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Home: Welcome
Personalized Breastfeeding Support
Gulf Coast Lactation will be opening a clinic space in Daphne August 2025
Please visit our Campaign Page to learn more.
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Our Mission

Promoting Breastfeeding: A Vital Step Toward Healthier Communities

 

Increasing the number of mothers who are successful at breastfeeding is a critical first step in improving the health of our children, our mothers, and ultimately, our communities and nation.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among infants born in 2019 (from the Alabama breastfeeding report 2023):

  • 83.2% began life receiving some breast milk.

  • 78.6% were still receiving some breast milk at 1 month.

  • At 3 months, fewer than 45% were exclusively breastfeeding.

  • By 6 months, only 55.8% continued to receive any breast milk, and just 24.9% were exclusively breastfed.

The numbers are even more concerning in Alabama, where only 37.7% of mothers are still partially breastfeeding at 6 months—and just 21% are exclusively breastfeeding.

These statistics reflect the many barriers that exist in establishing and maintaining a successful breastfeeding relationship. Despite strong evidence supporting the health benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, few mother-infant pairs in the United States meet this recommendation.

In Southeastern Alabama, the lack of accessible breastfeeding support remains a significant gap. Our mission is to deliver expert lactation care, essential maternal health services, and compassionate support through personalized consultations, classes, and resources for new and expectant parents.

Why Breastfeed?

 5 Benefits of Breastfeeding

  1. Breastfeeding strengthens your baby's immune system and decreases baby's risk of illnesses such as ear infections, diabetes, diarrhea, SIDS, and childhood leukemia. 

  2. Breastfeeding decreases mom's risk of postpartum depression. 

  3. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of childhood and adulthood obesity.

  4. Breastfeeding decreases mom's risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes, hypertension, obesity and heart attacks. 

  5. Breastfeeding saves time and money. 

A family’s breastfeeding journey usually begins in the hospital. However, supportive policies and access to continued, coordinated support in the community can help families continue breastfeeding. Once families leave their birthing setting, breastfeeding rates drop slowly but consistently. This finding suggests that families may need additional support to achieve exclusive breastfeeding and longer breastfeeding. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding-data/breastfeeding-report-card/index.html

Please use the link to submit your UHC coverage. 

If you have trouble submitting insurance, please contact us directly at (251) 455-8928. 

©2025 by Gulf Coast Lactation.

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