The year of 2022 is upon us as Covid rates continue to increase and the stress and pressures of the pandemic continue to press upon both parents and healthcare providers. Somehow, the work of Breastfeed Durham continues on as we search for new grants and funding opportunities. We know that volunteering is more difficult now, more than ever. If you'd like to learn more or become more involved during this time of transition, then please reach out. Even during all of the stress, we have to celebrate the incredible growth that the Durham community is nurturing in support of breastfeeding, chestfeeding, and human milk feeding families.

Breastfeed Durham meetings continue virtually on Mondays at 2:30 with an outward facing meeting once a month. Calling all lactation and birth support providers to save the date for February 21, our biggest meeting of the year, as we come together to discuss gaps in care and how we can better support each other. The first food race equity movement continues to grow with the formation of a new support group, Mothering in Abundance, and the development of a new lactation support directory for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. 

We would appreciate your help during this time of transition. Please consider joining the Breastfeed Durham Implementation Team on Mondays at 2:30 PM.

Join: https://meet.google.com/xgf-iupz-ruf

January 24, 2022 | Grants and Community Updates

January 31, 2022 | Family Festival Planning

February 7, 2022 | Improving Digital Communications

February 14, 2022 | Board Meeting

Durham County Breastfeeding Initiation Rates, 89.7%

NC Breastfeeding Initiation Rate, 81.6%, 

NC Disparity Between Racial/Ethnic Groups, 36.9%.

These recently released reports confirm what we are so passionate about in Durham: our families are initiating chest/breastfeeding at one of the highest rates in the country, but families are struggling with continuation of chest/breastfeeding as they enter the community and disparities persist. Both local and national advocacy continues as the US Breastfeeding Committee calls for stories on workplace lactation support and Vice President Kamala Harris calls for improved maternal health outcomes in the United States. In 2022, Breastfeed Durham is ready to answer these calls to action as we remain unapologetically committed to racial and gender equity for Indigenous, Black, Latine, Middle Eastern, and Asian/Pacific Islander parents and babies, as well as families with nonbinary parents, both transgender and cisgender. The foundation of Breastfeed Durham's Ten Steps to Breastfeeding Family Friendly Communities is to transform the culture of a community so that chest/breastfeeding is normalized for not just white women, but for the whole community, especially Black and Brown families. We seek to increase connectivity between existing parts of the community and elevate the work of historically marginalized community members by centering the voices of Black and Brown lactating parents. Breast/chestfeeding is essential for perinatal and child health.