Before the Breastfeed Durham Lactation Collaborative existed, Nicola Young was already imagining it.
“I initially decided to pursue lactation training after witnessing, as a doula, the barriers to infant feeding support that Spanish-speaking and other historically excluded families were facing in our community. I dreamt of being able to provide lactation support free of charge to families who were not otherwise able to access it due to factors like lack of health insurance, transportation, and English fluency. The Lactation Collaborative is the dream come true that has allowed me to do just that.“
Nicola is a bilingual International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, family medicine resident physician, and full-spectrum doula who has led Breastfeed Durham’s Lactancia Latina coalition since 2022. She co-founded the Lactation Collaborative with Jess Woon in September 2025, and she has been with families across the Triangle ever since — at kitchen tables, in nurseries, on living-room couches.
Recently, she shared a story about one of those visits. We are sharing it here, in her own words.
“I remember one client in particular,” Nicola wrote. “An experienced breastfeeding parent who had only ever fed her previous infants at her breast. Her current newborn was having trouble latching, and her pediatrician recommended supplementing. She was Spanish-speaking and did not have health insurance or reliable transportation. She had never seen an electric breast pump or prepared formula.”
Information about the Lactation Collaborative reached her. She called. She requested a free breast pump.
“The following day, she welcomed me, pump in hand, into her home. After just a few minutes of working together, with a couple of pillows, we were able to latch her baby comfortably on both breasts — something she had not yet been able to do since his birth. I showed her how to use the electric pump and fitted her flanges so that expressing would be comfortable. She was amazed both that she was making so much milk, and that she could supplement her baby with her own milk.”
Then Nicola noticed something the Lactation Collaborative was built to catch.
“I soon realized that for the past couple of days, she had been reusing the ready-to-feed formula bottle the pediatrician’s office had given her because she didn’t have any other bottles at home. Those who have used liquid formula bottles will recognize that it is incredibly hard to safely measure and mix powder formula in these one-time-use bottles.”
Nicola taught her how to safely prepare formula. She showed her ways to supplement without a bottle. The next day, she returned with new bottles that had been donated to the clinic.
I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to bring hands-on infant feeding support to this family that otherwise likely would not have been able to access it.
Nicola has recently begun residency training in family medicine. The Lactation Collaborative, she says, has changed how she will care for patients for the rest of her career.
“I learned to recognize my own assumptions about families’ baseline knowledge of infant feeding strategies. I will now be sure to spend more time understanding someone’s comfort with different feeding practices, no matter how common the practices may be, before sending them home with a new care plan.”
I am very proud of what the Lactation Collaborative has accomplished thus far. We have the most amazing team of lactation providers, and I feel very lucky to work alongside them. I look forward to welcoming more families into our community and seeing how we grow.
— Nicola Young, MD, IBCLC · Co-Founder, Breastfeed Durham Lactation Collaborative
About the Breastfeed Durham Lactation Collaborative
The Lactation Collaborative is a free, culturally responsive lactation clinic serving uninsured and underinsured families across the Triangle. We are designed for any parent who feels access to lactation care is a financial barrier — no insurance, no documentation, no proof of need required. We offer in-home visits and clinic visits, in English and Spanish, with a team of volunteer IBCLCs, CLCs, and Pathway 3 students.
If you need lactation support, please reach out!
Lactation Collaborative Home Visit: https://teachingbabies.intakeq.com/booking?locationId=5
Lactation Collaborative Clinic Visit: https://teachingbabies.intakeq.com/booking?locationId=6
Visita Domiciliaria: https://teachingbabies.intakeq.com/booking?locationId=7
Consulta en la Clínica: https://teachingbabies.intakeq.com/booking?locationId=8
Para obtener apoyo a la lactancia en español, llame al 919-646-5130 o 339-225-1212
Gratitude and the road ahead.
The Lactation Collaborative launched in September 2025 thanks to the vision and generosity of a private donor who believed in this work. The MAG Mutual Foundation has sustained our first full year of operations, and we are deeply grateful for their investment in equitable lactation care. As we look toward year two and beyond, we are actively seeking the next funding partners to keep this care free and accessible. If your organization, foundation, or family fund is interested in supporting this work, please reach out to Love Anderson at love@breastfeedingcommunities.org.