Grant: Op. Grant: NWHRI: Innovation Fund - Healthcare implementation research

Lactation is crucial for maternal and infant health, yet many Manitoba families face barriers accessing support when they have difficulties producing or feeding breast milk. Indigenous families and those in rural areas are particularly affected. We aim to address these gaps through a diverse network of healthcare professionals and community stakeholders. Our goals include developing a user-friendly resource system, offering comprehensive education, and expanding peer support programs to rural or urban living mothers and partners. Community engagement and Indigenous knowledge will guide our efforts. Pregnant parents including all genders will be supported. Ultimately, we seek to strengthen community connections and provide evidence-based solutions to reduce health disparity and improve lactation care and infant feeding support province-wide. During the proposed project, we will test the model in selected communities in pilot study. If this model is proved to be effective and helpful to pregnant persons for seeking knowledge, resources and peer support for breastfeed other methods of infant feeding, it will be scaled up to other communities in the province and the potentiality across the country.