“Look at how we exclude women from roles they are fantastically suited for,” said Lucia Jenkins, a registered nurse and founder and executive director of Baby Café USA. “Women in the community who have breastfed successfully and want to guide other mothers, often don't have the opportunity or financial means to pursue a lactation career. We have to be careful not to exclude the people we desperately need to make a cultural change. Baby Cafés offer an inexpensive mentoring program and a site where women can obtain necessary experience and skills to become BCBCs (Baby Café Breastfeeding Counselors)."

Abstract
Objective: Accessible community lactation support impacts a woman's breastfeeding success by offering timely intervention and solutions, thereby allowing mothers to achieve breastfeeding goals and improve overall breastfeeding rates. Although the impact of breastfeeding support has been well established, there is a lack of consistency in the development and evaluation of support models. This report examines two differing populations of Baby Café attendees. The study evaluated the mother's achievement of personal and nationally recommended breastfeeding goals, the frequency of attending a Baby Café, and their ratings of the program as helpful in solving breastfeeding problems.

Methods: A total of 559 mothers attending two Baby Cafés, one in Massachusetts and the other in southern Texas, were surveyed when their babies were 6 months old and again over age 12 months. Actual breastfeeding duration was compared with the mothers' initially stated goals and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended goals, and then evaluated against the number of Café attendances. The mother's rating of the Café for helpfulness was measured using a 1–5 effectiveness scale.

Results: Results show that mothers attending either of the surveyed Baby Cafés that served distinctly different populations reported higher breastfeeding exclusivity rates and higher rates of 12-month breastfeeding duration than national rates reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 70% of all mothers surveyed rated the Café as most effective.

Conclusions: The Baby Café model was shown to be effective at helping mothers reach breastfeeding goals regardless of the Café's different geographical settings and the socioeconomic characteristics of the populations served.

Not every breastfeeding mother wants or needs an in-person visit along with the pressure of showing up at the appointed time. Not everyone needs to have the one-on-one expertise of an IBCLC. Going to a support group might not appeal to some moms. (You wouldn’t find me at a support group!) Yet, good advice from a friendly neighbor isn’t quite enough for some people. Is there any other option? Yes! You could drop into a Baby Café!
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Whether you want to get or give support for breastfeeding, Baby Café is a great choice.