Communities Transforming Maternal & Child Health
Improve breastfeeding outcomes, quality of maternity services, and patient-centered care with the support of The Gift‘s evidence-based designation program.
Learn more about The GiftInitiative Status:
Active since 2013
Led By:
Louisiana Department of Health – Office of Public Health – Bureau of Family Health
Funded By
CBureau of Family Health Title V
In Louisiana, breastfeeding initiation among Black families is 20% lower than their White counterparts.1
With 11.7 deaths per 1,000 births, Black infants in Louisiana experience a mortality rate double that of White infants.1 Among pregnancy-related deaths in Louisiana, Black birthing people experience a mortality rate 5x higher than White birthing people.2
The CDC has declared racism a public health threat. Black families have known for generations that implicit bias and structural racism are the root cause of high Black birthing person and infant mortality.
Black families receive a different birth and breastfeeding experience. They are less likely to receive breastfeeding support within the first hour of birth, and Black infants are more likely to be given formula by their healthcare team.1
Only 77% of families benefit from coordinated and formalized referrals to community agencies — like WIC and home visiting programs — upon discharge.3
The Gift, housed under the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative (LaPQC), is an evidence-based designation program for Louisiana birthing centers.
It is designed to increase breastfeeding rates and hospital success by improving the quality of maternity services and enhancing patient-centered care.
Through The Gift, birthing centers receive resources and support for incremental adoption of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative’s Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
Over 80% of Louisiana birthing centers are Gift designated, meaning they have met benchmarks for implementation of evidence-based practices, consistent messaging, collaborative participation, and more.4
Since 2014, the number of Baby-Friendly birthing centers in Louisiana has increased from 0 to 17, with 53% of births occurring in Baby-Friendly birthing centers. More designations are expected in the near future.4
Overall breastfeeding rates have increased to 75% in Gift designated birthing centers, compared to 61% in non-Gift designated counterparts.4
The Gift is constantly evolving its offering to meet the needs of Louisiana families, align with the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, and support birthing centers’ quality improvement efforts. Birthing centers engaged with The Gift can access…
Get one-on-one improvement coaching that coordinates with ongoing maternal morbidity and mortality initiatives.
Access a state-of-the-art data portal and collection tools that help birthing center leaders stratify all data by race.
Join a birthing center community of practice to participate in peer-to-peer collaborative learning and mentor-mentee pairings.
Explore a range of Coffective materials, including new staff and family education, co-created with Louisiana birthing center leaders.
Betsy Dancisak, MPH
Program Coordinator
Louisiana Bureau of Family Health
Since 2016, Coffective and the Louisiana Office of Public Health – Bureau of Family Health have partnered to support birthing centers in increasing breastfeeding rates, improving the quality of birthing services, and enhancing patient-centered care. See our journey!
Learn more about the full set of tools, training and activities available to Louisiana birthing centers.
Contact usVisit The Gift website to learn more about how this successful program is creating impact across Louisiana.
Learn more about The GiftLouisiana PRAMS Maternal and Child Health Data Indicators, 2018
Louisiana Department of Health Louisiana Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Annual Report, 2017
The Gift Annual Survey, 2017-2020
The Gift Annual Survey, 2019
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