Healthy Children Project’s Center for Breastfeeding provides evidence-based training for more than 4,000 healthcare and lactation support providers across the United States each year. The course content is based on the WHO/UNICEF (World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund) Breastfeeding Counseling Training Course. WHO has named breastfeeding as a major public health priority with the goal of reducing infant mortality and improving the long-term health of the population into adulthood, and decreasing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer,  heart disease and diabetes among those who have breastfed.

Healthy Children Project, Inc. is accredited as a provider of nursing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation and the course is approved by the National College Credit Recommendation Service to be applied for three college credit recommendations. It is a recognized pathway for those wishing to sit for the Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) exam administered by the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice.

Reports by The American Academy of Lactation Policy & Practice, ROSE, and HealthConnect One highlight the need to increase the number of CLCs, specifically CLCs of color who are equipped to meet the support needs of African American mothers. Acknowledging and responding to the gap in access to lactation support, the Center for Breastfeeding has partnered with Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE), HealthConnect ONE, and the National Association of Professional and Peer Lactation Supporters of Color (NAPPLSC) to provide scholarships for members in communities of color.