Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition

MBC promotes and protects breastfeeding in Minnesota.

We need your support to thrive.

MBC was formed in 2006 by a group of volunteers seeking to improve the health of babies, families and communities through promoting and supporting breast/chestfeeding.  

We support lactation professionals and advocates to do their best work with the families they serve. We make sure local and cultural coalitions have the capacity to meet their communities' needs.

Our funding priorities:

• Next Gen Lactation: In response to community members' concerns about the difficulty of accessing training to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), MBC established the Next Gen Lactation (Next Gen) program in 2021. Training to become an IBCLC takes up to 5 years and includes the requirement of 300–1,000 hours of clinical internship, which is often unpaid. 
  
  Next Gen candidates are accepted into this cohort-based program based on their passion for becoming a lactation consultant and the value they can bring to their communities. The Next Gen coordinator, herself a graduate of the program, and members of the Next Gen subcommittee connect candidates with educational opportunities, clinical internship sites, and ongoing mentorship. Our program not only makes these connections, but pays for training and provides stipends to make this career path more accessible to those who are historically underrepresented in the field of lactation. 
  
  Next Gen is currently funded through the generosity of donors and grant funding available for Hennepin County WIC peer counselors, but ongoing support is needed to sustain this life-changing workforce development opportunity. Our program supports up to 12 candidates at a time; three candidates have passed the board certification exam to become IBCLCs, two more took the exam this year and are waiting on results, and we will have additional candidates prepared to sit for the exam at the next cycle.
  
  Read more about how we are fostering a more inclusive, diverse lactation workforce.
• Operating costs: MBC's operating budget is under $90,000 per year, with most of our funding coming from small grants and revenue from our annual conference. Currently, MBC employs three part-time contract employees (Interim Executive Director, Events Coordinator, and Next Gen Coordinator) in order to keep essential functions running in an otherwise volunteer-led organization. 

What we do:

• Provide education to lactation professionals, physicians, nurses, public health employees, and others who provide care and services for families. 
  • Check out our resources for professionals, including a free prenatal education toolkit and information for food pantries to distribute to lactating parents in need.
• Partner with organizations throughout the state to promote, protect, and support breast/chestfeeding and advocate for families throughout the state of Minnesota. 
  • Read about the first U.S. fatwa regarding pasteurized donor milk for Muslim infants, a collaboration between local Muslim leaders and scholars, Children’s Minnesota and M Health Fairview neonatologists, the Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies, Minnesota Breastfeeding Coalition members, and Brighter Health Minnesota community health leaders.
• Act as a resource and networking hub for cultural, local, and regional breastfeeding coalitions. 
  • We have regular monthly meetings for networking, as well as periodic educational events.

 Together, we can achieve:

Healthy Babies, Healthy Families, Healthy Communities

Learn more about MBC history, projects, leadership, and resources at our website.