Feeding Friendly Spaces

On October 3rd, Brilliant Detroit hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at our Fitzgerald house to mark the opening of breastfeeding-friendly spaces at all of our locations. The house was filled with community partners, families and neighbors to help us commemorate the event. Thanks to our partnership with Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association and Evenflo, we are proud to announce there is now a safe place for mothers to breastfeed, pump, and access information about the benefits of breastfeeding at every Brilliant Detroit house.

Creating kid success neighborhoods begins before the child is born.  Detroit’s infant mortality rate is four times higher than the national average, and direct interventions such as increased community support and education around the benefits of breastfeeding have been lowering these rates over the last ten years.

“For mothers who don’t want to nurse in public, having a space available, especially if they are already there for other programming, is great.  It’s a wonderful resource to have for mothers who want to have a private connection with their child.” -Safiya Jackson, Cody Rouge Community Engagement Manager.

Our goal in creating these spaces is to provide mothers with a comfortable and loving environment, as well as a place where mothers can connect and support each other.  Each of our Brilliant Detroit homes will have a room sponsored by Evenflo so mothers can access everything they need during their breastfeeding journey.

“Our neighborhood mail carrier comes in every day while she is on her route to use the breastfeeding room.  She needs to pump every day at the same time and we’re happy that we can give her a place to do that.” -Sharon Kilgore, Osborn Community Engagement Manager

We know education, health and family support are key ingredients for individuals and families to succeed and thrive. This is why we have partnered with Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association, who aims to help mothers overcome the societal, historical and social barriers to breastfeeding success.  Through this ongoing partnership, we are working to build a network of community support for mothers across the city of Detroit.