Who We Are
Molly Scarborough McMillion
RN, BSN, IBCLC, LCCE
Director, West Virginia Breastfeeding Institute
Special Projects Consultant, WV Perinatal Partnership
Molly has served as the Director of the WV Breastfeeding Alliance since 2017. She has recently grown the work of the Alliance into the WV Breastfeeding Institute, which is housed at the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine, Center for Rural and Community Health. Additionally, during this tenure, Molly has been a Special Projects Consultant for the Partnership working on tobacco/nicotine cessation under the Help2Quit initiative and substance use in pregnancy projects under the Drug Free Moms and Babies initiative.
“What do I enjoy the most? Working one-on-one with mothers and their infants. It’s not always easy to do consults in addition to my full-time job, but it is near and dear to me. I am continually reaffirmed when I see the look in a mother’s eyes when she’s told she’s doing a great job despite all her fears.”
Molly is a Registered Nurse, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. She has served the Greenbrier Valley for the last 23 years, providing lactation consultation and teaching Lamaze Childbirth Classes. In addition to helping Greenbrier Valley mothers get off to a good start with breastfeeding their newborns, Molly works statewide to increase support for mothers in communities across West Virginia. She is passionate about WVBI’s mission to help make breastfeeding the norm for families in West Virginia.
Molly is mother to 3 grown children Walter (28) Grace (25) and Andrew (19), and proud grandma to Jackson and Maggie. She lives in Lewisburg, WV with her husband David, her mother and 2 spoiled dogs.
History
The WV Breastfeeding Alliance, (WVBA) initially began as a breastfeeding coalition in 2007 under the WV Hospital Association with a goal to educate the public about breastfeeding, protect the rights of mothers and their babies to breastfeed, and to promote breastfeeding in general. In 2008, the group evolved into the West Virginia Breastfeeding Alliance (WVBA) through the Healthcare Education Foundation, a subsidiary of the West Virginia Hospital Association.
In 2017, the WV Perinatal Partnership assumed leadership of the WVBA. When this transition occurred, Molly McMillion was appointed director and the WVBA Steering Committee was revitalized. Under the Partnership, WVBA provided a wide variety of educational opportunities and quality improvement initiatives throughout the state for healthcare providers and others working with women of childbearing age. The WVBA also honored hospitals and birthing facilities that engaged in projects to improve breastfeeding rates at their facilities. The WVBA continues today as the state’s member coalition.
West Virginia historically has had low breastfeeding rates. The low number of WV infants who are breastfed stems from a culture of formula feeding, the belief that formula and breast milk are equal, and a lack of support for women to choose and maintain breastfeeding as their source of infant nutrition. There has been little understanding or standardization of best practices, a general lack of current baseline knowledge among providers, and no global effort to provide consistent messaging, resources and training.
Despite there being many organizations in the state that work with mothers and infants, there had never been a central organization to coordinate efforts in a comprehensive manner to address these complex social, healthcare and policy challenges.
Thanks to funding from the Claude Benedum Worthington Foundation, The West Virginia Breastfeeding Institute (WVBI) was created in 2021 and began the work to elevate breastfeeding as a public health priority.
The WVBI has begun to serve as the coordinating entity to carry out multifaceted approaches to improve breastfeeding rates and to integrate breastfeeding into all public health activities across the state.
Together, the WVBA and the WVBI are “West Virginia Breastfeeding” to encompass the work and the many members devoted to making a difference for mothers and infants in the state.
State of Breastfeeding in WV
Find out more about the importance, barriers and current rates of breastfeeding in West Virginia.
Our Mission
The mission of the WV Breastfeeding is to educate, advocate, and support breastfeeding as a priority for the health and well-being of all West Virginians.
Our Vision
Breastfeeding is an equitable option for all families in West Virginia.
Our Goals
Improve the health and well-being, primarily, of our state’s infant and maternal population by increasing the initiation and duration rates of breastfeeding, resulting in residual and lasting health benefits.
Promote and protect a public environment that is supportive and accepting of breastfeeding.
Promote communication and collaboration among individuals, professionals and organizations working to support and educate the community about breastfeeding.