Sustaining Durham’s Free Lactation Clinic

At Breastfeed Durham, we’ve always believed that when a community decides every baby deserves care, then we find a way to ensure that care is delivered. What began as one small, fully funded weekend each month has grown into something far greater than we imagined.

Thanks to the generosity of our volunteer International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) and the donated space from our partner, Teaching Babies To Nurse, our Lactation Collaborative is now open most Fridays and Saturdays, offering appointments in both English and Spanish.

Our team is showing what equity looks like in real time:

• Open most Fridays (3–6 PM) for working families who can’t make weekend appointments.
• Open most Saturdays (10 AM–3 PM) parents can schedule an appointment for hands-on support, warm encouragement, and connection with others who understand.

These moments, from the first latch to the sigh of relief and tears of joy are happening here in Durham every single week.

Still, sustaining this rhythm requires more than goodwill. While our volunteers give generously, we’re working hard to raise the funds that will make this care reliably available for the long-term.

Every gift whether it’s $15 a month or $150, helps us cover supplies, translation, and coordination so that donated time becomes sustainable care.

Jess and our entire lactation team have done an amazing job growing this program beyond what we could have planned. With your continued support, we can make sure these doors never have to close again.

Thinking of Our Communities Near and Far

Our hearts are with everyone affected by the recent typhoon in Alaska. Events like this remind us how important it is to have strong support systems in place. That’s why initiatives like the SAFE Team are so vital—they help ensure that parents and babies have the resources, guidance, and care they need during challenging times. We’re thinking of our communities near and far and sending strength, comfort, and support to all. If possible, please consider supporting the coastal Native village of Kipnuk that was severely impacted by the typhoon on this GoFundMe. 

Join us for our next virtual meeting of the Durham Benefits Access Working Group Coalition!

We’ll continue our shared efforts to expand access to essential supports for Durham residents. This coalition brings together community partners, advocates, and service providers to increase the number of Durham families who are successfully enrolled in WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid.

We’ll meet once a month to: share updates and best practices from across the community, identify barriers and opportunities in benefits enrollment, coordinate strategies to strengthen outreach and support for families, and track progress toward ensuring more Durham residents access the resources they need.

Your participation helps us build a more connected, responsive, and equitable system of support for families in Durham!

Too often, new parents—especially those with babies in the NICU—leave the hospital without reliable access to a breast pump. Delays in insurance paperwork and Medicaid approval can mean days or weeks without the equipment they need to safely feed their baby.

Breastfeed Durham is excited to highlight a partnership effort led by Lauren Regina, RD, LDN, CLC, “Storkpump by Adapthealth," working on hospital-based breast pump consignment programs. These programs create an on-site pathway for families to access a breast pump before hospital discharge, with support from a lactation consultant.

The goals of this project are to:

• Ensure every parent—especially high-risk NICU families—leaves the hospital with a pump in hand.
• Reduce barriers caused by insurance processing delays.
• Decrease disparities in access to hospital-grade pumps.
• Relieve pressure on community groups who have been filling the gap with donated pumps.

 

Families across North Carolina—from UNC Health and WakeMed in the Triangle to Atrium and Novant Health in Charlotte and ECU Health in Greenville—have experienced similar barriers to timely pump access. 

We’ll continue to share updates as this work develops—and we look forward to seeing how this model can expand across health systems to create more equitable access to lactation tools.

Take Action in Support of Paid Leave for Families!

The U.S. Breastfeeding Committee launched an action tool: "Families Can’t Wait—Support Paid Leave Today." Individuals can use the tool to urge their members of Congress to pass the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act. In addition, the USBC is collecting stories, statements, and testimonials from individuals and organizations about how access to paid family and medical leave makes a difference for breastfeeding parents.   

We want to highlight as many events, celebrations, and opportunities as possible for our community!

Please email newsletters@breastfeedingcommunities.org if you have any upcoming events, celebrations, or opportunities you'd like us to share in our upcoming newsletters. 

Updated CDC Early Childhood Nutrition Report 2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released an updated version of the Early Childhood Nutrition Report, 2025. The update replaced data on four breastfeeding indicators among children born in 2021 with the newest available data from children born in 2022, from the National Immunization Survey-Child. The CDC's Nutrition Resources webpage includes both the 2025 Early Childhood Nutrition Report National Summary and State Reports.

NASEM Breastfeeding in the United States Report

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released the "Breastfeeding in the United States: Strategies to Support Families and Achieve National Goals" Consensus Study Report. The report provides a roadmap for helping families meet their breastfeeding goals and improving population-level outcomes. It emphasizes the need for strong federal coordination, comprehensive health care and community-based support, and inclusive public policies. Using a life course perspective, the report identifies key intervention points that begin before birth and continue through the return to work or school. Read the NASEM news release.

MAHA Strategy Report Includes Breastfeeding Commitments

The Make America Healthy Again Commission released the "Make Our Children Healthy Again" Strategy Report. The strategy document outlines a strategic approach for executive actions to address the childhood chronic disease crisis through advancing research, realigning incentives, increasing public awareness, and fostering private sector collaborations. The MAHA Strategy Report includes commitments to increase breastfeeding rates and to work with federal partners to promote and ensure a safe supply of donor human milk. As federal agencies refine implementation plans, the USBC will be monitoring closely to ensure that breastfeeding initiatives remain supported and adequately funded.

Report on Closing the Black Maternal-Health Gap

The McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility released a report, "Closing the Black maternal-health gap: Healthier lives, stronger economies." The report examines urgent and preventable disparities in Black maternal health, which, if reduced, would strengthen families, improve community health, and contribute meaningfully to the nation’s economic vitality.