Breastfeed Orange NC reached out to our Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education candidates for their insights on how our school district can support breastfeeding, chestfeeding, and human milk feeding families. We believe that creating a supportive environment for lactating families and employees in our schools is vital for the health and well-being of our children, families, and community.
Mariela Hernandez
Candidate for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education
Below are Mariela’s responses to our four questions about ways to create a more breastfeeding-friendly school district.
Written Statement of Support
Do you support a written statement from the school board that actively supports breastfeeding and is routinely communicated to all stakeholders, including staff, parents, and students?
Mariela supports a written statement from the school board that actively supports breastfeeding and is willing to draft a proclamation.
Welcoming Atmosphere
How do you propose that our schools create and maintain a welcoming atmosphere for nursing families?
I would like to have a room provided in each school building for teachers who would like to continue breastfeeding and at Lincoln center too. With cooler capacity for storage.
Returning to Work
Support after returning to work is crucial for continued breastfeeding. Will you actively promote employment support for lactating employees in your role on the school board?
I would highly promote support for our returning teachers who would like to continue breastfeeding with breaks as needed.
Normalizing Breastfeeding
How do you plan to advocate for and encourage the inclusion of breastfeeding-friendly curricula at all levels of education within our school district?
As a past trained breastfeeding educator, I would take my knowledge to show the facts of the positive effect of breastfeeding on mother and child to promote support [when there are] issues others may have.
Check out all the posts in this series on the insights of our Board of Education candidates relating to lactation family friendly support in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.