Human Milk vs. Formula is a false choice. We MUST fight the system, not the family.May 26, 2022 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters, If you’ve been in meetings with me, you have probably heard me say some version of the following already. But, in light of all the ongoing formula shortage and contamination crisis, I’m going to say it again in the hope that, together, we can reshape the dialogue around human milk feeding and who is to blame for the current formula crisis. Spoiler alert – it’s not parents or breastfeeding supporters.TL;DR – We must fight the system, not the family. Breastfeeding supporters must demand systemic support for human milk feeding. In this country, whether to breastfeed is not a choice. In this country, whether to breastfeed is a question of “Within all the systems of oppression that I navigate, what is the best combination of things I can do to equip my baby, myself, and the rest of my family for survival?” Sometimes, breastfeeding doesn’t fit into a family’s survival strategy and that’s not okay. Human milk is the foundation of life. The World Health Organization cites breastfeeding as the most cost-effective strategy to improve maternal-child health and recommends early initiation, exclusive breastfeeding for six months, and continued breastfeeding for at least two years of age and beyond. (1) When natural weaning is practiced, complete weaning usually takes place between two and four years of age. (2) Human milk provides protection against infection, illness, and chronic disease from infancy and through the life course. We know that human milk benefits parents, children, families, and society – It is integral to healthy development – immunological, physical, and emotional. In a society better organized than ours, breastfeeding would fit – every time. It’s not okay, but it’s also not the parent’s fault when it doesn’t fit. The barriers to breastfeeding that families face are rooted in systemic oppression and are oftentimes impossible to overcome. Every birthing parent I’ve ever met is doing the best they can with the tools they have to navigate the systems they encounter. Breastfeeding is not the problem – in fact, it’s the foundation of a healthy life. Parents are not the problem – they would fight to the ends of the earth to make sure their family has the best they can. It’s the systems of oppression – capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy – that create a false choice. And, quite frankly, it’s also these systems of oppression that are strengthened when we all stand around, blaming each other for the ways we navigate those systems rather than collaborating to dismantle them. How do I know this? Well, ask yourself or any of the parents you currently believe “chose not to breastfeed,” the following question: If your life was set up in the following way, would you still have “chosen not to breastfeed?”
Statement in Solidarity with Lyoya FamilyApril 26, 2022 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters,
In solidarity,
Take Action – Call Your Legislators!February 8, 2022 Hello, breastfeeding supporter! As you have probably heard, there are a few pieces of proposed legislation that relate to how our federal laws account for the fact that many workers are also parents – and the overwhelming majority of parents must work outside the home in order to survive. Some folks have reached out to us to ask – “how do these different bills relate to one another”? We hear you, this can be confusing. So, we put together a document that we hope helps you to sort through the language and see what legislation would do what. Big thanks to the Center for Worklife Law for helping us sort through it ourselves! We hope you find this useful in your education, advocacy, and lobbying efforts. Here is a link to that resource. In the next few days, you’ll see MIBFN do a push in solidarity with a coalition of advocates around the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Please consider reaching out to your state’s Senators (in Michigan, that’s Senator Gary Peters and Senator Debbie Stabenow) to voice your support of these increased protections. You have a chance to act right now and I hope you’ll take it. As a reminder, you can take action leveraging your experience and expertise as a professional within your organization, as a parent, and/or as a member of a community that would benefit. Our families need increased protections, and you know that as well as anyone. You’ve felt the struggle alongside families and we must speak truth to power. Your voice is needed in this fight! If there is anything I can do to support you in your advocacy efforts, through whatever lens and communications tool feels appropriate to you, I’m here and would be honored to serve alongside you. Please reach out! In solidarity, Shannon Statement in Solidarity with Syesha MercadoAugust 26, 2021 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters, We, the undersigned Black and Indigenous members of the MIBFN CORE Cohort, join the many birth and breastfeeding justice advocates in calling for the immediate return of Syesha Mercado and Tyron Deneer’s breastfeeding children (1), both forcibly removed from their care by Child Protective Services of Florida based on false charges of medical neglect. (2) As of August 20, 2021, the couple’s infant has been returned to their care. The fight to bring 15-month old Amen’Ra home continues. Everyone who serves to care for children and families must understand the history and context of the US foster system. This system was built on forced separation of Black and Indigenous families. (3,4) And, to this day, Child Protective Services disproportionately impacts Black and Indigenous families at much higher rates than white families. (5) This system consistently punishes families of color, demonizing the traditional practices of BIPOC families and forcibly tearing them apart. (6) Both Black and Indigenous children are overrepresented in CPS investigations and at a greater risk than other children of being confirmed for maltreatment and placed in out-of-home care. (7) Black families are twice as likely to be investigated than white families and 53 percent of Black children have been investigated by the age of 18. (8,9) Indigenous children are two times more likely to be investigated, two times more likely to have allegations of abuse substantiated, and four times more likely to be placed in foster care than white children. (10) Further, in this case, one of the children was a newborn and the family was seeking support at the hospital with breastfeeding. (11) As breastfeeding supporters, how are we to build trust with families if they live under the constant threat of family separation for seeking feeding support? The events surrounding Syesha Mercado and her family exemplify how implicit bias and racism in the CPS and medical systems perpetuate harm on BIPOC families and negatively influence infant feeding decisions. Breastfeeding is not a lifestyle choice, it is both a public health and racial equity imperative. Children must not be forcibly removed from their breast/bodyfeeding parent. We urge you to take action in supporting Syesha and Tyron and their efforts to reunite their family. Here are some ways to take action:
In Solidarity, Jennifer Day, IBCLC, RLC Michigan Breastfeeding Network Southeast Michigan IBCLCs of Color Kiara Baskin, CD, CLC Kaitlyn Bowen, MS, RD, CLC Michigan Breastfeeding Network Mariah Eldridge Sacred Bundle Birthworker Collective Tameka Jackson-Dyer, BASc, IBCLC, CHW Southeast Michigan IBCLCs of Color Metro Detroit/ Wayne County Breastfeeding Coalition Sekeita Lewis-Johnson, DNP FNP-BC IBCLC Southeast Michigan IBCLCs of Color Raeanne Madison, MPH Michigan Breastfeeding Network Sacred Bundle Birthworker Collective Lindsey McGahey, IBC, IFSD, BE Sacred Bundle Birthworker Collective Panoramic Doula Micaela McHenry Sacred Bundle Birthworker Collective Bianca Nash-Miot, CLC Anesha Stanley, CD, BD, PCD, CCE Full Circle Doula Services, LLC Tameka White, CLS About the MIBFN CORE Cohort: This cohort is currently composed of 12 Black and Indigenous breastfeeding supporters and organizations who have chosen collaboration over competition. We were initially awarded mini grants through MDHHS and Michigan Breastfeeding Network to advance our work, centering Black and Indigenous families in the reclamation and restoration of traditional birth and breast/bodyfeeding practices that have sustained our families for centuries. Our work is initially focused in the areas of COVID-19, young mothers and fathers, and Child Care. We work collaboratively in sisterhood (not cis-terhood) to network, incubate, take action, and achieve outcomes in solidarity with the families in our communities. To learn more, visit www.mibreastfeeding.org and click “community building”. References
Operation Stop CPS, Bring Ra and Ast home (Active), available at: https://operation-stop-cps.mykajabi.com/Operation-Bring-Amen%E2%80%99Ra-Home Statement in Solidarity with Indigenous FamiliesUpdated August 3, 2021 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters, As the ongoing health crisis of COVID-19 continues, there are renewed surges in infections and hospitalizations among people who contract the virus, especially among the unvaccinated population. Due to the rise of cases among the unvaccinated and the emergence of the Delta variant in many places around the United States, we stand with the CDC’s revised guidelines as of July 27, 2021 (1). In short, the CDC advises that vaccinated people in areas of substantial or high transmission around the country should wear masks indoors (2). Additionally, CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status (3). This guidance ensures that the most vulnerable among us continue to be protected by those that are able to be vaccinated yet able to spread the virus unknowingly. The message from the CDC is that mitigation works and that taking steps to protect ourselves and others is solid public health policy. In any ongoing health crisis, the behavior of the general population has an impact on the most marginalized among us. Continuing to wear a mask, social distancing, and practicing good hand hygiene, even among the vaccinated, helps to keep transmission of the disease low, decreases death, and, ultimately, saves lives. Health experts say vaccination will be the most effective tool at stopping the pandemic, which has killed over 600,000 Americans thus far(4). As school approaches, mandating masks for elementary-aged children and school staff also helps to protect the vulnerable population of young children who cannot yet be vaccinated and should be implemented in every state. Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put various groups of people at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19, including many racial and ethnic minority groups and pregnant and birthing persons (5).
Centering the most vulnerable among us will help to combat this pandemic and push for policy changes that protect women, children, low-income families, and all BIPOC folks at all times, not only during health crises.
In solidarity,
Breastfeeding in Emergencies Working Group Bonita Agee, BS, CLC Kaitlyn Bowen, MS, RD, LDN Gi’Anna Cheairs, BS Jennifer Day, IBCLC, RLC Rosa Gardiner, IBCLC Caty Jolley, CD (BAI) Shannon McKenney Shubert, MPH, CLC Mistel de Varona, IBCLC, RLC Rickeshia Williams, CLC, BD Vicki Wood, CLC, CLS
References:
Statement in Solidarity with Indigenous FamiliesJune 3, 2021 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters, Like many of you, we are mourning alongside Indigenous colleagues and families as the remains of more than 215 children were found on land that was once Kamloops Indian Residential School, the largest residential school for Indigenous children in Canada (1). We know that this tragedy is not isolated as residential schools existed from the 19th century into the 1980s in both the United States and Canada, accounting for over 200,000 Indigenous children separated from their families under harmful assimilation policies (2). The forced separation of children and dissolution of families causes permanent emotional, psychological, and physical damage and this discovery highlights the ongoing trauma for Indigenous families (3). The deaths and subsequent lies about these deaths have caused irreversible harm to generations of Indigenous people. These children and their families deserved to live freely on their lands, without the terrorism of colonization, boarding schools, missing children, and unexplained deaths. We stand in solidarity with the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation Community and all Indigenous families. Why must it even be said that families should not be separated and children should not be murdered? This should be the minimum expectation. In light of this, and knowing that similar atrocities occurred throughout the US until quite recently, we join the founders of Native Breastfeeding Week in calling for the US Government to bring the truth to light about the boarding schools within our borders and stand in solidarity with those calling for reparations and land back to Indigenous families (4). We can never get back these precious lives that were stolen. But, we can heal the future. In the face of this ongoing trauma, supporting Indigenous birth and breastfeeding workers must be a central priority for all of us. In the words of Lindsey McGahey, Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor and Indigenous Full Spectrum Doula, “The work we are doing today to reclaim traditional birth and breastfeeding practices is so necessary for us to heal the trauma and pain caused to our families by the US government. IBCs are knowledge keepers – we are healing our people through birthing practices that affirm our ancestral knowledge. As much as I am grieving, this recent news has also lit a fire in me to keep going.” Please consider investing in Indigenous birth and breastfeeding workers who are bearing the weight of the atrocities committed at boarding schools in the US and Canada. Here are a few opportunities to invest in the people and organizations leading efforts to reclaim Indigenous Breastfeeding traditions locally:
In solidarity, References
Take Action to Support the Pregnant Workers Fairness ActMay 25, 2021 The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) has passed the House! Thank you to A Better Balance: The Work & Family Legal Center, United States Breastfeeding Committee, and all the groups and organizers who are leading advocacy efforts in support of the PWFA. Now, it’s onto the Senate and we encourage YOU and all breastfeeding supporters to take action by sharing your support of this Act with your senators and community. CALLING ALL BREASTFEEDING SUPPORTERS TAKE ACTION! The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act makes it illegal to deny pregnant workers employment opportunities, retaliate against pregnant workers for requesting reasonable accommodations, and to force pregnant workers to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation is available. Share your support of the PWFA with your senators and community! Here’s how you can support:
Source: Take Action to Support the Pregnant Workers Fairness ActMay 25, 2021 The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) has passed the House! Thank you to A Better Balance: The Work & Family Legal Center, United States Breastfeeding Committee, and all the groups and organizers who are leading advocacy efforts in support of the PWFA. Now, it’s onto the Senate and we encourage YOU and all breastfeeding supporters to take action by sharing your support of this Act with your senators and community. CALLING ALL BREASTFEEDING SUPPORTERS TAKE ACTION! The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act makes it illegal to deny pregnant workers employment opportunities, retaliate against pregnant workers for requesting reasonable accommodations, and to force pregnant workers to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation is available. Share your support of the PWFA with your senators and community! Here’s how you can support:
Source: *UPDATED- August 3rd 2021* MIBFN: Open Letter Regarding Updated COVID-19 Masking RecommendationsDear Breastfeeding Supporters, As the ongoing health crisis of COVID-19 continues, there are renewed surges in infections and hospitalizations among people who contract the virus, especially among the unvaccinated population. Due to the rise of cases among the unvaccinated and the emergence of the Delta variant in many places around the United States, we stand with the CDC’s revised guidelines as of July 27, 2021 (1). In short, the CDC advises that vaccinated people in areas of substantial or high transmission around the country should wear masks indoors (2). Additionally, CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status (3). This guidance ensures that the most vulnerable among us continue to be protected by those that are able to be vaccinated yet able to spread the virus unknowingly. The message from the CDC is that mitigation works and that taking steps to protect ourselves and others is solid public health policy. In any ongoing health crisis, the behavior of the general population has an impact on the most marginalized among us. Continuing to wear a mask, social distancing, and practicing good hand hygiene, even among the vaccinated, helps to keep transmission of the disease low, decreases death, and, ultimately, saves lives. Health experts say vaccination will be the most effective tool at stopping the pandemic, which has killed over 600,000 Americans thus far. (4) As school approaches, mandating masks for elementary-aged children and school staff also helps to protect the vulnerable population of young children who cannot yet be vaccinated and should be implemented in every state. Long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put various groups of people at increased risk of getting sick and dying from COVID-19, including many racial and ethnic minority groups and pregnant and birthing persons (5).
Centering the most vulnerable among us will help to combat this pandemic and push for policy changes that protect women, children, low-income families, and all BIPOC folks at all times, not only during health crises. In solidarity, Breastfeeding in Emergencies Working Group Bonita Agee, BS, CLC Kaitlyn Bowen, MS, RD, LDN Gi’Anna Cheairs, BS Jennifer Day, IBCLC, RLC Rosa Gardiner, IBCLC Caty Jolley, CD (BAI) Shannon McKenney Shubert, MPH, CLC Mistel de Varona, IBCLC, RLC Rickeshia Williams, CLC, BD Vicki Wood, CLC, CLS References:
About MIBFN: MIBFN is a 501c3 organization that 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. Our mission is to lead the statewide collaborative actions for advocacy, education and coalition building to create a supportive breastfeeding culture. To learn more, visit mibreastfeeding.org. About the Breastfeeding in Emergencies Working Group: This working group formed in February 2021 as a sub-group of the larger MIBFN & Local Breastfeeding Supporter Meetings and in direct response to the established need for emergency preparedness that centers Black and Indigenous breastfeeding families so that they remain a priority in the face of any and all emergency situations. The group meets bi-weekly and is open to breastfeeding supporters across Michigan. To learn more, visit mibreastfeeding.org/local-meetings. Take Action to Support the PUMP ActApril 29, 2021 Thank you to the United States Breastfeeding Committee and all the groups and organizers who are leading advocacy efforts in support of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act! CALLING ALL BREASTFEEDING SUPPORTERS TAKE ACTION! Share your support of the PUMP Act with your legislators and community! Here’s how you can support:
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act would strengthen the Break Time law by:
Statement on Domestic Terrorism Against Asian Americans and Pacific IslandersMarch 17, 2021 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters,
In peace and solidarity, Take Action to Support the Momnibus Act of 2021February 10, 2021 Thank you to the Black Maternal Health Caucus and all the groups and organizers who have contributed to and endorsed the Momnibus Act of 2021! CALLING ALL BREASTFEEDING SUPPORTERS TAKE ACTION! Share your support of the Momnibus Act of 2021 with your legislators and community! Here’s how you can support:
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act will:
Sources: Statement in support of the uprising to end violence against Black and Brown peopleJune 2, 2020 Dear Breastfeeding Supporters,
In solidarity, MIBFN Letter to Detroit Hospital in the Support of BreastfeedingDecember 8, 2019 Michigan Breastfeeding Network (MIBFN) applauds Alecia Dillard for her perseverance in successfully breastfeeding her 2-month-old son, and joins Black Mothers’ Breastfeeding Association and Metro Detroit/Wayne County Breastfeeding Coalition in calling for organization-wide breastfeeding-supportive policy and training at Children’s Hospital of Michigan (1, 2). It came to the attention of MIBFN leadership, through a video shared by Channel 4 Local WDIV on Friday, December 6th, that, while breastfeeding her 2-month-old son in the emergency room waiting room of Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Alecia Dillard and her son were covered with a sheet by a security guard (3). In her words, this resulted in her baby unlatching and showing additional signs of discomfort. According to the World Health Organization, breastfeeding is not a matter of personal choice, it is a public health imperative (4) and leading health organizations encourage breastfeeding on demand (5, 6), especially for babies who present with health complications described by Ms. Dillard. The nutrients, immunological protection, and comfort provided by breastfeeding are vital (7). Ms. Dillard also notes in her interview with Local 4 WDIV that she had experienced some breastfeeding difficulties with her son and had been especially excited that he was latching easily at that moment. The Michigan Breastfeeding Anti-Discrimination Law passed and was signed into law in 2014 (8). This law protects the civil right of Michigan families to breastfeed anytime, anywhere. According to MIBFN Board Member Elon Geffrard, BS, CLC, ICCE, “Families have every right to breastfeed openly. If they cannot do that safely at a children’s hospital, nowhere is safe.” It also bears noting the unique implications for the fact that Ms. Dillard identifies as African American. Infant mortality rates and infant infection-related deaths are higher in black babies compared to their white counterparts. This is exacerbated by barriers and lack of systemic support for breastfeeding that disproportionately impact black families (9). Research also indicates that black women cite a lack of support in healthcare settings as a top barrier for not meeting their breastfeeding goals (10). MIBFN advocates for every Michigan family to receive breastfeeding protection and support, and is especially concerned about the unique implications when black mothers are singled out while breastfeeding. MIBFN advocated successfully for passage of the Breastfeeding Anti-Discrimination Law and, through our Breastfeed: Anytime, Anywhere campaign (11), is committed to increasing awareness of and compliance with this important public health legislation through training, technical assistance, and social marketing campaigns. In that regard, MIBFN leadership has offered to provide support to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in the establishment of breastfeeding-supportive policy and organization-wide training to ensure compliance with state law and MIBFN is requesting a publicly available written statement about the implementation of this policy and training. ##### Michigan Breastfeeding Network is a 501c3 organization that 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. Our mission is to lead the statewide collaborative actions for advocacy, education and coalition building to create a supportive breastfeeding culture. To learn more, visit www.mibreastfeeding.org. References
Action needed to protect, promote, and support breastfeedingJuly 10, 2018 Recent opposition by the United States to a breastfeeding resolution that calls on governments to “protect, promote, and support breastfeeding” at the World Health Assembly is a step backwards for public health and places infant and maternal lives at imminent risk. Breastfeeding is not a lifestyle choice: it is a public health imperative. Breastfeeding is especially important in populations with compromised water sources, high infant mortality rates, and other risk factors. Recent estimates show that over 800,000 child lives and 20,000 maternal lives worldwide could be saved each year if every child were exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Predatory marketing practices by companies that sell breast milk substitutes specifically target impoverished communities and further undermine breastfeeding outcomes. Marginalized and underrepresented populations need equitable systemic support and increased commitment to further promote, protect, and support breastfeeding. Education is key to support public health over corporate interests. USLCA is providing contact information and resources to contact officials within the US Government. MIBFN urges you to make your voice count and speak out in support of the recent WHO Resolution. View and share MIBFN’s social media post on protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding here. Family Separation at the BorderJune 19, 2018 MIBFN stands against the forced separation of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Executive Order ending this policy is only the beginning – it is imperative that separated families be reunited immediately. The WHO recommends breastfeeding for at least the first two years of life, which becomes physically impossible when mothers and children are forcibly torn apart. The impact of this practice causes permanent emotional, psychological, and physical damage to the families affected. Please contact your federal legislators to insist that reuniting separated families take urgent priority. View and share MIBFN’s social media post against family separation at the border here. Contact Us
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