MilkWorks opened our doors ten years ago this month, shortly after the US Surgeon General issued a Breastfeeding Blueprint for Action calling for community support. Seven Lincoln women took this document to heart and decided that if mothers were going to be encouraged to breastfeed, they needed to have a good support system once they left the hospital. MilkWorks was developed as a free standing, non-profit organization (we are not affiliated with any hospital or doctor’s office), so we could serve all women and grow and develop based upon the needs of Lincoln families.

It is hard to believe that our first babies are now 10 years old!

We started out in 1,000 square feet and saw 100 mothers for consultations in the first year. Over the past 10 years, we have expanded our space 4 times and now provide lactation care to approximately a thousand mothers a year. We have done this without monthly fundraising letters and without insurance reimbursement for lactation consultants - a true testimony to the grass roots efforts, dedication and passion of our staff.

Until we opened our doors, breastfeeding support in our community was minimal.

Ten years later, we are proud to say that there is much more lactation help available to moms. We hope that we have influenced this. There should be many places that mothers can get help. Everyone needs to know about breastfeeding and mothers need to receive support from many sources. One organization that has worked hard for over half a century to keep breastfeeding alive is La Leche League, a mother-to-mother support group. As we stop to honor women who have made it possible for all of us, it is fitting that we pay tribute to La Leche League.

The US Surgeon General released a new Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding in late January. We are pleased to report that images from MilkWorks are included in the report. A photo of our own Suzy Meyers helping a mom was the first image projected on the screen at the web cast of the national press conference. This is a great way for us to step into the next decade of helping moms.

As always, we appreciate your support. It allows us to continue to help the next mom who walks through our doors.

Stay tuned for more celebrations - and thank you for ten years!