MAC is thrilled to be part of the New Orleans community collaborative, Maternal and Child Health at Columbia Parc, selected for The BUILD Health Challenge’s Third Cohort! We are one of 17 other awardees across the US addressing multilevel factors that negatively affect health outcomes in underserved communities.

The Maternal and Child Health at Columbia Parc project is a multi-sector community partnership between MAC, the New Orleans Breastfeeding Center, Bayou District, Educare New Orleans, Columbia Parc, New Orleans Health Department, and Touro Hospital/LCMC Health. Together we are embarking on a 2+ year endeavor to reduce maternal and child health disparities in New Orleans by increasing breastfeeding support across parent, provider, and clinic levels. Women of color in New Orleans continue to face significant multilevel barriers to breastfeeding, contributing to large racial disparities in maternal and child health. The purpose of this project is to improve health outcomes among the predominantly low-income families of color residing in or attending an early childcare center in the Columbia Parc neighborhood, an area with some of the worse health outcomes in the city. This collaborative will create supportive environments for breastfeeding families and increase access to culturally appropriate breastfeeding support services by training community members to become breastfeeding support professionals. By establishing community-clinical linkages through coordination with LCMC Health, a network of five large area hospitals, we also aim to improve relationships and understanding between this community and the hospitals that serve it.