Every Child Thrives | W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Search
Close this search box.
Health

Normalizing breastfeeding in New Mexico

W.K. Kellogg FoundationBy
0

In April 2018, Indigenous Women Rising (IWR) won the Healthy Communities Award from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation at MIT Media Lab’s Make the Breast Pump Not Suck Hackathon in Cambridge, Mass., for adapting traditional dresses and garments to accommodate breastfeeding.

They altered the long cotton ankle-length dress with slits and pockets, making it possible for women to participate in cultural events without retreating to secret spaces to feed their infants. The ingenious alterations maintain cultural values and cost less than $10 per garment.

Check out the full story and video on the W.K. Kellogg Foundation website.

"It's obvious just by looking at the academic outcomes of our students that something is not working. The entire system is not working effectively for our children. And we need to do something different."

Edward Tabet-Cubero, former executive director of New Mexico Center on Law and Povert Tweet
Close up of a mother breastfeeding her child.
Breastfeeding in the U.S. has become a luxury, where just 14 percent of workers have access to paid leave, and one in four mothers return to work within 10 days of giving birth.
A father and a mother, each holding a young child.
The United States is the only developed country in the world without a federal paid family leave law.
Mother holding her newborn infant.
Without guaranteed paid-family leave, mothers and fathers lack critical bonding time with their newborn, and babies miss the nutritional benefits of breastfeeding.
Malia Luarkie sits with another mother in traditional regalia.
Luarkie says everyone back home is very receptive and excited about the clothing; the moms and grandmothers ask, 'Where was this when I was breastfeeding?'
Malia Luarkie showing off a dress to another breastfeeding mother.
Malia Luarkie, a 22-year-old from the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, works with Indigenous Women Rising (IWR) to revolutionize how Native women think about breastfeeding in New Mexico.
Mother holding her infant while wearing one of IWR's dresses.
Since the events at MIT, IWR has encouraged women within the tribe to wear the altered dresses, which are typically made by women in the community.
Breastfeeding mother in New Mexico tending to her child.
Ingenious Women Rising collaborates with the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force to educate women on the importance of breastfeeding.
Shaine Garcia breastfeeding her baby
"I love that these dresses allow me to feed my baby right where I am and still feel like I am a part of what's going on and not withdrawn from my family and the ceremony that's happening." Shaine Garcia, a breastfeeding mother in Pueblo de Acoma in New Mexico, shares how IWR has helped normalize breastfeeding in pueblos across New Mexico.
Picture of one of the altered dresses to accommodate for breastfeeding
IWR seamstresses alter long cotton ankle-length dress with slits and pockets, making it possible for women to participate in cultural events without retreating to secret spaces to feed their infants. The ingenious alterations maintain cultural values and cost less than $10 per garment.

You may also like

Comments

Comments are closed.

Twitter Instagram Facebook Linkedin

About

Latest

Subscribe

Privacy Policy

EveryChildThrives.com is published by the W.K Kellogg Foundation.