Scholar Stories: Dominique Bellegarde

“Let Us Love Up On Your Baby”: Meet Dominique Bellegarde from the Codman Square Health Center Baby Café

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Dominique Bellegarde is a mother of four, CLC (certified lactation counselor) and peer counselor at the Codman Square Health Center.

She calls herself, “a woman of the community.” Which means she tries be involved in as many activities that empower parents and families.

Dominique’s commitment to the community led her to the Baby Café. She believes the “Baby Café is the place to be” and refers to it as a “safe haven,” a place where families can address their breastfeeding concerns and/or just come to be around other people.

During our interview, Dominique juggles nursing her own daughter and rocking another little boy who came to work with her that day [not shown due to permission issues]. After making sure both of the children were attended to, Dominique continued to talk about her work as a peer counselor.
She encourages mothers to come to Baby Café to “show off [their] babies.” Even if they are tired, Dominique wants parents to relax, eat, talk and let others at the Baby Café “love up on [their] baby.”
Dominique has personally seen the impact of parents sharing their issues with each other. She says they “feel comfortable… safe… and relaxed.”

She gets excited talking about how she greets new families who come to the Baby Café.“It’s a celebration. You took the step to come out here and be around other people.”

Dominique also describes some of the workshops that the Baby Café has had including infant massage, yoga and how to wrap your baby.
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Dominique ends the video encouraging moms, and especially dads who “might see breast“ to come join families at the Codman Square Health Center Baby Café.

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Thank you Dominique Bellegarde for your dedication to our community and families.

If you are interested in joining the Codman Square Health Center Baby Café, check out the information below.

MONDAYS
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
​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

If you are not local to Codman Square, check out our calendar for a drop-in group near you.

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