Circle featuring Jah Jah Drummers! Jah Jah Drummers have become well known for their dedication to keeping alive the Art of African drummology in the Boston area. They will demonstrate and teach the art of drumming. Families are welcome!
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August 30th, starting at 2pm EST
Join Uplift the CAN Tuesday for a community discussion around breastfeeding & celebrate Black Breastfeeding Week.
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"Self-care is essential for our vitality. As Women of Color, we often take care of everyone else before taking care of ourselves. This is not sustainable for living a healthy, joy-filled life and you are worthy of everything you desire. The 10 Day #GlowUP Self-Care Challenge will EMPOWER you, help you RESET, GROUND you in the present, CONNECT you to other like-minded women, and TRANSFORM your life," writes BGN.
If you are interested in joining this free challenge and receiving daily affirmations and intentions, inspirational messages, and self-care challenges, join this 10 day event!
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ZNT Arts is a multifaceted artist and brand that uses art as a connector to promote beauty, love and community. She also works in the Boston community as a teaching artist, curator and arts education consultant. Her mantra is, Live and Let Art! So she speaks at workshops and panels on the topics of Art as a tool for self-care, how to approach social justice and racism in arts education.
ZNT Arts will be joining the Vital Village Network to celebrate Black Breastfeeding Week by hosting a Silent Auction, which will last from August 19th to the 31st! Please see the button below to learn more and participate.
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Do you have a story to tell about your breastfeeding experience and postpartum mental wellness? The Mass. PPD Fund works on new parent mental health, and our Amplifying blog highlights stories of survivors of postpartum depression and related challenges.
The Fund is looking to highlight the role of breastfeeding in mental health for Breastfeeding Awareness Month/Black Breastfeeding Week in August. If you are interested in being featured or have any questions please contact Jessie Colbert at jcolbert@massppdfund.org.
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This year's theme is CRAFTING OUR LEGACY: Collaborative Action for Love, Liberation and Joy. This is a space where you can connect with resident leaders, organizers, and community-based organizations around the nation and reflect on our collective work promoting structural change.
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Do you have a story of community leadership that you'd like to share with the Vital Village Community? We invite you to submit an abstract for our annual Vital Village Summit Poster Program on October 18th and 19th.
Please complete the abstract submission form by September 16 at 11:59pm EST
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MA Breastfeeding Coalition 2022 Certified Breastfeeding Specialist D.R.I.V.E. Scholarship Application
MBC’s DRIVE Committee is pleased to announce our 2022 CBS (Certified Breastfeeding Specialist) Scholarship. This scholarship is open to all Massachusetts residents and will cover the 52+ hour Core Lactation Consultant Course ($675 value) through Lactation Education Resources (LER). Applications will be accepted from July 1st through July 31st, 2022.
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Formula Shortage Guidance
The American Academy of Pediatrics has also released a guide on what to do if you cannot find any formula, which you can find here.
If you are interested in learning more about specific advice for those partially breastfeeding, currently not breastfeeding, and those exclusively breastfeeding, please consult the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Guide here.
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The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) has partnered with Mass Cultural Council to offer free or discounted admissions to many of the Commonwealth's museums and cultural institutions through the EBT Card to Culture Program. Residents who receive DTA benefits can get discounted admission by showing their EBT card. Through 2022, these organizations are also accepting P-EBT cards. This program includes 127 discounted or free locations in Greater Boston, such harbor tours, music lessons, museum tickets, concerts, etc. Learn more here!
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Providing Urgent Maternal Protections
The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 3110/S. 1658) was advanced by the Senate HELP Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support on May 25, 2021, but has not yet been considered by the full Senate, even though it was passed in the House with a strong bipartisan vote last October. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act is the strongest workplace lactation law ever proposed in Congress and would close the coverage gap by expanding protections, as well as provide further guidance for nursing employees and employers.
If you are interested in more information, you can find a variety of tools and resources, press the button below:
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Creating a Respectful and Open Environment for Natural Hair
(CROWN) Act
The Creating a Respectful and Open Environment for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act aims to create protections for natural and protective hairstyles to prevent race-based hair discrimination in school and work environments. Forcing conformity to Eurocentric beauty standards is costly, from the economic impact of spending money to alter one's hair texture and the lack of Black hair products and salons/barbershops, to the personal impact that such discrimination has on the individual.
Although Massachusetts recently signed the CROWN Act into law, that is not yet the case on the federal level. The CROWN Act passed the House of Representatives and is now in the hands of the Senate. If it were to pass, natural hairstyles would be protected under Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act, as well as other civil rights laws.
If you are interested in more information or want to find out how to support the passage of the CROWN Act federally, please see the buttons below:
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Research Assistant in Equity in Pregnancy Initiatives
The OB/GYN department and the Health Equity Accelerator are looking to hire a new Research Assistant II for our Equity in Pregnancy initiatives. The person in this role will support research operations and participate in evaluation of projects within the Equity in Pregnancy portfolio. You can read more about the role and apply here. Please reach out to Giavanna Gaskin (Giavanna.Gaskin@bmc.org) if interested, or with any questions. You can find the LinkedIn posting here.
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Parent Leaders/Innovators will bring the voice of those with lived child welfare experience into program planning and implementation to improve outcomes for the children and families engaged in the Safe Babies Court TeamTM (SBCT) approach. If you are a parent with lived-experience in child welfare and are interested in being a parent leader, please complete the online form linked below.
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There is a variety of volunteering opportunities at Rosie's Place! You can help out in the food kitchen, teach a class, high school students can learn about social justice issues while earning community service hours, and you can coordinate a drive for much-needed items!
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Our support groups are still meeting, just virtually! We are looking for more volunteers to help us support mothers. Any direct lactation mentoring done during virtual support groups can count towards IBCLC hours.
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TBK empowers children, youth, the elderly and families to take charge of their health and well-being through hands-on cooking classes. These classes are led by professional chefs and teach students to create cost-effective meals at home with kitchen safety and nutrition lessons. The program also works closely with partners to build culturally aware curriculums, respecting the diversity of our foods while teaching youth to cook healthier versions of ethnic dishes. If you are interested in TBK classes for your group or organization, please email Haley House's Program Director Jay Vilar, to get started: jvilar@haleyhouse.org and if you are interested in volunteering with Haley House, you can click here to learn more.
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We love staying up-to-date with your news! If you want us to share out updates, events, flyers, webinars, or job opportunities, let us know. You can email us at bostonbreastfeeding@bmc.org or tag @bostonbreastfeeding on relevant Facebook posts and we can re-share on social media or add to our Coalition Newsletters.
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Educational Materials, Resources, and Webinars |
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In an effort to continue supporting the reproductive wellness needs of women, Love Your Menses is pleased to offer a FREE 8-week postpartum education and support group for Black and Brown pregnant and postpartum individuals living in the Greater Boston area.
Our postpartum education and support group features:
- Weekly educational sessions
- Sister circles
- Group chats with postpartum doulas and OB/GYNs
- Postpartum care packages and other giveaways
- and MUCH MORE!
Timeline: The Fall session program will take place from September 2022-November 2022.
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Friday, August 26, 2022
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM MDT / 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST
Virtual event
Join the North Colorado Breastfeeding Coalition as we celebrate Black Breastfeeding Week with a virtual Lunch and Learn opportunity! We will be learning from Alexis Woods Barr, PhD, MS, MPH about her work exploring intersectionality in African American families using Black Feminist Thought.
Dr. Woods Barr will be teaching us about:
- Intersectionality in the context of family and health care experiences among African American women.
- How encountering negative stereotypical images of African American women in different contexts affect infant feeding behaviors.
- Effective strategies for supporting African American families.
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Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA) has announced the launch of its Birth & Breastfeeding Leadership Institute. The Birth & Breastfeeding Leadership Institute is a virtual national leadership development program designed to advance community-level leadership for racial justice and equity in maternal-child-health. Applications due October 7th!
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To build equity capacity of individuals and organizations, and address health inequity, National Healthy Start Association’s Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Community Care Initiative (AIM CCI) provides this web-based comprehensive curriculum for professionals who work in community-based service organizations. RELS is accredited by APHA, meaning learners can receive free continuing education credits for the successful completion of each module.
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Through our Mississippi CHAMPS program, CHEER worked with the Bower Foundation, Inspire Health, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC), to script and create the Breastfeeding | Human Medicine IPE in 2020. Now, CHEER has received a grant to distribute the IPE across disciplines, nationally and globally! The project will leverage existing partnerships and collaborations to scale up medical and professional breastfeeding education and promote a culture of support for people who choose to breastfeed.
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Breastfeeding and Mental Health Pocket Guide
Mental health providers should know the positive correlation between breastfeeding and mental health and the negative correlation between weaning and mental health and speak to patients about the importance of breastfeeding for positive mental health outcomes. Download the Breastfeeding and Mental Health Guidance Pocket Guide at mibreastfeeding.org/tools under the “Mental Health” tab.
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This guide lists programs and organizations that provide free diapers to community members with updated contact information and eligibility requirements. The guide includes locations for Greater Boston, Northeastern Massachusetts, and Southeastern Massachusetts.
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Regularly updated with descriptions, contact info, locations, hours, and website links for important basic family needs.
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Resources and tools to help institutions, community organizations, schools, and worksites to improve consistency and collaborations with other organizations to ensure a seamless support system for lactation.
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The Blueprint, developed with a public health lens, aims to increase local capacity to implement community-driven approaches to support chest/breastfeeding, centered on the needs of populations disproportionately impacted by structural barriers that leads to low rates of breastfeeding.
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Are you interested in receiving this newsletter in Spanish?
Le interesaría recibir este boletín en español?
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Por favor déjenos saber si le interesaría recibir una versión de este boletín en español!
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Are you a Breastfeeding Scholar who is looking to connect with other Scholars?
Join the private Facebook Group just for Breastfeeding Scholars - a centralized location to stay updated on CERP offerings, scholarship opportunities, network with peers, and share and find resources.
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Vital Village Network's Boston Breastfeeding Coalition is committed to improving access to breastfeeding support for every parent in Boston, promoting connections between individuals and organizations that engage in breastfeeding advocacy, and supporting pathways for professional lactation counselors. |
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