Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meetings
MIBFN and Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meetings occur on the third Thursday of each month from 1-2pm EST and are intended as a space for MIBFN, local breastfeeding supporters, and statewide partners to share, listen, and learn alongside each other as a way of informing each of our statewide and local breastfeeding support strategies. We hold one another accountable for ensuring that this, and all breastfeeding spaces, are safe for the families and breastfeeding supporters who are most marginalized by our current systems.
These meetings are made possible by the financial support from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Obesity Prevention Program via the CDC-SPAN grant.
Who Participates
MIBFN collaborates with organizations and individuals to bring about actionable, system-level changes that are centered on the diverse experiences of Michigan families with young children. Meetings are open to breastfeeding supporters in Michigan – we are continuously working to widen our circle, with a focus on centering marginalized families. To view a list of the organizations we are currently inviting and who are participating in these meetings, click here. We are so honored to serve in solidarity with breastfeeding supporters. If you would like to join our next meeting of breastfeeding supporters, please email hello@mibreastfeeding.org for more information.
Group Norms
These group norms were adapted from Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown:
- This is a BRAVE space
- Listen from the inside out, or listen from the bottom up (a feeling in your gut matters)
- Microaggressions, white optics, and co-opting of ideas will be called out immediately by white facilitators during the call.
- We address issues – especially white violence – as it happens in the meeting and discuss it on the next call.
- Intellectual property that is shared on calls is shared for the purpose of informing folks of what is happening throughout Michigan. If you wish to implement something similar in your own community, it is expected you will consult with the person who shared their idea on the call.
- W.A.I.T.–Why Am I Talking?
- Make Space, Take Space
- Confidentiality–take the lessons, leave the details
- Be open to learning
- Be open to someone else speaking your truth
- Building, not selling–when you speak, converse, don’t pitch
- Yes/and, both/and
- Value the process as much as, if not more than, you value the outcomes
- Assume best intent, attend to impact
- Self care and community care–pay attention to your bladder, pay attention to your neighbors
Meeting Recaps
We are so honored to share space with the incredible breastfeeding supporters who join these calls. Please click below to view printable summary reports and the themes that guide our actions in response to the meetings. If you were a participant in these meetings and have lost your link to the full meeting notes, please email hello@mibreastfeeding.org for more information.
- Community Is Crucial to the Birth and Breastfeeding Justice Movement in April 2025
- State and Local Happenings in March 2025
- Community Breastfeeding Support Groups in February 2025
- Sustainable Funding for Community-Based Lactation Support in January 2025
- 2024 Local Breastfeeding Supporter Reflections in December 2024
- Strengthening Community Connections Through Breastfeeding Coalitions in November 2024
- Local Coalitions’ Current Needs and Barriers in October 2024
- Closing Out FY2024 of the Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meetings in September 2024
- Celebrating August Breastfeeding Month and Lactation Supporters’ Work Across Michigan in August 2024
- Local Events and August Preparations in July 2024
- Local Events, August Preparations, and Honoring A Colleague in June 2024
- Mama’s Mobile Milk in May 2024
- Prison Nursery Programs in April 2024
- Building A Breastfeeding-Supportive Work Culture in March 2024
- February 2024 Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meeting Report in February 2024
Reports
FY 2021 Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meeting Report
It is with immense gratitude that we share the FY 2021 Report on the MIBFN & Local Breastfeeding Supporters fund. We are deeply grateful to the Local Breastfeeding Supporters for sharing this space with us and also to Michigan WIC for continued financial support. We look forward to working together throughout the coming year.
Accountability
The Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meetings are a brave space for the MIBFN team and those who participate. We honor the work being done in these monthly calls and in the time in between. We are so grateful for everything shared and feel very accountable for both transparency and action in support of the needs identified within the space. To that end, here are some of the areas we are still developing and look forward to continued growth:
Meeting facilitation: Currently, MIBFN staff facilitate the meetings with input from local breastfeeding supporters
Agenda setting: Always begins with introductions and transparency about note-taking; Agendas are sent (via Google Docs) to participants in advance of the meetings)
Group records & accountability for action/outcomes:
- Meeting notes – format: Google Doc, de-identified and distributed to everyone on the participants list within 1 week of the meeting; purpose: detailed record of what was discussed to support creation of the Meeting Recap
- Meeting recap – format: PDF, approved by local breastfeeding supporters prior to wider distribution; purpose: to advance Michigan and local breastfeeding support efforts to advocate and changes systems in solidarity with breastfeeding families
- Additional communications – as necessary, dependent on the topic and requests of local breastfeeding supporters