CHEER CHAMPION OF THE WEEK: MOLLY SCARBOROUGH MCMILLION, RN, BSN, IBCLC, LCCE

Jan 22, 2024

Our newest CHAMPion of the Week is dedicated to compassionate care for mothers and infants. Molly Scarborough McMillion, Registered Nurse, International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant, and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, has been working to increase support for families across West Virginia for over two decades!

After graduating in 1990 from West Virginia University, Molly worked in the Medical ICU at the University of Virginia until the birth of her second child. The exceptional care she received when her children were born, inspired her work with families in West Virginia. Molly tells us, “Breastfeeding did not come easy for me, but I had amazing support – and I wanted every mom to have that.”

Since 2017, Molly has served as the Director of the West Virginia Breastfeeding Alliance. She has recently grown the work of the Alliance into the WV Breastfeeding Institute, 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 WV Perinatal Partnership working on tobacco/nicotine cessation under the Help2Quit initiative, substance use in pregnancy projects under the Drug Free Moms and Babies initiative, and Lamaze Evidence Based Labor Support for nurses and Childbirth Educator instruction.

Molly and her daughter at the birth of her granddaughter.

It is not always easy to conduct consults with her full-time job, but Molly most enjoys working one-on-one with mothers and their infants. “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 shares: “Breastfeeding is not intuitive for most of the moms I work with, so they are set up to fail, not knowing how to get off to the best start or handle problems. Every mom deserves to have the best information and support for their feeding decisions and evidence-based, compassionate care in their motherhood journey.”

Molly’s dedication to serving families in her home state is inspiring. CHEER is particularly grateful for her help in enrolling hospitals in West Virginia in CHAMPS National, our new program to increase breastfeeding rates and reduce racial disparities.

Many thanks to Molly Scarborough McMillion, our CHAMPion of the Week!