It's the final week to help us reach our goal of $15k!
Thank you to everyone who donated these past few weeks! So far, you have helped us raise $6065 towards our $15,000 goal! We are getting so close and our fundraiser ends on FRIDAY!
Did you know that you can make a recurring donation through our website?
You can donate monthly, quarterly or annually, for as little as $5/month Just set it and forget it! Then all year long, you can help us provide free/reduced fee lactation services to 300 families in 2022, for essentially the cost of your Starbucks coffee!
You’ll be able to provide lactation access to families like Sabrina’s.
“I first began experiencing breastfeeding issues very early on. The issues I experienced continued and escalated to the point that I would bleed with every feeding. My 7 month long struggle with breastfeeding amplified these feelings of low self esteem. Soon due to the extreme pain, I began to experience nursing aversions. My daughter, unable to drink from a bottle, depended on me for survival. I reached my breaking point and found the SDBFC Foundation, hesitant to make an appointment due to the cost, until I saw the option for Medi-Cal families.
Nonprofits like SDBFC Foundation help break down systematic barriers that prevent Latinx and other BIPOC communities from successfully breastfeeding. They also allow lower-income parents to be able to provide an equitable childhood to their children beginning at infancy. I am forever grateful!”
- Sabrina
Our ability to help families like Sabrina’s is only possible with your help. Thank you so much for supporting our foundation! Please consider making a recurring donation today!
Warmly,
Robin, San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation president
First Food Deserts in San Diego County
Written by Chardá Bell, CLEC, CCE, FSD
Food justice and chest/breastfeeding are inextricably linked. Institutionalized racism, and its many faces, has matriculated to prey on Black babies. First Food Justice is about infant feeding disparities in the first food system. In this sense, it highlights persistent barriers to chest/breastfeeding success in areas that are predominantly black folks, such as my hometown, Southeast San Diego. “First food deserts” are peppered throughout the United States, a term coined by the great Kimberly Seals Allers based on her research and community projects in Birmingham, AL, Jackson, MS, and New Orleans, LA. According to Seals Allers' research, a first food desert is defined as a geographical area where social and economic dynamics unequally constrain breastfeeding when compared with other locations. The healthiest first food is human milk, which is proven to have the best health and survival outcomes for humans. We must acknowledge that Black infants are more often limited, at times stunted, and face systemic barriers by being in a first food unfriendly habitat, born into an inequitable food system. In Sears Allers’ book, The Big Letdown: How Medicine, Big Business, and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding, it states “(a first food deserts exists when) A persistent and widespread lack of culturally relevant healthcare support, peer support, and public spaces that facilitate breastfeeding. Where you live and work, then, unequally impacts what you feed and how you eat.”
Southeast San Diego is a mid-size area of the county, that is predominantly African American, low income to upper middle class, and some military, and various Asian populations that began to increase in the 90’s, particularly in Paradise Hills. It is a significantly under-resourced area in the county with limited access to perinatal, reproductive and chest/breastfeeding support and that needs to change. I also have pinpointed the limited resources and access to first foods and chest/breastfeeding support in the neighborhood and surrounding areas where I grew up. From Solola apartments in the community of Logan Heights and the “four corners of life” to Skyline and Paradise Hills. Skyline is a hilly urban neighborhood in Southeastern San Diego. It is bordered by Encanto to the west, Jamacha-Lomita to the North East, and Bay Terraces to the South. None of these communities have easy access to chest/breastfeeding support. In these very areas, we tell parents to chest/breastfeed and expect them to be successful when we don’t even have the basic infrastructure in place to make that support possible. Everything is hyper-local, meaning you have to travel a far distance to get decent quality food and support. A person shouldn’t have to go far and wide to have access to nutrition that is most optimal to support a successful chest/breastfeeding journey.
The community of Southeast San Diego is disadvantaged when it comes to chest/breastfeeding promotion factors, such as the lack of chest/breastfeeding support groups and Baby Friendly hospitals within reach. What we do have is a disturbing trend of chest/breastfeeding sabotaging factors, such formula advertisements on bus stops and health offices passing out formula to Black women at a disproportionate rate. We mostly have fast food and convenience stores selling a lot of fat, salt and sugar but not full service grocery stores with fresh wholesome food. These areas also correlate to poor infant and mother health outcomes, specifically for Black families. Every infant has the right to fair and equitable access to the first food of human milk. Every family deserves the support of their community if they choose to chest/breastfeed. We must also have an understanding of how the racial and social inequities around chest/breastfeeding adversely affect vulnerable populations. Human milk is proven to be the most efficient and nutritious first food available. It also happens to be the food that has all the components needed to reduce the risks for many diseases that affect black children more often such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, SIDS and childhood obesity. By increasing access to first foods, including human milk, we can have a resounding impact on infant nutrition and maternal health. When we look at the big picture in real time and take all things into account, we can better provide the needs of the community.
A contributing factor of these inequities may be related to historical and generational trauma that still haunts modern day Black folks. The theory of PTSS is a result of twelve years of quantitative and qualitative research by Dr. Joy DeGruy. Historian Wilma A. Dunaway, writes in the book, The African American Family in Slavery and Emancipation, “And since breastfeeding reduces fertility, slave owners forced black women to stop breastfeeding early so that they could continue breeding, often to the health detriment of their own infants.” Another problematic discovery contributing to the reason Black women have low in-hospital initiation rates is the simple fact that OBs and pediatricians, who are seeing feeding problems, don't refer out to lactation support groups or consultants upon discharge or at the pediatric appointment. If they do, these are not readily accessible and sometimes not very welcoming for black and brown folks when not led by a person that represents them. Most parents rely on their pediatrician for support, information, and resources for feeding, therefore we need providers to be in our corner. All chest/breastfeeding “help” is not created equal. If we are going to promote chest/breastfeeding, we must support all families.
As lactation professionals and medical providers, we have to stop telling people in areas we know are first food deserts to go chest/breastfeed and expect it all to work out for them when they try. It’s hard to find that in the field of lactation due to its advocacy efforts being white female dominated. We tell Black moms that chest/breast is best, but those same people saying it don’t host support groups or provide lactation support that make Black moms feel comfortable, secure and most of all heard without bias or judgments. For this reason, I recently started a breastfeeding support group with some Black birth workers, using Kimberly Seals Allers’ blue-print for a community-driven model for achieving first food justice in order to combat some of the issues we face with food deserts throughout San Diego. This is one of the best ways we can begin to elicit a change in our in-hospital initiation rates. Through steady exposure, easy access to support, and most importantly free education available to those who need it most. These resources will empower Black families and make chest/breastfeeding a traditional norm again. By improving chest/breastfeeding rates within the Black community, we will be achieving better overall health and well-being while reducing racial inequities for our entire community. We can accomplish this through continued education, support and advocacy for Black women and their families to not just survive, but to THRIVE. #BlackBabiesMatter #FeedSouthEast
For specific details about the in-hospital rates for chest/breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity by race, start at page 64 for San Diego, where it shows rates by county and then by hospital:
And, please consider donating to the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation to help bring chest/breastfeeding access and basic infrastructure to areas like Southeast San Diego.
Help increase access to lactation support for local families this GivingTuesday!
Today, on Giving Tuesday, we have a goal to fund 300 free/reduced-fee lactation consultations for local BIPOC and low-income families in 2022. To meet this goal, we need to raise $15,000. Here is how you can help!
Donate to our foundation today!
Share our fundraising campaign with your friends and family on social media!
Your donations go directly to pay for lactation consultations for families, like Mariana’s!
“I will always be deeply grateful for the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation. Through empathy, sisterhood and an extensive knowledge about breastfeeding, my consultant gave me the necessary tools and the confidence to continue breastfeeding even when my baby didn’t want to be breastfed at the breast. With all her support at an affordable cost for Medi-Cal users, I have been exclusively pumping to feed my baby and I am about to meet my goal of breastfeeding my baby for more than one year, giving my baby one of the best gifts I could give him.
-Mariana
Our ability to help families like Mariana’s is only possible with your help. Thank you so much for supporting our foundation!
Warmly,
Robin, San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation president
READ THIS BEFORE YOU SHOP ON AMAZON THIS 2021 HOLIDAY SEASON!
DID YOU KNOW….
While 93% of parents start breastfeeding exclusively at birth in San Diego, only 56% continue doing so at 3 months, largely due to a lack of access and financial resources to ongoing lactation support.
You can help low-income families and women of color gain access to critical breastfeeding support by purchasing Amazon items online, just by shopping through smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com!
GUESS HOW EASY THIS IS???
We are asking you to take 60 seconds of your time today to designate the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation as your charitable recipient for Amazon Smile. All you have to do is go to their website (smile.amazon.com) and choose the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation as your Amazon Smile recipient. Then as you make your holiday purchases, as well as your staples of diapers, nipple cream, baby toys, book, etc, the SDBFC Foundation will receive 0.5% of every purchase, at no extra cost to you. This money will go directly to paying for lactation consultations for families in need.
You can also register in the APP! Open the app and find ’Settings’ in the main menu (☰). Tap on ‘AmazonSmile’ and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
Your Amazon Smile purchases can help families, like Nohamaly’s, get the breast/chestfeeding support they deserve!
“The San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation saved my breastfeeding journey. I am very grateful to the lactation team for helping me in my journey! I would’ve quit breastfeeding if I did not make an appointment at the center. As a first time mom, I felt lost and did not know where to start, but I left my lactation appointment feeling confident about breastfeeding for the first time since my son was born. Also, the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation was able to offer me the rate of $25 for my appointment, which was extremely affordable. If I had to pay full price I probably wouldn’t have been able to see a lactation consultant.” - Nohamaly
Wishing you all the best during this giving season!
Supply Drive for Afghan Refugees
As a business that focuses on improving the lives of those in our community, we are putting our chest/breastfeeding ‘hats’ aside to bring awareness to a community that desperately needs our help and resources. San Diego, specifically El Cajon, is expecting 5000 Afghan refugees to arrive in the next few months, with little notice and few supplies. The San Diego Breastfeeding Center has partnered with Welcome Home to host a Supply Drive to collect items that these families need to start their new lives in San Diego.
Details
What: Supply Drive for Afghan Refugees
Where: San Diego Breastfeeding Center (8325 University Ave. La Mesa, CA 91942)
When: Saturday, September 25, 2021 from 11am-1pm
Just drive up in front of the center or park on the street and our volunteers will help unload the items from your car. Please wear a mask to protect yourself and our volunteers.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Robin Kaplan at robinkaplan@sdbfc.com
For more information about our partnering organization and the incredible work they do in our community, please visit their website:
Thank you, in advance, for your supply donations and for supporting our newest community members.
Warmly,
The San Diego Breastfeeding Center Family
Meet SDBFC's Newest IBCLC - Yvonne Campbell
We are so thrilled to introduce you to our newest lactation consultant (pending)/RN at SDBFC! Yvonne joined us on August 2nd and will be doing office visits starting August 31st! Here is our interview with Yvonne. We can't wait for you all to meet her!
Yvonne, tell us about yourself!
Hello! Let’s see, I spent my year 0 through 25 in a small town in Sweden called Trollhattan (basically translates to Troll’s Hat). We were a multicultural household with an American dad and a Swedish mom. My parents met in San Francisco while my mother was working as an Au Pair for a year after high school and then they moved to Sweden to raise a family (18 months of parental leave, yes please). Sweden is great in a lot of ways, however I don’t think I would trade it for all of the sunshine days we get here in San Diego. A couple years after receiving my BSN, I felt adventurous and moved to San Diego. I’ve been here 12 years now! I have a husband, Sean, two daughters, Elise and Clara (6 and 3 years old) and a 10 year old cat Zoe. We love to travel, otherwise I bet we would have a dog too!
In my free time I’m an avid baker, often found whipping up cream cakes, cookies, breads, you name it. I have a crazy sweet tooth that I try to balance with exercise and otherwise healthy eating like a true Swede. Did you know that Swedes eat the most candy per capita in the world? 35 pounds per person per year! Career-wise I have always felt the happiest helping people. I have worked as an Emergency Room Nurse for almost 15 years (definitely doesn’t feel like it’s been that long).
What inspired you to become a lactation consultant?
I absolutely fell in love with breastfeeding after having kids of my own. I always thought breastfeeding was something beautiful and envisioned doing it one day. Little did I know how difficult, yet absolutely amazing the journey can be. Being a bit of a researcher I started reading more and more about lactation. It kept piquing my interest and I developed a new passion!
What are you most excited about working for the SDBFC?
I can’t think of anything more satisfying and heartwarming than helping families reach their breastfeeding goals, whatever that may look like for them. I want to empower families and be a positive cheerleader in their corner. I’m very excited that the SDBFC has a foundation so that we can reach more families.
What are your top 3 tips for a brand new chest/breastfeeding parent?
Go with flow and be your most flexible you. Often things aren’t going to be exactly as you had envisioned from the get go with a new baby. If you stay positive and embrace the challenges, you end up with so much less stress. If there are any breastfeeding questions or concerns we're here ready to help!
Accept and/or reach out for help. The saying “it takes a village” is so true! What’s helpful varies from family to family. It could be for someone to hold your baby while you shower, for someone to take over household chores, or bring food so you can focus on the baby. Make a list of things that would be helpful for -you-, then people offering to help can choose items off that list (we all know well meaning helpers sometimes need a little *cough* direction so that they are in fact being helpful).
Surround yourself with positive people who understand your goals. There are so many different ways to parent and it makes the most sense to take advice from people who share your parenting vision and goals. Find a support group that speaks to you! SDBFC offers a great one every week.
Welcome to the team, Yvonne!
Meet SDBFC's Newest IBCLC - Mariana Covarrubias
We are so thrilled to introduce you to our newest lactation consultant at SDBFC! Mariana joined us on March 24th and will be doing office visits starting June 1st! Here is our interview with Mariana. We can't wait for you all to meet her!
Mariana, tell us about yourself!
I grew up in Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego, CA. I then moved to San Diego when I was 16 years old. Since then I have lived in other cities like Mexico City and Miami, but recently moved back to San Diego. I love living in San Diego because I am close to family and because it is next door to Tijuana, which has the most amazing food and it is where my roots are. I have been married for 6 years and have a daughter who is the center of my life and one of the biggest reasons I decided to pursue a career as a lactation consultant. I have a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition & Dietetics. It is a field I love and am very passionate about, but I wanted to look at nutrition from the start. My curiosity and constant love for learning led me to study lactation. I had the pleasure of working for a Pediatrician, IBCLC while living in Mexico City which further propelled my curiosity, since I got to learn about the many facets of lactation and the big difference I could make helping people. I am a constant student and homebody that loves doing anything creative. I also have a passion for living a natural/non-toxic lifestyle. I love to cook and really enjoy creating beautiful tables when hosting friends and family.
Check out Mariana’s bio page
What inspired you to become a lactation consultant?
As a Nutrition & Dietetics student gaining experience in the field, I had the opportunity to work on the delivery floor of Mary Birch Hospital. Working on that floor made me happy; I really enjoyed working around babies. Being the constant learner that I am, I started looking at the different learning possibilities that I could add to my career. I learned about becoming an IBCLC and never looked back. Mid-way through my IBCLC program I found out I was pregnant and had to pause it, due to a high-risk pregnancy. When my daughter was born and I had the opportunity to experience everything first-hand, I found out I was even more passionate about this than when I began. I then finished my training with UCSD Lactation Program and am so proud to be able to provide help and guidance to anyone who needs it.
What are you most excited about working for the SDBFC?
I am most excited about the fact that I will be able to offer lactation services to Spanish speakers. I am Mexican and fluent in both English and Spanish. Being the first consultant at SDBFC that is a Spanish speaker is a badge that I wear with honor. Coming from Mexico, I used to cross the border daily to go to school in the U.S. We would wake up at 5:00 AM and sometimes it would take up to 4 hours to get to school and then we had to do the same journey back, all to start it again the next day. I am proud of where I come from and am thankful for all the sacrifices my parents made to give me an education. I am proud that I will be using that education to help others and hopefully it will inspire people in the Hispanic community to seek out my help and guidance. I am proud to be representing the Latina community as a lactation consultant, bringing my culture and experiences with me. I am so excited to meet new families and help them along their journey.
What are your top 3 tips for a brand new chest/breastfeeding parent?
1. Be flexible with your expectations. Although, ideally your chest/breastfeeding journey is exactly how you pictured it, it may be a little or completely different. Do not let that discourage you. Chest/breastfeeding looks a million ways, the right way is what works best for you and your family. You are a great parent no matter what your journey looks like. Allow yourself to see beauty in the unexpected.
2. Support system, support system, support system. It is ideal that you plan out your support system, whatever that may look like for you. It does not necessarily have to be family. Supporting your postpartum period may look like ordering a meal delivery service, having a friend cook some meals for you, or hiring someone to help with household chores. This will allow you the time to focus on you and your baby. Ask for help… a good support system will help you deal with sleepless nights and new parent duties. At SDBFC we offer chest/breastfeeding support groups; meeting up with parents going through similar journey’s might help you a feel sense of community and most importantly have your questions/concerns addressed.
3. Opinions, everyone has them, but only you know what works best for you and your family. Follow your gut instinct and trust it. You will get a lot of opinions or “advice” from friends, family, and sometimes even strangers, but letting your instincts guide your choices will turn out best. Seek out professionals that align with your values and gather all the necessary information to make informed decisions.
Welcome to the team, Mariana!
Our Fundraiser was a HUGE Success… all thanks to you!!!!
Our 2020 end-of-the year fundraiser was such a HUGE success and we cannot thank you enough for all of your support. Our goal was to raise $10,000 between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve and we ended the fundraiser with donations totaling $13,015!
We are truly humbled by our community’s support, which allows us to forge forward in 2021 to provide free and reduced-fee breastfeeding consultations for families with financial and/or racial barriers to receiving breastfeeding support. The recipients’ testimonials say it all…. these consultations were lifesavers!
So, what will your donations pay for this year?
Over 150 free/reduced-fee breastfeeding consultations in 2021. This covers over 50% of the consultations we plan to provide this year, so while our fundraising efforts never end, this gets us off to an amazing start in 2021!
$2,615 has been designated for our scholarship fund to support local BIPOC women to pursue a career in lactation!
Each of our donors is incredibly important and imperative for funding our programs, which is why we like to share their names on our donor pages! There also are a few donors we would like to personally thank today for their very generous donations this year. These individuals and businesses donated $250 or more to our foundation in 2020:
The Schoenith Foundation
Audrey Conley & Gertrude & L.J. Whitaker Charitable Fund
Herwitz Law
Charity Dunphy
Robert and Patricia Dodson
Toshiko Umphrey
Stephen and Candice Kerner
Jack and Jennifer Einbinder
Kara Ballester
Andrew Eckblad
And a HUGE SHOUT OUT to our local anonymous donor who matched $3k during our fundraising campaign!
Still want to donate?
You can make a one-time donation or a recurring monthly donation (which is one of our favorites!), through our website at any time!
Thank you, from all of us at the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation! You have truly made a difference in so many families’ lives and we so appreciate it!
Warmly,
Robin Kaplan
President, San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation
Will you help us dismantle racial bias in breastfeeding/chestfeeding support?
DID YOU KNOW?
San Diego has pockets of ‘breastfeeding deserts’ where there is limited access to breastfeeding support groups and lactation consultants, specifically for low income families and families of color.
Without access to breastfeeding support, these families stop breastfeeding sooner than they planned, negatively impacting the physical and emotional health of both the nursing parent and the baby.
Will you help us dismantle this racial bias and income discrimination?
Your donations go directly to pay for lactation consultations for families, like Julia’s!
We have raised $7920 this month. Can you help us reach our goal of $10,000?
Our ability to help families like Julia’s is only possible with your help. Thank you so much for supporting our foundation!
Warmly,
Robin Kaplan
President, San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation
Is the Covid 19 Vaccine Safe to Take While Breastfeeding/Chestfeeding?
Let me start off by saying that I don’t want this to turn into a vax/anti-vax conversation. Whether you choose to vaccinate yourself and your family is a completely personal decision and one that is really none of our business.
That being said, many of our clients have reached out to us this week to ask if the covid vaccine is safe for them to get while breastfeeding/chestfeeding. Our goal is to share the most recent information about the vaccine, provided by medical professionals, so that you and your family can make an educated decision on what you would like to do.
So, what do we know about this vaccine, with reference to lactating parents?
Honestly, not much.
Since this vaccine is so new (and fast-tracked with limited clinical trials), it has not been tested on pregnant or lactating parents.
According to Mother to Baby CA, the Covid vaccine is an mRNA vaccine, which means that it doesn’t contain the live virus. ‘The mRNA vaccine works by telling cells in the body to create harmless fragments (small pieces) of the virus that causes COVID-19. These fragments cannot cause COVID-19. However, they trigger an immune response in the body that helps make antibodies against the virus.’
According to the CDC, ‘There are no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in lactating women or on the effects of mRNA vaccines on the breastfed infant or on milk production/excretion. mRNA vaccines are not thought to be a risk to the breastfeeding infant. People who are breastfeeding and are part of a group recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, such as healthcare personnel, may choose to be vaccinated.’
According to the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, ‘there is little biological plausibility that the vaccine will cause harm, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in milk may protect the breastfeeding child…. During lactation, it is unlikely that the vaccine lipid would enter the blood stream and reach breast tissue. If it does, it is even less likely that either the intact nanoparticle or mRNA transfer into milk. In the unlikely event that mRNA is present in milk, it would be expected to be digested by the child and would be unlikely to have any biological effects.’ They go on to say that,’Antibodies and T-cells stimulated by the vaccine may passively transfer into milk. Following vaccination against other viruses, IgA antibodies are detectable in milk within 5 to 7 days. Antibodies transferred into milk may therefore protect the infant from infection with SARS-CoV-2.’
So, with this lack of specific research on the Covid 19 vaccine, it is recommended that you speak with your healthcare provider to go over the pros/cons of taking the vaccine while breastfeeding/chestfeeding, based on your risk of possible exposure to the virus, your health history, and your child’s health history.
And, please continue to follow the CDC guidelines for preventing the spread of covid:
Wear a mask
Stay at least 6 feet away from others
Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
Stay safe! We will update our website with information as it becomes available.