Join a Committee!
The Connecticut Breastfeeding Coalition (CBC) is organized around the six sectors identified in the 2011 Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding (SGCTA). Each Sector has a committee that is led by a board member-liaison and is responsible for implementing actions in response to the SGCTA. All CBC members are invited to join one (or more) Sector Committees.
Click below for details on each.
Click below for details on each.
Mothers & Their Families Committee
Pregnant and nursing mothers need access to support, encouragement, and information that provides them with all the necessary tools to meet their breastfeeding goals. Often much of that support comes from fathers and grandmothers, who need their own access to education about breastfeeding.
The CBC’s Mothers and Their Families Committee is currently focused primarily on providing information regarding where mothers and their families can find help when it is needed to overcome breastfeeding challenges, particularly after they have left the hospital and are home with their newborn. The CBC is participating on ZipMilk, a website that provides state-by-state contact information for local lactation professionals, mother-to-mother peer support, WIC offices, and hospital breastfeeding mothers groups. The Committee is also working on an informational handout regarding sources of support and information, with an initial goal of sending it home with all mothers who give birth in Baby-Friendly hospitals, and then widening distribution to all Connecticut hospitals.
Implementation strategies outlined by the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding include:
- Help pregnant women to learn about the importance of breastfeeding for their babies and themselves.
- Teach mothers to breastfeed.
- Encourage mothers to talk to their maternity care providers about plans to breastfeed.
- Support mothers to have time and flexibility to breastfeed.
- Encourage mothers to ask for help with breastfeeding when needed.
Communities
This committee’s actions include strengthening programs that provide mother-to-mother support and peer counseling, using community-based organizations to promote and support breastfeeding, creating a national campaign to promote breastfeeding, ensuring that the marketing of infant formula is conducted in a way that minimizes its negative impacts on exclusive breastfeeding, and learning more about what Connecticut fathers know and feel about breastfeeding.
The CBC Communities Committee was established in response to the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. “Everyone can help make breastfeeding easier” is the central tenet of this landmark 2011 document, and specific actions for communities are included, as follows:
- Strengthen programs that provide mother-to-mother support and peer counseling.
- Use community-based organizations to promote and support breastfeeding.
- Create a national campaign to promote breastfeeding.
- Ensure that the marketing of infant formula is conducted in a way that minimizes its negative impacts on exclusive breastfeeding.
Healthcare
This committee is dedicated to the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and the specific actions required to support breastfeeding in the hospital and after mothers and babies go home. This includes education for health care professionals, breastfeeding-friendly maternity care practices, access to donor milk and IBCLCs. This committee is developing a model program for hospitals to achieve and maintain Baby-Friendly designation with these actions as the focus.
Implementation strategies outlined by the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding include:
- Help pregnant women to learn about the importance of breastfeeding for their babies and themselves.
- Teach mothers to breastfeed.
- Encourage mothers to talk to their maternity care providers about plans to breastfeed.
- Support mothers to have time and flexibility to breastfeed.
- Encourage mothers to ask for help with breastfeeding when needed.
Employment
This committee works to promote lactation support initiatives and protect a woman’s rights to breastfeed or express/pump breastmilk at work in accordance with state and federal breastfeeding laws. The CBC recognizes Breastfeeding Friendly Worksites that provide education, space, support, flexibility and privacy to nursing employees. Working with the CT Department of Public Health, the CT Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Department of Labor, CBC developed a Guide to the Rights of Breastfeeding Employees in Connecticut, and What are Your Rights information sheet and wallet cards.
Are you a Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace?
Supporting an employee's decision to breastfeed should be the norm not the exception. We are working hard to inform employers of their legal obligation to provide a private and clean place to express milk that is not a bathroom (per state and federal laws). Employers, employees and babies benefit from family friendly policies and practices. Helping moms meet their goals for breastfeeding can be very simple. Breastfeeding Friendly Employers provide flexible break times, a clean and private place to pump and support from supervisors and co-workers.
If you are a breastfeeding friendly employer, we want to recognize your efforts! Please visit our Employers page for details on our Breastfeeding Friendly Employer recognition program.
If you are a breastfeeding friendly employer, we want to recognize your efforts! Please visit our Employers page for details on our Breastfeeding Friendly Employer recognition program.
Public Health Infrastructure
This committee is working to improve leadership on the promotion and support of breastfeeding in partnership with the CT Department of Public Health. CBC recognizes the importance the CT WIC Program’s breastfeeding education and support initiatives, including the WIC Peer Counseling program. Currently, CBC is collaborating with the CT Department of Public Health on the statewide, “It’s Worth It” campaign.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health is working on many projects related to breastfeeding. Click on the following links to learn more about the CDC’s 1305 grant which is focusing on three key areas around the breastfeeding landscape in Connecticut and the Connecticut WIC Program’s efforts on offering breastfeeding education and support by nutrition professionals in the WIC program and in WIC Peer Counseling programs.
Research & Surveillance
This committee’s purpose is to collaborate with researchers to conduct studies on breastfeeding. The information that is acquired is then shared via Facebook and other social media outlets. This committee is also responsible for sharing research results with the CBC membership and throughout Connecticut.
The CBC has been actively researching breastfeeding among Connecticut residents. Previous studies have examined perceptions and beliefs of male partners of breastfeeding mothers, teen mothers, WIC mothers residing in an urban setting and breastfeeding best practices in academic settings.
