Last Updated: August 27, 2024
Adranae Mena, RHHD’s new Maternity Navigation Coordinator, is the mom of three kids, born almost fifteen years apart. In that time, she observed real changes in newborn delivery: “I had a doula when I gave birth to my now 19- and 21-year-olds, and what a big difference to have that type of support. I didn’t have a doula for my 33-year-old. Now, I think there’s more support for parents’ decisions.”
Adranae breastfed each of her children, a choice she credits to the resources she had available: “I was fortunate to be able to do it. I gave birth at Henrico Doctors Hospital, had health insurance, and received tremendous support from my mom and family.”
During National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Adranae encourages expecting families to take a big picture view of their baby’s nutrition needs:
Nourishing yourself nourishes your baby.
“It’s so important to take care of yourself to be able to breastfeed,” Adranae says. “When you breastfeed, you don’t have to worry about where the baby’s food is coming from. However, you do have to know where food is coming from for yourself. It pushes the mama to take care of herself, and that’s what we want. We want parents looking at their own health differently so that they can take of their babies.” Strategies for nourishing yourself include the following:
- Find out if the WIC program is right for you. WIC—or the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Food Program—provides nutritious foods for eligible pregnant folks and families with kids under five years old.
- Get help quitting smoking. RHHD’s Free From Tobacco program is accepting new clients in Richmond! Stepping away from tobacco can be difficult at any time, but new parents can see the impacts on their children pretty immediately. Get support making this difficult but important life transition by filling out the program’s help form at Rhhd.gov/tobaccofree.
- Stay hydrated! As Public Health Nurse Joane Bradshaw shared in a recent newsletter, drinking water before, during, and after breastfeeding replenishes fluids lost during nursing.
Different parents need different kinds of support—and that’s okay.
Adranae says it’s “super important” for National Breastfeeding Awareness Month to recognize specific populations each week. “Depending on demographics, experiences of breastfeeding can change a lot. When I nursed, I had La Leche League, but I was the only Latina there. And some communities don’t consider breastfeeding an automatic choice.”
- Find a doula who gets you. A number of doula organizations in our communities—including Health Equity Fund recipients Urban Baby Beginnings and Birth in Color—work to support families of color.
- Explore a new perspective. This year, breastfeeding advocates celebrate Indigenous Milk Medicine Week, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week, Black Breastfeeding Week, and Semana de la Lactancia Latina, along with observances for breastfeeding in the workplace and for military families. Learning more about the challenges and expertise different populations bring to childbirth and nourishment makes us all healthier.
- Understand health disparities in pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Andrea Freeman’s book, Skimmed: Breastfeeding, Race, and Injustice, explains some of the social and historical context that has led to lower breastfeeding rates in Black families. During this awareness month, learn more by watching Birth in Color’s 2023 Black Breastfeeding Week webinar or by exploring VCU’s training module on health equity and maternal health.
Learn more about RHHD’s maternity navigation services by visiting our website or calling 804-501-5520 (Henrico) or 804-482-5454 (Richmond).