Why Benefits Access Is Breastfeeding Policy in Durham
In Durham County, we often talk about breastfeeding as a health issue. But for many families, the biggest barriers to breastfeeding have less to do with knowledge and more to do with access.
It’s hard to focus on feeding your baby when groceries are running low, health coverage keeps dropping off, or it takes hours—sometimes days—to navigate benefits paperwork in a language that isn’t your own. In Durham, especially for Black, Latinx, immigrant, and mixed-status families, these challenges are part of everyday life.
That’s why Breastfeed Durham treats benefits access as breastfeeding policy.
The Reality Families Face
Telling families that “breastfeeding is healthy” isn’t enough if they can’t access food, breast pumps, paid leave, or follow-up care. When SNAP, WIC, or Medicaid coverage is delayed or lost due to administrative churn, breastfeeding becomes harder to start—and even harder to sustain.
In Durham, economic stability and infant feeding are deeply connected.
A Durham-Grown Solution
To address this gap, Breastfeed Durham co-leads the Durham Benefits Access Subcommittee, a cross-system collaboration that includes Durham County DSS, Duke Health, Lincoln Community Health Center, the Durham Board of County Commissioners, and trusted community-based organizations.
The goal is simple but powerful: make sure Durham residents—especially multilingual, immigrant, and mixed-status families—can actually enroll in and keep the benefits they qualify for, without being blocked by red tape, fear of system contact, or preventable errors.
This work builds on Durham’s long tradition of community-driven problem solving and cross-sector collaboration.
What We’re Changing—Together
Through the Benefits Access Subcommittee, Breastfeed Durham and our partners are working to:
- Reduce administrative barriers and error-related terminations in SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid
- Integrate benefits screening and referrals into healthcare, early childhood, and school-based settings across Durham
- Strengthen language access, cultural responsiveness, and protections for immigrant families
- Pilot data-sharing and technology tools that simplify enrollment and reduce coverage gaps
These changes may sound technical—but for families, they mean fewer dropped benefits, fewer missed appointments, and more stability during pregnancy and early parenthood.
Why Durham Matters
Durham County is serving as the pilot for this approach. Our goal is not just to improve systems locally, but to demonstrate what’s possible when counties treat food security and economic stability as essential to breastfeeding success.
By aligning benefits access with family health, Durham is helping to shape a model that can be replicated across North Carolina—one that supports parents where they are and recognizes that breastfeeding-friendly communities are built through policy, not just education.
At Breastfeed Durham, we believe that when families have access to the resources they need, breastfeeding becomes less about overcoming barriers and more about choice, dignity, and support.