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Local Agency Breastfeeding Spotlights
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Promoting Equity in Lactation
- At the Farmers' Market: White Earth Tribal Health Promotes Lactation and WIC
- Rock and Rest Tent: St. Joseph’s WIC Promotes and Normalizes Breast/Chest Feeding
- Local Families Breastfeeding: Faribault, Martin and Nicollet Counties Feature
2021 Projects
- Aitkin County
- Beltrami County
- Cook County
- Hennepin County
General
- Twin Ports Latch on Event: St. Louis County Hosts Event for Breastfeeding Awareness
- Celebrate Breastfeeding in the Park: Freeborn County Event on August 24, 2019
Promoting Equity in Lactation
Minnesota has one of the highest breastfeeding initiation rates in the country, it also has some of the largest inequities related to ethnic, cultural, regional, and economic disparities.
Solutions from the community have the greatest potential for reducing disparities.
Minnesota WIC has provided funding over the past few years to promote equity in lactation across the state. These Equity in Lactation projects incorporate culturally relevant lactation promotion and support, and establish and/or strengthen community partnerships.
2024 projects
Local agency spotlights for Breastfeeding and Chestfeeding Awareness Month
Anoka County WIC: WIC and hospital collaboration
During the pandemic connections with community partners in breastfeeding support were lost for Anoka County WIC. Anoka was able to use a grant from Coffective to increase collaboration with the local birth hospital to help reestablish partnerships and support staff lactation education.
The project includes training for select hospital staff in clinical lactation support through the CLC course. In addition, Anoka WIC is hosting a lactation speaker at Mercy hospital free of charge to anyone in the hospital and community. Anoka hopes this project will improve engagement in our local Anoka County Breastfeeding Coalition by highlighting our coalition and inviting attendees to join the event.
2023 projects
At the Farmers' Market
White Earth Tribal Health Promotes Lactation and WIC
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and Minnesota WIC is highlighting the work local WIC agencies are doing with their equity grants.
White Earth Tribal WIC is promoting breastfeeding at the White Earth Farmer’s Market every Thursday in August. The booth displays lactation and WIC information and provides education materials to farmer’s market visitors. The market in Mahnomen is in a centralized area where many WIC families get their produce in the summer. WIC having a presence at the market will reach many and increase support for breastfeeding in the community.
Rock and Rest Tent
St. Joseph’s WIC Promotes and Normalizes Breast/Chest Feeding
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and Minnesota WIC is highlighting the work local WIC agencies are doing with their equity grants.
St. Joseph’s WIC Rock and Rest tent debuted at the Hubbard County Fair this July. The Rock and Rest tent is for mothers and parents to stop with their children to nurse or just get in the shade to relax and rock for a minute. The decorations and materials in the tent focused on diversity in lactation and breastfeeding/chest feeding promotion.
Hubbard County has a great initiation rate for breastfeeding but there are disparities amongst non-white participants, and longevity has room for improvement. Education and materials in the tent focus on items to help support increased lactation duration. Some items included a milk collector device (similar to HAAKA), milk bags and bra pads. Our local radio station interviewed WIC staff to promote the tent while at the fair.
In addition to the tent, St. Joseph’s WIC created several videos for World Breastfeeding Week to promote breastfeeding in our community. The videos feature 4 local breastfeeding mothers and their "why" behind their decision to breastfeed their children. It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm and willingness to promote their journey within their community. The videos are being shown the first week of August on the CHI St. Joseph's Facebook page.
Local Families Breastfeeding
Faribault, Martin and Nicollet Counties Feature
August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and Minnesota WIC is highlighting the work local WIC agencies are doing with their equity grants.
Faribault, Martin, and Nicollet Counties created billboards highlighting local families breastfeeding with the message that breastfeeding is for everyone.
The featured models diverse in ethnicity, body size, ability, family makeup, and location.
2021 Projects
Aitkin County
WIC participants in Aitkin County face barriers related to lack of transportation, isolation during COVID, low-socioeconomic status, and often very little support. The Blissful Beginnings project provided an in-person, prenatal visit to WIC families assigned to a peer. Families received a basket of breastfeeding supplies to support the mom in her breastfeeding journey.
Comments from participants:
"It was so nice to meet Mary face to face. She made it so easy to talk about breastfeeding."
"The first month was hard, I am so glad I had the support."
Beltrami County
Beltrami County WIC developed a graphic design featuring a local Native American mother breastfeeding her one-month-old baby with her six-year-old daughter standing next to her. All three were dressed in traditional ribbon skirts. The caption states “Doodooshaaboo (Breastmilk): The First Traditional Food.” The agency produced various marketing and promotional materials featuring the graphic to promote equity in lactation. This included a billboard, coffee mugs, posters, handouts, and brochures. The breastfeeding graphic received more than 23,000 views on Facebook! Beltrami County WIC partnered with Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming and the Bemidji Area Breastfeeding Coalition.
Cook County
Cook County WIC and Grand Portage WIC collaborated to commission an artist of color who created a piece that engaged viewers with breastfeeding. The grant resulted in a series of two original sister paintings, The Way a Mother Hugs Us / Ezhi-gikininjiininang gigashiminaan and Ojibwe Doodems Tiginaagan / Ojibwe Clans Cradleboard, which are now on public display at Grand Portage Health Services and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic respectively. The commissions served to support and engage Sam Zimmerman, a descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, who is committed to the thriving resilience of Ojibwe culture. This grant represents both an investment in his work and an investment in equity in Indigenous representation in the arts and breastfeeding. The artist expressed this grant created a unique opportunity to explore his personal family history of breastfeeding; initiate conversations with his mother, sisters, and greater community about breastfeeding; and explore cultural practices that support breastfeeding, such as baby-wearing using the traditional cradleboard. The artist shared his story in an interview on WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
Hennepin County
The Hennepin County WIC equity project strengthened partnerships with many community agencies that support Black, American Indian, Hmong, Latino families, and people with lower incomes. The local agency provided Best Milk children’s books, breast milk storage bags, and cotton breast pads to the Chocolate Milk Club, Hmong Breastfeeding Coalition, Nitamising Gimashkikinaan-Indigenous Perinatal and Lactation Support Circle, and Hennepin Peer Program for National Breastfeeding Month giveaways.
The Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies is partnering with the NorthPoint Food Pantry in a pilot project to provide pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) to families. Two peer counselors received training to support PDHM recipients. Hennepin County WIC purchased milk cooler bags to support this pilot project and donated supplies to Hennepin Healthcare East Lake Clinic and food pantries at Waite House and Brian Coyle. Spanish tri-fold Hennepin Peer Brochures will be distributed as outreach throughout the next year to the Minnesota Valley Nurses Association, Centro, Urban Ventures, etc.
General
Twin Ports Latch on Event
St. Louis County Hosts Event for Breastfeeding Awareness
August was Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and Minnesota WIC is highlighting the work local WIC agencies are doing with their equity grants.
St. Louis County WIC and peer counselors organized a Twin Ports Latch On event August 6. The event featured five Northeast Minnesota peer counselors and partnered with the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) and the art market. AICHO has a market twice monthly highlighting vendors of the BIPOC community.
About 12-14 parents and children attended the event.
Celebrate Breastfeeding in the Park
Freeborn County Event on August 24, 2019
August was Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and Minnesota WIC is highlighting the work local WIC agencies are doing with their equity grants.
St. Louis County WIC and peer counselors organized a Twin Ports Latch On event August 6. The event featured five Northeast Minnesota peer counselors and partnered with the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) and the art market. AICHO has a market twice monthly highlighting vendors of the BIPOC community.
About 12-14 parents and children attended the event.