Welcome to July - Let's Protect the Care that Protects Us.

Breastfeed Durham is deeply disappointed and concerned with the passage of the "Big Beautiful Bill" that includes $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, as well as restrictions on reproductive health and gender-affirming care. We believe in raising awareness about how these changes will directly affect families in Durham County and across North Carolina—particularly those already navigating barriers to care.

In Durham County, approximately 1 in 4 residents is enrolled in Medicaid, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. This includes many pregnant and postpartum people who rely on this coverage for critical care during pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. Medicaid supports access to prenatal visits, hospital births, lactation counseling, postpartum mental health care, and pediatric services during the first year of life. These are not optional services—they are essential for healthy beginnings.

Cuts of this magnitude will strip away that care, just as North Carolina began to expand Medicaid access. For families already facing racial, economic, and geographic barriers to health care, reduced coverage will lead to increases in maternal and infant mortality, overwhelm local clinics, and deepen the very inequities we work every day to address.

We urge our community to stay informed, take action, and advocate for policies that protect access to comprehensive, culturally responsive care. Breastfeed Durham remains committed to advancing lactation equity and ensuring that all families—regardless of income, race, or immigration status—can access the support they need to thrive.  

Even in this moment of uncertainty, we remain hopeful. Together, we can prepare for the pendulum to swing back toward equity and justice. We believe deeply in the power of local government and local change, and we are committed to working locally while positioning ourselves to act nationally when the time is right.

In light of the rain and significant flooding in Durham and surrounding areas, we wanted to share a toolkit created by the SAFE Team and Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute during the flooding in Western North Carolina. We hope these resources will be helpful to you or others you know who might need extra support right now.

We’ve been thinking about you and all the families in our community. We hope you are staying safe and well during this time. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@breastfeeddurham.org or safe@ncbfc.org call 919-622-8787 if you have questions, need resources, or just want to check in.

This fall, we’re dreaming of something simple and restorative. Claudia Hines (claudia@breastfeedingcommunities.org), one of our longtime community leaders and doulas, reminded us that gathering doesn’t always have to mean working. Sometimes, it can mean healing.

We’re hoping to host a gentle gathering in September, when the air cools and the pace (hopefully) slows. We invite Black parents, doulas, lactation consultants, midwives, and advocates to join us—not for a meeting, not for a training, but for rest and connection.