Meet COBA's New Executive Director!

Heidi Russell, COBA Executive Director 
The Coalition of Oklahoma Breastfeeding Advocates (COBA) is pleased to welcome Heidi Russell as its first-ever Executive Director. Heidi comes to COBA with more than 25 years experience as a nonprofit development and communications professional with a wide range of healthcare knowledge. She brings a passion for programs and services focused on improving outcomes for Oklahoma’s children and families. A graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City, Russell holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Central Oklahoma and has previously served in an executive leadership capacity. Read more about Heidi here!

COBA Updates

COBA firmly stands against all forms of oppression, and will continue to collaborate, partner, and engage to fully support families across life stages so our children can grow, develop and lead productive and healthy lives, free from violence and racism. Read COBA's full Statement on Racial Injustice.

Have you seen the latest Breastfeeding Support Fact Sheet from the Oklahoma State Department of Health? Check it out here: Breastfeeding Support Fact Sheet

COBA is now sending monthly newsletters! Check out the August 2020 Newsletter here.  This month's edition celebrates National Breastfeeding Month, which kicks off with World Breastfeeding Week followed by Native Breastfeeding Week and finishes up with Black Breastfeeding Week.  Celebrate Many Voices United!! 

Oklahoma enters 2020 with 10 Baby-Friendly Hospitals!
Congratulations to the teams at Integris Canadian Valley Hospital & The Children’s Hospital at OU Medicine. These two facilities worked very hard for several years to achieve their Baby-Friendly Designations. OU Children’s is the largest birthing hospital in Oklahoma to become designated as Baby-Friendly by the national organization Baby-Friendly USA (BFUSA)! OU’s designation means that almost 32% of Oklahoma babies are born in a Baby-Friendly hospital - well above the national average of 28%. Additionally, OU’s teaching hospital status makes this designation significant because their new physicians will be trained in an environment of best practices for maternal/newborn care. To learn more about Baby-Friendly and see a full list of designated hospitals in Oklahoma, click here.

COBA's Strategic Plan Update

At its 2019 Strategic Planning session, the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Oklahoma Breastfeeding Advocates unanimously voted to adopt a new set of goals and tactics to align COBA’s focus and priorities with our mission and current capacity. 

COBA will focus on building organizational capacity and on networking, education, promotion of public awareness, and advocacy for breastfeeding families across the state of Oklahoma. For more information, please download and review our 2019 Strategic Plan.

​For direct breastfeeding support resources in Oklahoma City and statewide, please see our Breastfeeding Help menu.

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The World Health Organization recently released a document with information and guidance on breastfeeding and COVID19. It features a decision tree, a helpful clinical tool. 

The United States Lactation Consultant Association has developed some helpful infographics regarding breastfeeding through COVID-19 as well as a shared decision-making document. 
According to a recently released clinical guidance statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, families can now be informed that evidence to date suggests that the risk of the newborn acquiring COVID-19 infection during the birth hospitalization is low when precautions are taken to protect newborns from maternal infectious respiratory secretions. This risk appears to be no greater if mother and infant room-in together using infection control measures compared to physical separation of the infant in a room separate from the mother. The current AAP guidelines encourage keeping mothers and babies together.

Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) newly published resource: Milk Handling for COVID-19 Positive or Suspected Mothers in the Hospital Setting. 
"Making Breastfeeding Easier" & "Breastfeeding Basics and Beyond" Training: Free one-day and two-day classes for health care providers held in Oklahoma City, provided by the Oklahoma Breastfeeding Resource Center (OBRC) with funding from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Check the OBRC Training Page to register.  ​

Interested in hosting a class at your location? Contact OBRC at OBRC@ouhsc.edu.
Page last updated 8/4/2020 by CAC.
Write to info@okbreastfeeding.org to share your educational, professional, or advocacy news or event on this page!