A Resource Page for the Regional Action Lab — Co-Creating the Lactation Landscape
Each idea below aligns with the BFFC 10 Steps to a Breastfeeding Family Friendly Community and the new US National Plan. The cards give two entry points — what one person can do this year, and what a coalition can take on together. Pick one. Start there.
About this resource
Welcome to the resource hub for Co-Creating the Lactation Landscape: A Regional Action Lab for the Year Ahead — the peer-learning session at the 2026 National Breastfeeding Conference & Convening (June 4, 2026, in Bethesda, MD).
This page works two ways:
- For workshop attendees: use this as your live reference during the session. Open the slides, work through your circles and SMART goal, and pick an idea below to act on this year.
- For anyone working on community breastfeeding support: come back to this page any time. Each idea has a small action one person can take alone and a larger one your coalition can build together.
How to use this page
Each idea below is one card. Inside every card, you’ll find two entry points side by side:
ONE PERSON CAN
A concrete action one person can take this year — no coalition required, no funding needed, no waiting for a committee.
A COALITION CAN
What your group can build together — with timelines, accountability, and the scale only a coalition can reach.
Each card also names the US National Plan topic area it aligns with, and links to toolkits, templates, and example programs you can use today.
Pick one. Start there.
Workshop resources
Use these alongside the ideas below to plan your year:
Workshop Slides
The full presentation from the Regional Action Lab session — overview, the four circles, SMART-goal walkthrough.
View slides →
Circles & SMART Goals Worksheet
Map your community’s circles of support, then write a SMART goal you can hold yourself and your coalition accountable to.
Download PDF →
All Ideas (Printable PDF)
A printable PDF of every idea on this page — share with your team, post in your office, or bring to your next coalition meeting.
Download PDF →
Proclamation & Policy Foundation
ONE PERSON CAN
Submit a city or county Breastfeeding Month proclamation in your name. Use the toolkit, take it door to door at city hall, get it on the agenda, post the result on your socials.
A COALITION CAN
Coordinate proclamations across every municipality in your region for National Breastfeeding Month. Track which jurisdictions sign on and publish the map publicly.
Aligns with National Plan: Sponsor and Leverage Proclamations and Statements
Resources: BFFC Proclamation Toolkit
Doula & Midwife Integration Meeting
ONE PERSON CAN
Convene a 90-minute virtual or in-person meeting with the doulas and midwives in your community. You don’t need a coalition — you need a calendar invite and a shared doc.
A COALITION CAN
Make this an annual regional summit. Track commitments quarterly. Publish gaps closed each year as a public accountability report.
Aligns with National Plan: Invest in Lactation Workforce Development
Resources: BFFC Community Organizations
Write a Local Strategic Plan
ONE PERSON CAN
Read the new USBC National Plan when it’s released. Share it with colleagues. Give a slide presentation or submit a blog article to your state or local coalition, health department, or a group of colleagues.
A COALITION CAN
Develop your own multi-year Human Milk Feeding Strategic Plan modeled on Breastfeed Durham’s. Tie every objective to community-identified priorities.
Aligns with National Plan: Affected Communities in Decision-Making Roles
Resources: Breastfeed Durham Strategic Plan
Visible Welcoming Signage & Public Art
ONE PERSON CAN
Put “Breastfeeding Welcome Here” signs up at your own workplace. Post them where employees and patrons can see them.
A COALITION CAN
Run a public art campaign across your region. Develop the imagery with local artists and partner with public health to install in libraries, parks, transit stops, and city facilities.
Aligns with National Plan: Welcoming Environments and Inclusive Imagery
Resources: Breastfeed Durham — Public Art • BFFC Welcoming Families
Affinity Group Convening — Your Community
ONE PERSON CAN
If you identify as part of an affinity community — Indigenous or Tribal, Black Breastfeeding Coalition, LGBTQIA+, single parents, fathers and co-parents, recovery community, non-English-speaking, rural, military families, or any community you call your own — convene a 90-minute meeting for the people who share your identity to map resources and gaps for your own community.
A COALITION CAN
Host affinity-group convenings as a recurring track in your coalition. Resource them with translation, childcare, and stipends so the people doing this work aren’t doing it for free.
Aligns with National Plan: Affected Communities in Decision-Making Roles
Resources: Breastfeed Durham Belonging
Educate Families During Pregnancy
ONE PERSON CAN
WIC offices and health departments should already have breastfeeding resources. Review the resources at your WIC office, local health department, or breastfeeding coalition to make sure they’re still accurate and up to date.
A COALITION CAN
Standardize a prenatal breastfeeding curriculum (like Ready Set Baby) across every prenatal care site in your region. Build it into routine OB, midwifery, and birth center visits.
Aligns with National Plan: Embed Breastfeeding Education Across Lifespan and Sectors
Resources: BFFC Informing Families • Breastfeed Durham
Recruit Breastfeeding Friendly Businesses
ONE PERSON CAN
Take or create a Breastfeeding Friendly Business form and bring it door to door. Recruit one business per Thursday lunch break. Submit each one to your state coalition. Post each new business on your social media.
A COALITION CAN
Aim for one business per 10,000 residents per year — building toward the BFFC designation target of one business per 500 residents to normalize breastfeeding across the community. Publish a public directory. Produce a rack card for clinics, libraries, and community centers.
Aligns with National Plan: Welcoming Environments and Supportive Business Practices
Resources: BFFC Business Case • Breastfeed Durham — Welcome Here
Educate Pharmacists (WHO Code, Locally)
ONE PERSON CAN
Make a list of every pharmacy in your community. Visit one per week on your lunch break with a rack card. 52 pharmacies in a year.
A COALITION CAN
Partner with the local pharmacy school. Embed lactation-supportive medication counseling into pharmacy CE. Train every pharmacist in the region.
Aligns with National Plan: Confront and Regulate Predatory Marketing Practices
Workplace Lactation Accommodations
ONE PERSON CAN
Are your coworkers getting their lactation accommodations met at your place of employment? Find out whether your employer has a written lactation accommodation policy. If not, advocate for one. If yes, find out whether coworkers can actually use it.
A COALITION CAN
Partner with your local chamber of commerce to convene an employer cohort. Develop a regional standard for lactation accommodations beyond the legal minimum. Promulgate the US Business Case for Breastfeeding annually.
Aligns with National Plan: Paid Family and Medical Leave with Lactation Protections
Resources: BFFC Business Case
Paid Family Leave Advocacy
ONE PERSON CAN
Write one letter to one legislator each month. Tell one story about why paid family leave protects breastfeeding. Twelve letters in a year.
A COALITION CAN
Build a paid family leave campaign tied explicitly to lactation protections (PUMP Act and beyond). Partner with labor, maternal health, and family policy organizations.
Aligns with National Plan: Paid Family and Medical Leave with Lactation Protections
Resources: BFFC Business Case
Normalize Breastfeeding in Preschools
ONE PERSON CAN
Read one book about mammals that normalizes breastfeeding — like Babies Nurse / Así se alimentan los bebés by Phoebe Fox — at one preschool storytime in your community. Donate the book to the classroom.
A COALITION CAN
Embed breastfeeding-normalizing content into the preschool curriculum across your region. Train preschool teachers. Stock classroom libraries.
Aligns with National Plan: Embed Breastfeeding Education Across Lifespan and Sectors
Resources: BFFC Support in Child Cares
Childcare Provider Training
ONE PERSON CAN
Deliver one training to one childcare site (daycare or family childcare home) on safe milk handling, paced bottle feeding, and supporting breastfeeding parents at drop-off.
A COALITION CAN
Integrate breastfeeding-supportive practices into your state’s childcare licensing requirements and CCR&R training. Train every provider in the region.
Aligns with National Plan: Embed Breastfeeding Education Across Lifespan and Sectors
Resources: BFFC Support in Child Cares
Engage K–12 Schools to Normalize Breastfeeding
ONE PERSON CAN
Put together a nursing basket for any pregnant teacher or staff member at your kid’s school. Include a few of your favorites and a few generic, less-personal items — a breastmilk storage bag, a small cooler for milk transport, a teething necklace, a list of local lactation support resources, and a copy of If My Mom Were a Platypus by Dia Michels.
A COALITION CAN
Work with your K–12 schools to welcome breastfeeding patrons (including volunteers nursing at school events), support lactating students and employees, and normalize breastfeeding as part of mammal education within the school system curriculum.
Aligns with National Plan: Embed Breastfeeding Education Across Lifespan and Sectors
Resources: BFFC Support in K–16 Schools
Engage Local Universities
ONE PERSON CAN
Reach out to your local university. Ask if you can give one presentation to one class in your field of study or expertise — about how folks in your field can normalize breastfeeding.
A COALITION CAN
Use the BFFC university checklist to collaborate with one university to complete the checklist. Send the results to one administrator with one specific ask.
Aligns with National Plan: Embed Breastfeeding Education Across Lifespan and Sectors
County IYCF-E Policy in Emergency Plans
ONE PERSON CAN
Email your county emergency manager. Ask for one meeting. Bring one model policy. Walk out with a follow-up date.
A COALITION CAN
Get an IYCF-E policy formally adopted in your county’s emergency operations plan. Build the relationship before the next disaster.
Aligns with National Plan: Strengthening IYCF-E through Preparedness and Community Leadership
Resources: IYCF-E County Policy Adoption Toolkit
Train First Responders (IYCF-E)
ONE PERSON CAN
Review the SAFE Infant Feeding Team’s video series on infant and young child feeding in emergencies.
A COALITION CAN
Build a standing training partnership with your county emergency management agency. Get IYCF-E into onboarding for every new first responder.
Aligns with National Plan: Strengthening IYCF-E through Preparedness and Community Leadership
Resources: SAFE Infant Feeding Video Series