picture of african american mother and young female child

There are many physical and emotional health benefits of breastfeeding.

Love For Latch is a bold initiative by the Boston Healthy Start Initiative that aims to create an inclusive and supportive environment for breastfeeding women in Boston.

  • Breast milk is specifically tailored to meet the needs of children.
    There are many physical and emotional health benefits of breastfeeding, including protecting both mother and child from numerous illnesses and diseases.

  • Breastfeeding has many health benefits for mother and children. Unfortunately, there are many challenges driven by inequitable practices and policies that prevent women from breastfeeding.
    We must work together to develop solutions that encourage and support breastfeeding in our communities.

    • Lack of knowledge

    • Social stigma

    • Lack of employer support

    • Lack of access to health services

  • It is recommended that infants be solely breastfed for the initial 6 months and continue breastfeeding while incorporating solid foods for up to 2 years or beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child.

    In our nation, only 35.9% of infants born in 2019 were breastfed to any extent at 1 year of age.

  • Baby Cafes are free, drop-in, informal breastfeeding support groups offering ongoing professional lactation care and intervention.

    The Boston Healthy Start Initiative provides direct support to pregnant and parenting women, children, and families (care coordination, connection to resources, health education, and advocacy).

    The Healthy Baby Healthy Child program provides free home visits for pregnant and parenting families in Boston.

    The Boston Breastfeeding Coalition is a network of residents and organizations committed to improving access to breastfeeding support and promoting connections between individuals and organizations that promote breastfeeding.

    The Massachusetts Breastfeeding Initiative supports breastfeeding families and provides technical assistance and training to healthcare professionals.

    WIC is a nutrition program that provides healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare and other services, free of charge, to Massachusetts families who qualify.

    Love Your Menses is a nonprofit organization in Boston offering postpartum education and support groups.

Through invested community collaboration, we help black women feel connected and confident in their breastfeeding journey.

Engage
our community

The Love For Latch initiative aims to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding and lactation for everyone. We use “women,” “mother,” “maternal,” and other gendered terms to describe the health behaviors, health status, and health outcomes of people who experience pregnancy and give birth. In using this language, BPHC recognizes this population as a category of people who experience pregnancy and give birth to be inclusive of cis-gender, transgender, gender-diverse, and non-binary persons.

Contact

loveforlatch@bphc.org
(857) 383-9488

Location

1010 Massachusetts Avenue. Annex.
Boston, Massachusetts 02118