The big pink "Milk for Thought" bus recently stopped at the South Plains Mall in Lubbock on its 45-day tour through 30 American cities.

The “Milk for Thought” team, made up of nurses and other breastfeeding supporters, aims to change breastfeeding attitudes by connecting moms to local experts and counselors, baby-friendly hospitals and birthing centers, support groups and other mothers

In the U.S., less than 5 percent of infants are born in baby-friendly hospitals, a global designation that indicates best practices in maternity care to support breastfeeding mothers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The national “Milk for Thought” campaign selected the Larry Combest Community Health and Wellness Center as a featured community-based program with rural outreach for empowering women to breastfeed.

This opportunity is result of the School of Nursing’s lactation consultant presenting the Nurse-Family Partnership Program at the International Lactation Consultant Association Annual Conference in San Diego.

"We are delighted to be one of the cities selected across the nation," said Lisa Dillard, R.N., BSN, Nurse-Family Partnership program supervisor.

Nurse-Family Partnership is an innovative program that helps first-time mothers develop the skills they need to raise happy, healthy children. In 2008, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission awarded the school $854,835 to establish the program at the Combest Center. Since then, eight full-time nurse home visitors have helped nearly 300 families, including those in Lubbock and surrounding areas get off to a healthier start.

For more information about the Nurse-Family Partnership, contact Dillard at (806) 743-3390 ext. 222 or email lisa.dillard@ttuhsc.edu.