In the Fall of 2011, Dr. Miriam Labbok will be accepting an appointment as a Carolina Women's Center Faculty Scholar. During this appointment, Dr. Labbok will be completing a project titled, “Protecting and Supporting Breastfeeding and the Reproductive Health Continuum on Campus: Creating and studying a breastfeeding and birthspacing friendly environment.”  

The goal of this project is to achieve an inclusive educational and work environment, reducing gender barriers and other disparities at UNC, through interdisciplinary evaluative research to create a breastfeeding and reproductive health-friendly environment.  The approach will include and build upon an ongoing vision: UNC is an inclusive educational and work environment where gender is not a barrier to success, difference and diversity are celebrated. Support for breastfeeding and birthspacing will contribute to CWC’s efforts to support gender equity, for interdisciplinary research to create and disseminate data that fosters institutional and community change and to serve as a model of a collaborative and flexible educational and work environment that promotes professional and personal growth. The plan for achieving this goal includes the following objectives:

1. To create a sustainable action-oriented transdisciplinary team to build upon and continue ongoing efforts to develop an intervention plan for breastfeeding and to ensure increased understanding of the reproductive health benefits of birthspacing.
2. To develop and implement a model program on these issues at UNC.
3. To complete operational research on the intervention.
4. To disseminate the findings to other campuses and government agencies.