Those who settle on policies for lactation support need to hear and learn from you. Oftentimes, decision makers have little understanding about lactation. Yet, it’s a relevant public health issue.
Families know what it’s like to experience gaps in support. Your experience will inform positive policies. Keep sending the message.
• Providing Human Breast Milk is normal. However, it’s not always easy.
• Providing Human Breast Milk is a health issue, not a lifestyle choice.
• We need to do better, for all families, to provide timely, skilled support.
Here are two examples of effective advocacy.
1. My colleagues and I saw the value of IBCLC home visits for new families. However, our visits were accessible mostly to those who could pay and wait to get reimbursed. * This concerned us. Through the work of the Massachusetts Lactation Consultant Association (MLCA), we set up a phone meeting with administrators of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts. We discussed the need for IBCLC support in the home.
Several minutes into our conversation, an administrator asked, “Why would a woman need breastfeeding support once she’s left the hospital?”
Like sun streaming in after a rainy morning…. this opened a great space for a productive conversation. We explained: Because the hospital stay is short and parents are overwhelmed with information and fatigue. Because major changes in her milk supply happen when she is at home. Because there can be other issues that take time to address… and so on. They did hear us.
Soon the policy was changed. BC/BS of MA started reimbursing for IBCLC home visits. What impressed me was that this person had an important influence on policy and yet, didn’t understand the situation. Thank goodness we met and they asked.
2. In 2019 and 2020, the Maine senate heard testimonies regarding MaineCare coverage of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM). My colleagues described the value of PDHM for babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Naomi Bar-Yam of the Mothers Milk Bank of New England provided information about PDHM and the reduced rates of Necrotizing Enterocolitis, the increased cost savings for the hospital and more.
While considering this documented information, one senator asked “But couldn’t we just give them formula? What’s the difference?”
That was an excellent question from someone tasked with this important decision. Human Breast Milk and Formula are different. The committee learned that the newborn’s gut membrane is immature and Human Breast Milk, unlike artificial infant food, protects and aids in the gut development for life long benefits. That is essential to understand. Due to all the testimony, and no opposition, the bill eventually passed.
Administrators, legislators, grandparents, store managers, teachers, day care providers, aunties and uncles, friends, employers…I would like everyone to know this:
• Providing Human Breast Milk is normal. However, it’s not always easy.
• Providing Human Breast Milk is a health issue, not a lifestyle choice.
• We need to do better, for all families, to provide timely, skilled support.
Our task is to clearly convey these facts. Policies that promote and protect lactation benefit families and our community as a whole.
Keep sending the message
* IBCLC home visits are included in Aetna plans.
* Some insurance companies will reimburse for IBCLC home visits. Some will only reimburse for office visits.
* MaineCare will cover the cost of your visit with me, an IBCLC, at Anchored Women’s Health. There is no charge to you for as many visits as you need. .
