Q&A With Dr. Janelle McClain
Dr. Janelle McClain is the CEO and Executive Director of Breastfeeding Outreach for Our Beautiful Sisters (B.O.O.B.S.), a non-profit dedicated to maternal and child health services. Dr. McClain is driven by her unwavering commitment to building a healthier and more supportive community for Black mothers and babies.
We are in an age where visual testimonies become ‘truth testimonies’. It gives other mothers hope when they can visually see and witness other breastfed babies, happy and healthy.
Q: Can you share a specific example from your work where you've witnessed differential roadblocks that uniquely impact a Black mother's access to quality lactation guidance or support?
This is a great question and has a multidimensional answer in terms of “roadblocks” that impact African American mother’s access to quality lactation. For one, there is a roadblock to access to basic education on breastfeeding! There is an unspoken expectation that breastfeeding is mechanically, logistically, and a natural process that is understood by all birthing mothers. This misunderstanding leads to early breastfeeding cessation and a lack of early initiation. We surveyed a community of expecting mothers and our survey findings indicate that next to 60% of expecting mothers had not received any formal breastfeeding education. And of those few mothers that received breastfeeding education, only 37% of the breastfeeding education they received was more than 30 minutes, which suggests that whatever breastfeeding education they received wasn’t very comprehensive.
Next, the mothers we serve in the community often express concerns about breastfeeding difficulties from which they have learned via a family member, a friend, social media and unfortunately misguided by their medical professional. Specifically, one of our mothers shared an experience where her medical provider told her that her baby was under weight during the time of the baby’s checkup and was advised to give the baby on formula in order to “match the height or weight” chart. Mom felt that she was failing as a breastfeeding mother because she was not meeting a hospital metric or an industry standard. She also shared that her sister indeed “stopped breastfeeding and switched to formula feeding” because her medical provider said she was not providing “enough nutrition from breastfeeding”. These shared experiences from the mothers that we serve are damaging the mental health of mothers and the overall health of their babies.
Lastly, a roadblock to continuation support at home and through the first six months of exclusive breastfeeding is a great barrier to continued exclusive breastfeeding, however this is coupled by returning to work and getting adequate support on the job. Specifically, we had a breastfeeding mother who worked in the school system as a para educator and was having difficulty finding time and a place to breastfeed at work. We connected her to the WorkLifeLaw organization with a specific attorney who spoke with her on the phone, gave her advice and information along with the number to US Depart of Labor where should could file a claim against the employer.
Q: What message of hope and empowerment would you give to a Black first-time mother who might be feeling overwhelmed or unsure about breastfeeding?
One way we offer a message of hope and empowerment is by showing mother actual images of healthy, happy and thriving breastfed babies. We are in an age where visual testimonies become “truth testimonies”. It gives other mothers hope when they can visually see and witness other breastfed babies, happy and healthy. We take the approach of “show and tell” where African American mothers can see and know the full value of breastfeeding their babies. The other key piece to easing anxiety, or a person being unsure or overwhelmed is to educate, inform and advocate for breastfeeding. The more mothers know about the breastfeeding process, whether is the “how to breastfeed” or “what’s in it for me”, the more mothers are empowered to offer their babies breastmilk.
Q: Imagine a future where Black mothers in Cincinnati face no barriers to successful breastfeeding. What key partnerships would be essential to achieve this vision, and how could B.O.O.B.S. facilitate such collaborations?
B.O.O.B.S imagines a time when as a collective community our primary focus is on maintaining optimal health of mothers and babies in the community as opposed to waging the war against poor health. A time when access to education, proper nutritional food options, health care services, adequate finances, racial harmony, and safety are fundamental to every single home in the community. In our eight years of community service experience, we have managed to partner with key shared interest organizations. As a collective, the issues relating to maternal and child health specifically in the African American community have been at the forefront of leading the charge against the healthcare crisis and addressing the health care crisis head on in the unique format of inviting the end user to the decision making table and being open to listen and hear from those that are most affected by this healthcare phenomenon. B.O.O.B.S struggles to exist as a independent community program and requires an essential long-term parent-funding partnership in order to continue to serve the community mothers and babies. B.O.O.B.S has been completely open to working with collective partnerships to help facilitate identifying systemic changes, strategic planning and helping to build inter-organizational relationships that ultimately strengthen how we all work together for the collective greater advantage for the mothers and babies we serve.
Q: In addition to running your own nonprofit organization, you co-chair Edith Institute’s board. What unique role can Edith Institute play that fits into the maternal health ecosystem in Cincinnati?
Edith Institutes is a dynamic nonprofit organization that is directly aligned with the interest of improving maternal and child health issues and is uniquely position from an organization and professional service standpoint to offer training and resources to help health care organizations understand and apply principles to address systemic racism along with designing interventions that promote institution change that ultimately close the gap in quality health measures. Similar to the vast community collective efforts, Edith Institute includes those who are directly affected in the decision-making conversations so that there is a fundamental understanding of what the lived experiences are and which is the best direction to take in order to best resolve those issues. One of Edith Institutes advantages is that it is an independent organization that is not heavy with administration, they are flexible, adaptable and can make efficient decisions without the sluggish layers of large institutions.
Learn more about Dr. McClain's impactful work and foilow her ongoing mission to empower Black mothers with breastfeeding support and build a healthier community, here.
