BreastfeedMerced
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Merced Breastfeeding Coalition
The California Breastfeeding Coalition (CBC) is a grassroots coalition of 43 community breastfeeding coalitions, as well as public and private partnerships that have broad reach within California’s communities. Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of Californians by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
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To accomplish our mission, the CBC works to create and strengthen collaborative relationships among state and local organizations, government agencies, hospitals and health care providers, employers and community-based breastfeeding support organizations throughout California. The aim of these collaborativeefforts is to remove all barriers to breastfeeding in California
Our Beginning
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In May 2003, facilitated by Dr. Jane Heinig of the UC Davis Human Lactation Center, representatives from community breastfeeding coalitions came together to discuss forming a statewide breastfeeding coalition to build a unified movement to increase California’s stagnant breastfeeding rates. Up until that time, local breastfeeding coalitions had been working independently on activities to promote breastfeeding in their communities. An agreement to form a statewide breastfeeding coalition was reached and a leadership team representing community breastfeeding coalitions was created.
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In October 2007, under the fiscal sponsorship of the California WIC Association (CWA), the small and dedicated leadership team of breastfeeding advocates assumed responsibility to incorporate the coalition and apply for the nonprofit 501(c)3 status. The CBC was officially recognized as a corporation in April 2011 and received its official nonprofit 501(c)3 status in January 2013, with an effective date of January 18, 2011.
Since its formation in 2003, the CBC has focused its efforts on supporting the work of community breastfeeding coalitions, increasing workplace lactation accommodation programs, increasing the number of hospitals that adopt the Baby-Friendly Hospital Ten Steps and ensuring that women in California receive high-quality breastfeeding support services throughout the continuum of care.