Future Coalition Plans

After announcing my resignation as chair of the Boone, Clinton and Montgomery County Breastfeeding Coalition and spreading the news, unanimously I've heard, "Not interested in taking over the position." The real tragedy is that I spent hours and hours establishing our coalition as a non-for-profit and gathering the appropriate resources to best offer lactation stations, pump rentals, support groups, and provider networking within our three counties. We have a savings account and this blog.

While I had no intentions of abandoning the coalition, I am not in a position to make the changes our counties so desperately need. Working outside the hospital infrastructure, I am limited in my influence.

My clientele base currently, is supported in their choice to breastfeed. The vast majority exclusively breastfeed through six months, and they are all offered provider support, a mother support group, and have available to them a good source of lactation supplies and tools as they might prove necessary. More importantly, my responsibilities with Believe Midwifery Services have escalated so that I can commit to little else.

Rather than kill the coalition entirely and have someone later have to recreate the wheel, I've decided to continue the coalition in blog. I'll maintain the non-for-profit status, the bank account, and will continue to be a resource, but primarily through writing and sharing my findings and thoughts here. The support group will continue, hosted by Believe Midwifery, and we'll continue to offer ourselves as a Hygeia retail center. January Gilley CLC is working towards her IBCLC and certainly has interest in offering a support group in Montgomery County. We can support her in those efforts, and as always, the Lactation Station will continue in Thorntown Turning Leaves Festivals. Beyond that festival however, I can not commit at this time.

Maybe another passionate breastfeeding advocate will surface within the community and be eager to continue the walk. Until then, I'll carry the torch.