The Wellness Coalition strives to educate people on the benefits of breastfeeding and the importance of breastfeeding-friendly hospitals and workplaces. As part of this effort, life-size images of local breastfeeding moms and their children will be placed in businesses and organizations in the River Region.

These cutouts are intended to raise awareness about the importance of breastfeeding and help destigmatize breastfeeding in public. So far, these cutouts have been displayed in local clinics and other sites placed in high-traffic areas throughout the River Region.

Please contact us if your site is interested in hosting a life-size cutout in your business or local organization. We are also looking for mothers who are interested in participating in this campaign by being a model for the life-size cutouts. If you are interested in this opportunity, visit bit.ly/BFCUTOUT22.

Breastfeeding Stigma

Many mothers choose to bottle-feed because of the pressure put on them by others. We are working to normalize breastfeeding and to address the fear and anxiousness of mothers who have experienced breastfeeding discrimination. Representation plays an undeniable role in normalizing breastfeeding. Launching this campaign will allow women of color to see moms who look just like them breastfeeding their children.

According to the CDC, babies who breastfeed have a lower risk of asthma, eczema, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and more. Mothers who breastfeed their babies are also said to have a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancers, type-2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Further:

  • Numerous studies show that breastfeeding rates are lower in non-Hispanic Black communities than in any other ethnic group.
  • Fewer non-Hispanic black infants (69.4%) are ever breastfed compared with non-Hispanic white infants (85.9%) and Hispanic infants (84.6%).
  • Black infants are 21% less likely to be breastfed than white infants.
  • Mothers ages 20 to 29 years are less likely to breastfeed (80.4%) than mothers aged 30 years or older (85.3%).

Baby Café

One of our goals this year it to set up a Baby Café that can serve mothers and fathers in Macon, Montgomery, and Lowndes counties. The Baby Café will be a free, drop-in, informal breastfeeding support group offering ongoing professional lactation care and intervention. Most sites like these are open for 2 hours at least once a week.

The café must provide one-on-one counseling and group sessions, information sharing, solutions to breastfeeding problems, or an opportunity just talk with other women and men going through the same experience. And that’s not all! There will be free Wi-Fi, a lounge for dads, and a separate area for children with books to read.

These innovative locations can be essential for families, and especially mothers. Being a mother can be a challenging time in a woman’s life, and this type of resource is instrumental in promoting healthy breastfeeding.

If your organization is interested in working with us to develop a Baby Café, or if you have space to donate to the Baby Café, please call 334-293-6502.