Supporting Families Across Alabama: Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Cohort 2025
The Alabama Healthy Kids, Healthy Future (HKHF) team recently celebrated the completion of the first Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Certification Cohort.
With generous support from Nemours Children’s Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), participating programs not only earned the full benefits of the Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Certification, they also received materials and supplies to create welcoming, supportive environments for breastfeeding families. These included nursery gliders, nursing covers, sound machines, and room dividers.
All participating programs completed trainings on breastfeeding support practices, proper handling of breastmilk, responsive feeding, and more. Over the course of the cohort, 98 staff members received training. The HKHF team also provided technical assistance to guide programs through the Five Requirements needed to achieve Breastfeeding Friendly Certification.
Participants also appreciated the chance to learn from one another by sharing ideas and strategies. As one provider explained, “The most valuable part [of the process] was receiving input from different centers.” Another participant shared, “Coming from a mom who breastfeeds her child, I really enjoyed it all.”
In total, 11 child care programs across 7 counties successfully achieved their Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Certification.
Certified Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Programs
We are proud to recognize the following programs for completing the certification process and creating welcoming, supportive environments for breastfeeding families:
A Better Choice CDC (Meridianville)
Annie Lee’s Daycare (Bessemer)
Child Educare Center (Tuscaloosa)
First Steps (Georgiana)
He Cares CDC (Huntsville)
Early Learning Center (Fairhope)
Just Be You School Age Program (Montgomery)
LeAnn’s Little Tots (Huntsville)
South Highland CDC (Birmingham)
Tiny Toes Home Daycare (Meridianville)
Vivian C. Turner Early Learning Center (Decatur)
Congratulations to each of these programs for their commitment to supporting children and families!
For a complete list of all child care programs currently certified as Breastfeeding Friendly, see the interactive map here.
The Healthy Kids, Healthy Future Technical Assistance Program (HKHF TAP) led by Nemours Children’s Health is supported through a subcontract with the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists as part of cooperative agreement number NU38PW000047-01-01 (total of $2,525,000) funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HKHF TAP is 100% funded by the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO)/ National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)/CDC/HHS. The contents of this child care cohort are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, DNPAO/NCCDPHP/CDC/HHS, or the U.S. government.