Open Arms Lactation Support Peer Counselors

12/11/2023

We're getting ready for 2024!! We're making some adjustments to our Lactation Education program to make it more accessible and supportive! Application to join will go live tomorrow, and we have info sessions in December and January to answer any questions you may have. Thank you to for making this opportunity possible 💗

10/21/2023

Starting this Friday 10/27/23, from 11am to 1pm, then reoccuring every 3rd Friday of the month.

Please RSVP at the link below so we know how many people will be joining.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI1Ms3avJT12CrJth89siYeOPaf5YCCzdkYXmiYYDMY5_ptg/viewform?usp=pp_url

The zoom link is below:

https://openarmsps-org.zoom.us/j/84054351896?pwd=SUQ0RXRhekwrd3hGMSt4MmRaRStndz09

10/14/2022

Another infant formula recall 😔 this time ready-to-feed 2oz prepared formula. If you're using 2oz sizes of prepared formula, please check this link to determine if yours have been affected.

Home for info about the recall of powder infant formulas and 2 fl oz ready-to-feed liquid products.

10/06/2022

If you are a Black, Indigenous, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, or Latine lactation professional in King County WA who is *thisclose* to being able to register for the March 2023 IBLCE exam - Open Arms is here for you!!! We are putting together a study group, with access to preparation materials, and funds to register for the test or fill in the gap if you have an eligibility requirement piece you can finish asap. We are taking applications to join this IBLCE exam preparation community until 5pm 10/15/22 as IBLCE exam registration opens on 10/21 and we want to help you BE READY!

Full details at https://openarmsps-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/elizabeth_openarmsps_org/EfWQh5o5_AFDk412nvR1eMABT1WKu-gDh_p-RNsHFgjaLA

Application at
https://forms.office.com/r/KtV3kWD7xT

09/30/2022

The application is LIVE to join our Community Lactation Specialist Cohorts or IBCLC Candidate Community! These applications are open to folks from our focus communities (Black, Turtle Island Indigenous or pueblo originario, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, Latine) at all levels of lactation experience looking to deepen their skills in a community based setting.

Full details can be found here: https://openarmsps-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/elizabeth_openarmsps_org/EfWQh5o5_AFDk412nvR1eMABT1WKu-gDh_p-RNsHFgjaLA?e=dOkNVg

Application can be found here: https://forms.office.com/r/KtV3kWD7xT

Join our informational next week to ask any questions you may have!
October 4th, 2pm-3:30pm Pacific time
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtcO-prjMvH9ZrEAQgrEjdNhUMMnkSZT61

The overview:
All applications open 9/30/22
• IBCLC applications close 10/15/2022 and candidates will be selected by 11/1/22
• Community Lactation Specialist cohort applications close 10/24/22 and candidates will be selected by 11/15/22
Candidates may be contacted for an interview or more information before selections are made.

1. Community Lactation Specialist I cohort (up to 10 candidates will be selected)
• Open to all focus community members interested in supporting lactation
• IBLCE Pathway I clinical hours available through shadowing
• 40 hours lactation education provided
• Case review
• $300 educational supplies
• 6 months, 6-8 hours per month time commitment

2. Advanced Community Lactation Specialist cohort (up to 7 candidates will be selected)
• Open to focus community lactation care providers with 45 hours of lactation education within the last 5 years
• IBLCE Pathway I clinical hours for all lactation support visits
• 55 Lactation education hours provided
• Case review
• $300 educational supplies + $350 in funds for teaching aids, health science classes etc
• 1 year and 1000 clinical hour commitment

3. March 2023 IBCLC Exam Candidate Community (up to 5 candidates will be selected)
• Financial support for test fees and exam study materials
• Weekly study group starting in November (may be in-person, Zoom, or hybrid, will be determined by the group chosen)
• Case review

09/29/2022

There's still time to register for tomorrow's Zoom call untangling the paths to becoming an IBCLC! Elizabeth Montez will help break it all down and get you connected to all the resources you need to get your lactation journey started! For BIPOC folks only, please.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpdO6hqjktGdF696KeQ3cYdEVAu5VXO_s4

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

09/29/2022

King County birthworkers and folks interested in supporting lactation! Open Arms Lactation program is launching 3 different cohorts for folks at various stages of their lactation support journey! Join us for the informational Zoom meeting coming up on October 4th for more information on applying and how we can help support you! There are ooportunities for folks at all levels, whether you are looking to better serve doula clients in the birth space, bringing lactation support to your family, becoming a lactation specialist, or ready to sit for the IBLCE exam (or if you want to be a bomb lactation care provider but don't want to sit for the exam!)

Register at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtcO-prjMvH9ZrEAQgrEjdNhUMMnkSZT61

09/23/2022

Good morning, community!!! We are so excited to share a returning class AND new opportunities! One of the most vital pieces of the work we do is smashing down barriers to culturally relevant, compassionate, clinically excellent care. We have community based peer counselors to provide year-long support to lactating people, lactation lounges hosted by lactation professionals of color, and escalated clinical care available with our own Indigenous IBCLC. But what we really want to see, and help create, is MORE community lactation specialists. We dream of a world where lactation and parenting wisdom is fully held back in the hands of all the folks around birthing families. Our ancestors held this, more richly, and more fully than we can ever dream, it is our birthright and our responsibility to carry it back to our communities.

If you are interested in stepping into the lactation piece of birthwork, and you identify as Black, Indigenous (Turtle Island indigenous, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, pueblo originario), or Latinx/Spanish-speaking - please consider yourself warmly invited! Feel free to contact Elizabeth at [email protected] with any questions.

All events/classes are free, open to BIPOC folks, and require advance registration through Zoom.

The Journey to Becoming an IBCLC - Zoom discussion exploring the pathways to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant as well as relevant resources to support the journey.
Thursday Sept. 29th, 10:30am-noon
TO REGISTER: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpdO6hqjktGdF696KeQ3cYdEVAu5VXO_s4
Meeting ID: 824 3794 2735
Passcode: IBCLC

Open Arms Community King County Lactation Specialist/IBLCE Pathway 1, Mentorship & Scholarship - Zoom Informational. For BIPOC folks in King County interested in pursuing the mentorship and scholarship opportunity for pursuing IBCLC Pathway 1, including education hours and other scholarship funds.
Tuesday Oct 4th, 2pm-3:30pm
TO REGISTER: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtcO-prjMvH9ZrEAQgrEjdNhUMMnkSZT61
Meeting ID: 820 7610 8552
Passcode: pathway1

Foundations of Lactation - 4 hour Zoom class with certificate of completion. This is the same class that ran in July, great for doulas looking to learn the basics of lactatio
Monday Oct 17th, 11am - 3pm (available live Spanish/English interpretation)
TO REGISTER: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclfuGuqjgjGNPQiGr4u-fPtasFn22HcKUm
Meeting ID: 838 9864 3927
Passcode: lactation
The overview for Foundations of Lactation is as follows:
• Rooting in Ancestral Lactation Practices
• Overview of US History of Lactation
• Trauma-aware/reducing, Person-centered, Relationship-based care
• Supporting Lactation Prenatally
• Standard Lactation Timeline
• Anatomy/Physiology/Hormones
• Pregnancy
• Delivery
• Immediate Postpartum
• Establishing a full milk supply
• Supporting Lactation In the Birth Space
• Latching and Positioning
• Red Flags/Complicating Factors
• Postpartum Practices

This class qualifies as 4 hours of lactation education that meets requirements for IBLCE Lactation Education prerequisites and also meets DONA and other doula certification requirements for lactation education (over 3 hours, taught by an IBCLC). A certificate of attendance will be provided to all who attend the entire class. Class will be recorded and sent to folks who pre-registered, and we can connect afterwards for a certificate of attendance if desired.

08/29/2022

OPEN ARMS IS CLOSED THIS WEEK
August 29- September 5th to allow our staff time for reconnection and restoration and to observe Labor Day. This means all Lactation Lounges/ Lactancia Para El Pueblo are cancelled until next week. We look forward to seeing you in September!

OPEN ARMS ESTÁ CERRADO ESTA SEMANA 29 de agosto al 2 de septiembre para permitir que nuestro personal tenga tiempo para reconectarse y restaurarse. Esto significa que todos los Lactation Lounges/ Lactancia Para El Pueblo están cancelados hasta la próxima semana. ¡Te esperamos en septiembre!

08/23/2022

We are excited to share that the Lactation Support Program is hosting a Black Breastfeeding Week event in collaboration with Surge Reproductive Justice, and Jazmin Williams, Full Spectrum Doula and owner of BLKBRY, LLC. The theme of this year’s Black Breastfeeding Week is “10 Years, A New Foundation.” This excerpt taken directly from the Black Breastfeeding Week website summarizes this year’s theme perfectly:

“It is the 10th year of Black Breastfeeding Week and we’re just getting started. For , we’re celebrating the countless stories and families- past, present & future. We’ve shifted the narrative/optics, supported, and uplifted each other…and it’s still just the beginning. The new foundation of lactation support is built on racial equity, cultural empowerment, and community engagement and is powered by our collective resilience.”

In honor and celebration of the all of the labor and love that has been poured into building this new foundation, we are inviting Black families to join us at Amara on August 27th from 11am – 2pm for professional photos with the absolutely incredible birth photographer, Mary Edmon, taking the pictures of our beautifully melanated families, yummy treats (provided by Brown Girl Charcuterie and Creamy Cone Café), activities for the entire family, and an opportunity to be in community with one another.

Additionally, we are hosting a milk drive in support of Blkbry’s Community Milk Bank. If you or someone you know is lactating or has extra frozen milk, please consider supporting this local milk bank by applying to donate your safely stored human milk. This drive will take place from August 25th – 31st. Applications to donate can be found at bit.ly/MILKDRIVE or simply by scanning the QR code provided in the flyer below.

08/16/2022

¡Hola a todos! Nos complace invitarlos a nuestro nuevo salón de lactancia, Lactancia Para El Pueblo. Este salón se llevará a cabo en español todos los martes de 10:00 a.m. a 12:00 p.m. con Amelia Martínez Martínez, CBS, y Loida Ginocchio Silva, LSPC. Damos la bienvenida a todos los padres, independientemente de dónde se encuentre en su viaje de lactancia. Únase a nosotros con sus preguntas sobre la lactancia desde el embarazo hasta el destete, o simplemente para conversar sobre la alimentación y la crianza de los pequeños.

Hi all! We are excited to invite you to our new lactation lounge, Lactancia Para El Pueblo. This lounge will be held in Spanish every Tuesday from 10:00am - 12:00pm with Amelia Martinez Martinez, CBS, and Loida Ginocchio Silva, LSPC. We welcome all parents regardless of where you are on your lactation journey. Join us with your lactation questions from pregnancy through weaning -- or just to chat about feeding and raising little ones. Open Arms Perinatal Services