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Phoebe McIntosh Vital Village Networks Community Mobilization AmeriCorps VISTA  Building Bridges Through Empathy and Advocacy: Alecia’s Work in Lactation Support and Health Equity
Alecia (Lee) E.’s journey into lactation support began with a deep commitment to providing compassionate, comprehensive care to families navigating childbirth and breastfeeding. With a background in patient care, project management, and program coordination, Alecia has always been driven by advocacy. Their work has consistently focused on dismantling the barriers and silos in healthcare, particularly in the systems that impact vulnerable families. A pivotal moment came to Alecia during their work in direct patient care while in nursing school. Realizing that the limitations of institutional care were preventing them from aligning their values with the career they always pictured themselves in, Alecia stepped outside of clinical patient care, choosing to focus on community health work. In this transition, Alecia deepened their understanding of how social determinants of health - like housing and food insecurity - impact families' ability to engage with the healthcare system effectively. Working in program coordination, they saw how these barriers affect the well-being of both parents and children. Currently, Alecia works as a project manager in Health Equity at Boston Children’s Hospital. For them, lactation support is part of a larger effort to tackle food insecurity. "Starting from the very foundation… chest feeding feels like work towards food security," they noted. In 2020, Alecia began to consider training as a doula, achieving this goal by 2022. Inspired to seek caregiving opportunities outside of institutional Western medicine, this decision came after witnessing how being present to support a family member who was experiencing postpartum complications impacted the care they were receiving. "[Just the presence of] someone else who seems knowledgeable makes a difference in these spaces," Alecia stated, highlighting the significance of supportive, informed care during a vulnerable time. Alecia’s ability to expand support for families grew through the 2024 Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) Community Transformer Training, hosted by the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition and ROSE. Through this program, they not only enhanced their own skills but also broadened their network within the lactation field. “It’s a great way to increase your network of perinatal practitioners,” Alecia said. This experience helped them learn how to better engage families, creating safe spaces for them to share their breastfeeding needs and learn how to provide nonjudgmental, empathetic care. Alecia’s work with the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition has further strengthened these abilities, especially in providing resources and support while maintaining an empathetic approach. As a regular volunteer at the Baby and Me Lactation Support Group at the BPL Mattapan branch, which meets weekly at 10:30 am, they easily completed the 6-month service commitment that accompanies the ROSE Training. However, they have no plans to stop volunteering anytime soon. Alecia’s advice for anyone interested in the lactation field is simple: “Take the training, make the connections, volunteer your time. Don't wait until you're "ready". It's worth it” They encourage others to show up, connect with the community, and keep learning in this essential space. Through advocacy, community-based work, and a dedication to growth, Alecia continues to make an impact, ensuring that families receive the compassionate and informed care that they deserve Looking ahead, Alecia envisions a future where lactation support is fully integrated into broader community health efforts, emphasizing accessibility, education, and advocacy. Their dream is for a community where families feel empowered to access the care they need, and lactation professionals are supported by mentorship and funding. “It’s about creating spaces of connection,” they shared. “We want these traditional practices and discussions around them to be normalized and for people to feel supported.” To learn more about Alecia’s work, look out for their birth work Instagram page coming soon. Instagram: @firstalterbirthwork If you want to learn more about the impactful stories of the Boston Breastfeeding Coalition and its many influential members, please explore the Coalition’s website or email [email protected].
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