EBB 342 - Lifelong Lessons in Lactation with Dr. Kimarie Bugg, the First African American IBCLC and President of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere

·43 min·4 clips

Dr. Kimarie Bugg, the first African American IBCLC, reveals how personal trauma led her to fight breastfeeding inequities.

Host Rebecca Decker introduces Dr. Kimarie Bugg, President of Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE), a nonprofit addressing breastfeeding inequities in the African American community. Dr. Bugg recounts her 1978 experience as a new mother of twins in Texas, where she failed to get breastfeeding support due to racial barriers, inspiring her career. She became the first African American IBCLC in 1987 after working as a bedside breastfeeding counselor at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, which spurred other hospitals to adopt lactation consultants. Dr. Bugg notes that breastfeeding education was absent in nursing and medical training historically, and even today, many providers lack adequate knowledge. She discusses common breastfeeding challenges, such as financial burdens from unpaid leave and lack of workplace lactation rooms, which hit African American families harder. A story illustrates medical misinformation: a pediatrician advised a mother to stop breastfeeding due to a baby's dry skin, risking breastfeeding cessation. Dr. Bugg explains ROSE's origins, including a 2011 summit that led to a Kellogg Foundation grant and a national directory of lactation supporters. ROSE's programs include the Breast Friends mentorship, which reduces dropout rates by pairing new mothers with experienced ones for eight weeks. The organization also runs Community Transformer trainings, a fatherhood initiative called Reaching Our Brothers Everywhere (ROBE), and works with Baby-Friendly hospital initiatives. Dr. Bugg addresses generational trauma in the African American community, noting that breastfeeding is crucial for reducing health risks like breast cancer and diabetes. She highlights progress in NICUs, where neonatologists advocate for human milk, but criticizes community pediatricians for not integrating lactation support. Looking forward, Dr. Bugg stresses the need for a larger, consistent lactation workforce and recommends training pathways like WIC peer counseling and doula programs. The episode concludes with Dr. Bugg's passion for community service and a promotion of the host's book, 'Babies are not pizzas.'

As heard by us

A grounded look at breastfeeding support, workplace pressure, childcare costs, and policy barriers.

Breastfeeding inequities are framed here as a matter of work, policy, mentorship, and the everyday conditions that decide whether lactation is actually sustainable. Dr.

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Why you'd press play

You want the breastfeeding conversation to include leave, childcare costs, and the realities facing African-American families.

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