Coalition Champions :“Our Goal Is To Provide Breastfeeding Support When Families Need It:” An Interview with Jenny Weaver, Nurse IBCLC

"Hi I’m Jenny Weaver and I am working to provide breastfeeding support particularly in the Boston area and outlying communities. Currently I work in both Dorchester and Mattapan. This work started when I was hired by Boston Medical Center to be the facilitator for a Baby Café, which meets twice weekly.

It’s a drop-in group for families with babies even up to toddlers who are breastfeeding, or not breastfeeding. But our goal is to provide breastfeeding support for when families need it. That actually led me to providing breastfeeding support on a volunteer basis here in Mattapan.

Also another big piece of this is my connection with Vital Village Boston Breastfeeding Coalition and the Vital Village Network, because we are working to build multiple sites for breastfeeding drop in support and the communities around Boston - Roxbury, Dorchester, Hyde Park, Mattapan and South Boston.

I started as a nurse. I wanted to work with mothers and babies. That’s kind of all I knew. And around the time that I became a new nurse - which was about 29 years ago, the research on breastfeeding just started to blossom. And it was so amazing what was in breastmilk.
And as the research progressed over the years. What the benefits were for the baby. And for the mother and the parents. And how good it is for the community. And for the environment. It filled so many ways that I would hope to give back to my community. So... I just grew to love helping the moms as a post-partum nurse. I developed an expertise in it, became certified and that was primarily the Boston area that I served.

I worked at Beth Israel Deaconess. Left there. Worked at a practice. OBGYN practice at Harvard Vanguard, in Copley in Boston and then also in Cambridge. I had many a good year there. It was a very good job, but as I got older, I realized I wanted to pay it forward and so hence my work.
I hope we can provide support where there has been a lack. And also, I’ve been meeting so many wonderful families, and mothers and babies and it just continues to inspire me.”


Thank you so much Jenny for all you do for our families. You’ve been a consistent face for the past five years and we appreciate your service.

Jenny Weaver is a registered Nurse and an IBCLC and leader at two of Boston’s breastfeeding groups.
If you are interested in joining the Mattapan Breastfeeding Drop In Group, check out the information below.
​
MONDAYS
Mattapan Family and Community Engagement
Hugs and Play Group
Mattapan Library
1350 Blue Hill Avenue, Mattapan
​10:30am - 12:30pm
Jenny Weaver RN, IBCLC
Vickey Siggers
(617) 980-0970
Haitian Creole & French speaking

Codman Square Health Center Baby Café
637 Washington Street, Dorchester
Group Visit Room 2
5:00pm - 6:30pm
Jenny Weaver RN, IBCLC
​(617) 414-4370
If you are not local to Mattapan, check out the calendar for a drop-in group near you.

​WEDNESDAYS
Codman Square Health Center Baby Café
637 Washington Street, Dorchester
Group Visit Room 2
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Jenny Weaver RN, IBCLC
(617) 414-4370

About the interviewer:
Dominique is a Boston resident, breastfeeding supporter and blogger behind DommiesBlessed.