Darla Sherlock, senior director of programming and lactation counselor at Beverly’s Babies PGH, in the lactation suite at the ACMS Foundation office in North Huntingdon
Throughout National Breastfeeding Awareness Month this August, the Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation (ACMS) and Beverly’s Babies PGH are highlighting their shared commitment to ensuring families across Western Pennsylvania have access to trusted lactation education, resources, and medical support.
With support from the ACMS Foundation, Beverly’s Babies PGH operates its Babies in the Burgh Mobile Unit, a pop-up resource that travels throughout Allegheny and surrounding counties to assist families with prenatal and postnatal questions. The unit frequently visits pediatric and OB-GYN offices, connecting families with physicians when their needs require additional medical care.
“We do one-on-one consultations with the mother where I can provide them with information, measure flange size, and find out what types of breast pumps they can get through their insurance,” said Darla Sherlock, senior director of programming and lactation counselor at Beverly’s Babies PGH. “If they don’t have insurance, we are able to provide them with a breast pump.”
Beverly’s has helped over 200 mothers during their breastfeeding journey. The mobile unit reaches communities more than 25 times each year, helping remove barriers to care by bringing services and supplies directly to families.
“We appreciate how the Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation has believed in the curation of it,” Sherlock said. “We only started our lactation services two years ago, and we have had the Greater Pittsburgh Formula Bank longer than that. So, they believed in us when we decided to not just have support for formula feeding, but also breastfeeding.”
Established nationally in 2011, Breastfeeding Awareness Month promotes access to lactation care and works to reduce stigma so birth givers feel comfortable seeking help. This year’s theme, “RISE: Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination, Empowerment,” reflects the work ACMS Foundation and Beverly’s Babies PGH are advancing together: empowering families with compassionate support, practical resources, and stronger connections to local physicians.
