Lactation During Wartime: A Case Study of a Breastfeeding Support Group Ukraine

This presentation is part of the GOLD Learning Health Equity and Diversity series.

Milky Rivers is a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Ukraine that has promoted breastfeeding for about 20 years. It has succeeded in creating a community of like-minded lactation professionals with the shared goal of increasing breastfeeding rates in the country. It has organized educational events and resources for colleagues and clients across Ukraine.

War in Ukraine has changed the context in which Ukrainian lactation care providers operate. The type of support that can be offered and received is different – online consultations are often a lifeline, and brevity and practicality is of utmost importance. Sometimes a mother will only have one consultation with a breastfeeding expert, so every moment and word can make a difference.

This ‘poster presentation’ is a case study of how a breastfeeding support group has continued to offer support in a conflict situation. It describes the current context, and offers resources for healthcare workers both in Ukraine and worldwide, to enable them to support breastfeeding dyads affected by this war.

Help GOLD Learning Support Milky Rivers:

• Despite these difficult times, Milky Rivers consultants continue to offer their services. Much of their work is now done for free or by donation.

In recognition of this, GOLD Learning is donating USD 750 towards their services to support mothers who cannot afford it.

If you’d like to support them as well, you can do so via

All funds will go directly to the Milky Rivers non-governmental organization based in Ukraine. They will use it to supplement the cost of breastfeeding support services that are currently being offered to Ukrainians for free or by donation.

• For more information on Milky Rivers, you can visit: https://breastfeeding.org.ua/
  (This website is available in Ukrainian, Russian and English)

Resources for Supporting those in Conflict Situations:

• If you are helping a breastfeeding dyad who feels at home with the Ukrainian language, you can share these 10 videos that were made in partnership with UNICEF and Milky Rivers in 2022. They include questions often asked in both war and peacetime. This resource is in Ukrainian.

• In 2021, the Infant Feeding in Emergencies (IFE) Core Group published the Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) infographic series in various languages.

The infographic for Early Initiation of breastfeeding during emergencies could be helpful. Here is the English version.

This infographic is also available in: French, Ukrainian, Russian, Italian, Japanese and Arabic.