Boston Medical Center awarded grant to support breastfeeding

The Breastfeeding Center at Boston Medical Center (BMC) has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Trustees of the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation to help support the Hospital Education of Lactation Practices (HELP) Lowell Program.

An innovative, education-based program, HELP Lowell aims to raise breastfeeding rates among new mothers, with a focus on women from minority and impoverished backgrounds. Lowell has the third lowest breastfeeding rate of any city in Massachusetts.

Thanks to the generosity of the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation, the Breastfeeding Center at BMC will partner with Lowell General Hospital, Saints Memorial Hospital, and Lowell Community Health Center, Inc. to update institutional policies, improve the maternity environment and educate health care providers about the best maternity care practices to support breastfeeding families.

“Breastfeeding is the optimal form of nutrition for infants,” says Anne Merewood, MA, IBCLC, director of Research at The Breastfeeding Center at BMC. “This grant will help us create a breastfeeding friendly environment in Lowell’s health care facilities that serve pregnant women and new mothers.”

Established in 1944, the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation’s primary goal is to make effective grants that benefit the city of Lowell and its residents. The foundation is especially committed to assisting underserved individuals, including refugees, immigrants and people of color, as well as disadvantaged young women, the elderly and children. http://www.bu.edu