Breastfeeding Exclusive Spring 2019 - New Project
New Project Focuses on Health Equity in Newborn Critical Care Settings
Pictured from left to right: Jinaki Burroughs, RN, IBCLC, Doula; Jasmine Johnson- Administrative Assistant; Angela Tatum Malloy, MAT, IBCLC, Doula, Director of Momma’s Village-Fayetteville; Shatara Het Heru Bey, Doula, Pathway 3 Lactation Student; Not pictured: Taylor Johnson, MVF member and NICU mom; Dietra Dalton, RN, IBCLC; Jessica Bryant, Pathway 3 Lactation Student
We are excited to share about this collaboration between CGBI faculty, Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist and Momma’s Village-Fayetteville, a nonprofit providing support for women of color during their birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum experiences. The project will collect formative research with the end goal of advancing equitable access to lactation support and donor human milk for Black/ African-American mothers and newborns in critical care settings.
CGBI will offer capacity building support as Momma’s Village employs community-based research methodologies to better understand barriers and facilitators of equitable health service delivery in this unique setting. Information will be gathered related to life course factors, social support, and narrative experiences of mothers and their families who have been affected by racism in the NICU or NCCU setting. Insights from this research will be used to develop health interventions that address multiple levels of the social ecology of infant feeding in Black/African American communities.
The project is funded by the UNC Chapel Hill Junior Faculty Development Award, awarded to Dr. Palmquist in December of 2018. The award is sponsored by the UNC Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. Dr. Palmquist states, “Solutions for achieving health equity and resilience must be grounded in the lived experiences of the people that are most negatively impacted by racism, systemic bias and structural violence. This Jr. Faculty Award will be used to support community-driven solutions to improve equitable access to care for Black/African American mothers and their premature infants in critical-care settings.” Angela Tatum Malloy, Director of Momma’s Village-Fayetteville states, “It is important that we involve the community to develop and implement strategies to change the outcomes of the families and their premature infants we support and serve.”
