lactation station program - Coming soon!

Access to breastfeeding education and information as well as skilled lactation care has been limited in Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) communities due to long-standing issues such as inequities in our health care systems, the challenges of parenting while working, lack of paid family leave and lack of affordable childcare. Additionally, historical trauma has impacted many generations and created barriers to learning about the benefits of breastfeeding and human milk. The Lactation Station Program (LSP) goal is to empower women and families to increase their knowledge about breastfeeding as well as increase the rates of breast/chestfeeding initiation and duration in our community. LSP provides breastfeeding support, education, and resources to breast/chestfeeding families and their support village. The lactation counselors will help families with positioning, overcoming anxiety, managing nipple pain, pumping, and much more.

To further our goal, Pettaway Pursuit Foundation partnered with the Pennsylvania Resource Organization for Lactation Consultants (ProLC). Through the American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP) First Food program and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) $5,000 grant, PPF and ProLC launch the “Connecting the Dots for Successful Breastfeeding" project. The objective of this project is to:

1. Improve the initiation of breastfeeding in the BIPOC community in the Greater Philadelphia area by offering breastfeeding classes for the extended family/support people in a comfortable setting at PPF’s headquarters in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, or virtually via zoom. 
2. Improve breastfeeding duration for these families by staying in close contact (phone and home visits postpartum) and offering ongoing free CLC/IBCLC support postpartum, breastfeeding support groups, and classes with CLCs/IBCLCs present to weigh babies and offer advice as well as one-on-one lactation consults. 
3. Provide a pathway for BIPOC CLCs to attain the clinical skills required to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC).