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We need your support!


Find Resources Near You!
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Support by LocationAfrican American Breastfeeding Coalition of Oregon Call (503) 430-9072 Get Directions 2915 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Portland, OR 97212
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Baby-Friendly HospitalsAsante Three Rivers Medical Center 500 SW Ramsey Avenue, Grants Pass, OR 97527-5554 Salem Hospital 890 Oak Street SESalem, OR 97301 Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend 3333 Riverbend Drive Springfield, OR 97477 Hillsboro Medical Center 335 SE 8th Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97123
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Online Breastfeeding SupportBlack Breastfeeding Mamas Circle Group Breastfeeding Support Group for Black Moms LGBTQ Breastfeeding Resources
Hearing the Surgeon General's Call to Action for Breastfeeding
It is medically proven that breastfeeding provides the most complete source of nourishment for an infant. We seek to improve breastfeeding knowledge and success rates for all women – while focusing on women of color, locally and nationwide. We provide breastfeeding support, guidance and access to nutritional and financial services. Currently, only 25% of infants in the United States are exclusively breastfed at six months, for African-American infants, it’s only 15% of infants. It’s estimated that 20% of children never receive breast milk.
Baby Foods tainted with heavy metals – investigated by The U.S. House of Representatives
(U.S. House of Representatives - Baby Food Toxic Metals Report February 4, 2021)
We verify truthfulness of advertising and to ensure that claims about formula and baby foods are not misleading. Proper nutrition during pregnancy and in the early years of a child’s life is essential for brain development, healthy growth, and a strong immune system. With the proliferation of new manufacturers, many products that we think are safe could be dangerous with consequences.
Manufacturing, Distribution & Marketing Strategy of Infant Formula
From an infant formula corporation's annual report: "Our ability to manufacture, distribute and sell products is critical to our success.... Participation in the WIC program is an important part of our U.S. business based on the volume of infant formula sold under the program. Our financial results reflect net WIC sales, after taking into account the rebates we paid. The bid solicitation process is determined by each state’s procurement laws, but the process is relatively standardized across the WIC program. Changes in WIC, or our participation in it, could materially adversely affect our business." See full SEC Annual report here
Infant Formula interferes with infants human right to human milk and contributes to "major public health problems."
Hospital staff receive free sponsored samples (against The Code) from multibillion dollar companies, and consequently, Black mothers are nine times as likely to be given formula for their babies than mothers of other races.
Medical establishments and hospital institutions claim to provide breastfeeding support for all women; yet Black and Indigenous mothers are targeted for a multitude of free samples, coordinated advertising, and misleading campaigns. This is reflected in the staggering difference in breastfeeding rates between Black and White mothers as published in the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action.
Every governmental organization and infant formula company declares exclusive breast milk as the optimal and primary nutrition source for each and every infant during the first six-months of life. In practice, the Oregon WIC Program prohibits formula for only the first month of life and subsidizes infant formula consumption through aggressive partnerships to secure price agreements, approving hundreds of products in the State of Oregon alone.
Sources:
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American Academy of Pediatrics
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Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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U.S. House of Representatives - Toxic Metals Report
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United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF )
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The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding
RESOURCES
Centers for disease control and prevention: Breastfeeding
CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) is committed to increasing breastfeeding rates throughout the United States and to promoting and supporting optimal breastfeeding practices toward the ultimate goal of improving the public’s health.
Human Milk Bank
Donor milk is an amazing resource for families to use! If you support infants right to breast milk, then learn how you can help start a milk bank in your community!
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