All Blog Posts

02/26/13

Just imagine they’re all four years old.” Someone once told me to try that when I was nervous about speaking in front of a group. Maybe you’ve heard it too: Look out at the audience and imagine them all as… preschoolers. Clearly, whoever coined that little quip had not spent a lot of time around...

MomsRising Together

Ann Hedreen

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

Good news arrived earlier this month in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on breastfeeding rates. The CDC found that from 2000 to 2008, the percentage of women overall who initiated breastfeeding increased from 70.3 percent to 74.6 percent. During the same time...

MomsRising Together

Diana N. Derige

02/26/13

(Photo courtesy of the Rio Arriba Community Health Council blog.) Ever since New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez said she would support making Medicaid accessible to more uninsured New Mexicans, healthcare workers and advocates working in communities around the state have been identifying ways in...

MomsRising Together

Elisa Batista

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

As I travel the country in my consulting work, I’m always asking everyone and anyone if they knew of any African American IBCLC's. Sometimes I use my intrepid journalism skills and other times I must use more grapevine and Underground Railroad-like pathways. In some cities, there are stories and...

MomsRising Together

Kimberly Seals Allers

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

Baby Amor was born on February 6, 2012, weighing 1.92 pounds. He had surgery – with many complications – and was held in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cook County Stroger Jr. Hospital for seven months. In March 2012, with generous support from the VNA Foundation , HealthConnect One and...

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RoiAnn Phillips

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

There’s no doubt about it – public awareness and support for breastfeeding is at an all-time high. In fact, we just may be reaching the “tipping point.” Recent years have seen an unprecedented level of attention and commitment to improving the “landscape of breastfeeding support” and the media has...

MomsRising Together

Cathy Carothers

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

Reflecting on Black History Month, we have a tendency to hear stories about the Rosa Parks, Mahalia Jackson, Jackie Robinson-type icons who broke through color barriers to lay the foundation of a better future for people of color. As a doctoral student studying public health, I am proud that in the...

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Tyra Gross

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

During my pregnancy there was no doubt in my mind that I would breastfeed my daughter, why wouldn’t I? So in my excitement as a first time mother to be I read a number of ‘Mothers & Babies’ magazines and websites on the issue. I prepared myself aptly by purchasing what was said to be the best...

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Tokunbo Koiki

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

When I decided to become a mother at age 21, I had no idea how to prepare. I just knew in my heart that I wanted to do any and everything most natural and beneficial for my child. My doctors were supportive of me deciding to breastfeed so shortly after giving birth they placed my daughter in my...

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Tennille Patterson

Health Care Blog Carnivals

02/26/13

I am the proud mother of 5 breastfed babies. I started as a breastfeeding teenage mother. I went from being a breastfeeding mother to being a breastfeeding peer counselor, to becoming a CLC. I have dedicated my life to empowering women to successfully breastfeed their babies and reap the benefits...

MomsRising Together