The Lactation Access Fund
The Lactation Access Fund (LAF) is a community-supported fund that helps make professional lactation care and education available at no or reduced cost for eligible families experiencing financial barriers.
As part of OMC’s broader Lactation Access Initiative, the Fund creates another pathway for care to be funded so that financial circumstances do not determine whether a family can access or continue the lactation care they need.
Why the Fund Exists
Lactation care is healthcare, yet access to that care remains uneven across Alabama.
Families may encounter insurance limitations, out-of-pocket costs, transportation challenges, provider shortages, and other barriers that make timely lactation care difficult to access. For families already navigating financial constraints, these barriers can mean delaying care or going without it altogether.
These challenges do not affect every community equally.
Black families continue to experience inequities across maternal and infant health, including barriers to breastfeeding and access to culturally responsive lactation care,
Alabama Medicaid recipients currently have no coverage for professional lactation services
and changes within private insurance are also affecting how lactation care is covered and accessed.
Lactation care also involves the parent-baby dyad, and care often extends beyond a single encounter. Many families will need at least an initial consultation and follow-up, with additional visits determined by the clinical needs of the dyad. Without an affordable pathway to continued care, families may be able to start care but not receive the follow-up needed to address ongoing concerns.
The Lactation Access Fund helps close these gaps by reducing the financial burden of accessing and continuing professional lactation care while supporting the tools, technology, resources, and clinical infrastructure required to deliver that care.
This is Lactation Justice in action: expanding access, addressing inequity, and investing in care that families can reach when they need it.
How the Fund Works
The Lactation Access Fund creates a financial pathway to professional lactation care and education for families when cost would otherwise be a barrier.
Families requesting clinical care through OMC have an opportunity to indicate whether they can pay the full cost of services or may need financial assistance. When assistance is needed, available Lactation Access Fund resources may be used to reduce or fully cover the cost of care.
Fund assistance may also help eligible families participate in OMC's professional lactation education when the cost of a class or educational service would otherwise prevent participation.
Contributions to the Fund support the delivery of care as a whole. This includes the professional clinical service as well as the tools, technology, supplies, documentation, care coordination, and other resources necessary to provide comprehensive lactation care.
Assistance is based on available Fund resources and OMC's current funding guidelines.
Have Alabama Medicaid?
OMC currently provides professional lactation services at no cost to eligible Alabama Medicaid recipients through our Medicaid Access pathway.
Our work to expand this pathway to include breast pump access is in development as OMC continues building solutions to address gaps in Medicaid lactation coverage.
Have Medicaid and need lactation care now?
Need Financial Assistance?
If the cost of professional lactation care or education would create a barrier for your family, the Lactation Access Fund may help reduce or fully cover the cost based on available funding and OMC's current assistance guidelines.
Families requesting clinical care can indicate their need for financial assistance when requesting an appointment. Financial assistance for eligible lactation education will be identified during registration for applicable classes or educational services.
Financial assistance is considered separately from insurance coverage. Having private insurance, Medicaid, or no insurance does not by itself determine a family's ability to pay or need for assistance.
Help Expand Access to Care
The Lactation Access Fund is made possible through community investment, grants, partnerships, and charitable contributions.
Every contribution helps strengthen the funding available to make professional lactation care and education accessible when cost would otherwise create a barrier.
The Lactation Access Fund is part of OMC's Lactation Access Initiative, our broader work to create real pathways to professional lactation care across Alabama.
The Obsidian Milk Collective is fiscally sponsored by the West Alabama Women’s Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Tax-deductible contributions designated for OMC are received and administered through our fiscal sponsor in support of OMC’s mission and programs.