Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding & Lactation Friendly Erie County

Description

United Way of Buffalo & Erie County has been awarded a New York State Breastfeeding, Chestfeeding, and Lactation Friendly of $987,510 to establish a Breastfeeding Friendly care continuum through a coordinated community network in Erie County. This initiative builds and expands partnerships and advances broad-based policy, system, and environmental changes that proactively promote, support, and protect human milk feeding within community settings, businesses, and healthcare providers. This grant provides an exceptional opportunity to make a significant impact on the health and well-being of families within the community. By implementing a comprehensive approach and working collaboratively with stakeholders, this initiative will ensure that human milk feeding is supported and accessible to all individuals, regardless of their socioeconomic status or racial/ethnic background.

Increasing the number of babies who receive human milk pays off in a big way when it comes to increasing our community’s overall health and well-being. Babies are protected from diseases such as ear infections, lower respiratory infections and diarrhea, and have a decreased risk for asthma, diabetes and obesity later in life. People who breastfeed also benefit from lowered risk for breast and ovarian cancer, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Major medical authorities, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, with continued human milk feeding as complementary foods are introduced for at least the first year of life. Families, especially families of color, that wish to breastfeed or chestfeed may experience several barriers that make it difficult for them to start or continue. The priority areas for this grant are the cities of Buffalo, Lackawanna, and Tonawanda, and the towns of Cheektowaga, Brant, Collins and Concord.

The Impact

Successes in the program include:

• We are working with five Medical Practices to meet the 10 criteria to attain Breastfeeding Friendly Medical Practice Designation.
• 12 worksites updated their lactation policies and established lactation rooms – Designated all 12 as Breastfeeding Friendly Worksites.
• We are supporting 10 Lactation Support Groups throughout Buffalo and Erie County. Two support groups are newly formed and another (11th) will open in the fall or 2024. These support groups are open a total of 26 times each month offering families many opportunities to access lactation support from experts and other moms. A few offer services in languages other than English with one in Burmese and two in Spanish.

Get Involved

Medical Practices: Access resources to attain Breastfeeding Friendly Medical Practice Designation

Businesses and worksites: Access resources to attain Worksite Friendly Designation

Families: Access resources to support breast/chestfeeding journey

Community Members: Share the importance of breastfeeding/chestfeeding and identify public spaces and worksites that are ready to update lactation policies and design lactation friendly spaces by contacting healthequity@erie.gov

Events

There is an expert panel event that takes place in the spring and a worksite recognition that takes place in August.

Questions