Dark green text reading "HER" and "HEALING • ENCOURAGEMENT • RESOURCES" sits above "HER Infant and Family Support, Inc." against a plain, light beige background.

Support HERHER Infant and Family Support, Inc. helps families in Bowling Green and surrounding communities access lactation and infant-feeding care, feeding supplies, safe-sleep education and equipment, community classes, and bereavement care. Perinatal mental-health programming is also in development. Donations and grant funding allow HER to provide approved services at no cost to participating families. For many parents struggling to feed their babies, the choice is stark: pay out of pocket for specialized care or go without it. Insurance coverage is inconsistent, qualified providers are often out of network, and claims are frequently denied. Families with Medicaid face especially limited access to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Currently, families in our community covered by Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Anthem, or Med Center Health do not have access to an in-network private-practice IBCLC. Others fall through the gaps because they are uninsured, have not met their deductible, received a claim denial, or cannot travel hours to the nearest covered provider. A benefit that exists only on paper is not care a family can actually receive. An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, or IBCLC, holds the gold-standard credential in lactation and infant-feeding care. &nbsp;Becoming an IBCLC requires hundreds of hours of specialized education and supervised clinical training in lactation and infant feeding, followed passing an international board examination. It is a distinct clinical specialty requiring knowledge and skills beyond routine infant-feeding education. Pediatricians, OB-GYNs, and family-practice providers refer families for lactation care because it is specialized work that extends beyond their training and the limited time available during a routine visit. They are doing their jobs, and they need qualified professionals to whom they can refer families. The gaps extend beyond infant feeding. When a baby dies, families in our region have few, if any, local sources of specialized lactation care following loss, grief support, and compassionate guidance through what comes next. HER was created to fill these gaps. Your support helps ensure that a family&rsquo;s income, insurance coverage, or experience of loss does not determine whether they receive qualified, compassionate care. What Care Costs$500 covers one family&rsquo;s standard care. This includes three visits lasting 60 to 90 minutes each, along with needed feeding supplies. For most families, three visits are the starting point, not the full extent of the care they may need. Families facing more complex challenges often require considerably more support. A baby recovering from a tongue-tie release, completing oral habilitation, experiencing slow weight gain or oral aversion, or facing other medically complex feeding concerns may need eight visits or more. That care can cost $1,200 or more, including supplies. What Your Gift Makes PossibleHER keeps its operating costs intentionally low. Grief coaching, bereavement support, and lactation care following loss are donated entirely. Chart review, care-plan preparation, referrals, and coordination between visits are also donated. All administrative and fundraising work is currently unpaid, and clinical care is provided to HER below market rate. Because so much of this work is donated, nearly every dollar goes directly to a family&rsquo;s care and supplies. The small amount used for essential operations, including our website, secure email, insurance, required filings, and community outreach, provides the infrastructure necessary to deliver that care responsibly and sustainably.<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">$25&nbsp;provides a new pump-parts kit for a mother receiving a donated pump or replacing worn parts. Depending on use, a kit may last four to six weeks with exclusive pumping or six to eight weeks when pumping one to three times per day. </li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">$100 helps provide essential feeding supplies to several families.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">$250 covers approximately half of one family&rsquo;s standard care.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">$500 sponsors one family&rsquo;s standard care from beginning to end.</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">$1,200 sponsors a family through more complex care, including tongue-tie support and oral-habilitation follow-up.</li></ul>Families frequently need nipple cream, breast pads, milk-storage bags, bottles, nipple shields, supplemental nursing systems, replacement pump parts, and other feeding supplies. When these items are donated, we distribute them at no cost. When they are not, HER purchases them, and your donations make that possible. Your gift also helps build what comes next. HER is developing perinatal mental-health programming that may include education, screening, peer support, facilitated groups, counseling, and connections to additional care as funding and qualified professionals become available. Donations also support the essential operations behind every program we provide. This includes maintaining our website and domain, secure organizational email and communication systems, insurance, required filings, and community outreach and advertising so families know help is available. These expenses may not be as visible as a pump kit or a family&rsquo;s care, but they are necessary for HER to serve families responsibly, securely, and sustainably. Our first fundraising goal is $5,000. That amount is equivalent to standard care for approximately ten families if used entirely for direct services. In practice, donations will help HER balance direct care, feeding supplies, program development, and essential operating expenses according to the organization&rsquo;s greatest needs. Our estimated first-year budget is approximately $20,000, and we will serve families as funding allows. If we raise more, we can serve more. The need is already here. Free to Every Family, With No Income Requirement<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Bereavement support and grief coaching following pregnancy or infant loss, in partnership with Glory Baby Ministries</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Lactation care following loss, including comfort, milk-suppression, expression, and milk-donation support</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Safe-sleep education</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Safe infant sleep spaces and supplies, subject to available funding and inventory</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Community classes open to the public</li></ul>Who Qualifies for Clinical Lactation and Infant Feeding Care and SuppliesFamilies may qualify when:<ul fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Their household income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty guideline for their household size; and</li><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Their insurance does not provide reasonably accessible coverage.</li></ul>Families receiving Medicaid, WIC, SNAP, or TANF are presumed financially eligible. Insurance is not considered reasonably accessible when a qualified provider is unavailable within a reasonable distance, care cannot be obtained within a clinically appropriate timeframe, or the family&rsquo;s out-of-pocket cost would create a financial hardship. Our service region includes communities within 150 driving miles of Bowling Green. Exceptions may be made when a family must travel to obtain qualified care or when services can be provided virtually. No Family Is BilledFamilies receiving HER-funded services are never billed by HER.&nbsp; Where the Money GoesHER keeps its operating costs intentionally low. Grief coaching, bereavement support, and lactation care following loss are donated entirely. Chart review, care-plan preparation, referrals, and coordination between visits are also donated. All administrative and fundraising work is currently unpaid, and clinical care is provided to HER below market rate. Donations support direct care, feeding supplies, future program development, and the essential operating expenses that make every service possible. This is just the beginning. As our funding grows, so will the programs, services, and support we can offer families throughout our community. HER Infant and Family Support, Inc. is a Kentucky nonprofit corporation. Its application for recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity is pending. If approved, recognition is expected to be effective from HER&rsquo;s date of incorporation, subject to the IRS&rsquo;s determination. Donors should retain their receipts.

Support HERHER Infant and Family Support, Inc. helps families in Bowling Green and surrounding communities access lactation and infant-feeding care, feeding supplies, safe-sleep education and equipment, community classes, and bereavement care. Perinatal mental-health programming is also in development. Donations and grant funding allow HER to provide approved services at no cost to participating families. For many parents struggling to feed their babies, the choice is stark: pay out of pocket for specialized care or go without it. Insurance coverage is inconsistent, qualified providers are often out of network, and claims are frequently denied. Families with Medicaid face especially limited access to an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Currently, families in our community covered by Medicaid, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Anthem, or Med Center Health do not have access to an in-network private-practice IBCLC. Others fall through the gaps because they are uninsured, have not met their deductible, received a claim denial, or cannot travel hours to the nearest covered provider. A benefit that exists only on paper is not care a family can actually receive. An International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, or IBCLC, holds the gold-standard credential in lactation and infant-feeding care.  Becoming an IBCLC requires hundreds of hours of specialized education and supervised clinical training in lactation and infant feeding, followed passing an international board examination. It is a distinct clinical specialty requiring knowledge and skills beyond routine infant-feeding education. Pediatricians, OB-GYNs, and family-practice providers refer families for lactation care because it is specialized work that extends beyond their training and the limited time available during a routine visit. They are doing their jobs, and they need qualified professionals to whom they can refer families. The gaps extend beyond infant feeding. When a baby dies, families in our region have few, if any, local sources of specialized lactation care following loss, grief support, and compassionate guidance through what comes next. HER was created to fill these gaps. Your support helps ensure that a family’s income, insurance coverage, or experience of loss does not determine whether they receive qualified, compassionate care. What Care Costs$500 covers one family’s standard care. This includes three visits lasting 60 to 90 minutes each, along with needed feeding supplies. For most families, three visits are the starting point, not the full extent of the care they may need. Families facing more complex challenges often require considerably more support. A baby recovering from a tongue-tie release, completing oral habilitation, experiencing slow weight gain or oral aversion, or facing other medically complex feeding concerns may need eight visits or more. That care can cost $1,200 or more, including supplies. What Your Gift Makes PossibleHER keeps its operating costs intentionally low. Grief coaching, bereavement support, and lactation care following loss are donated entirely. Chart review, care-plan preparation, referrals, and coordination between visits are also donated. All administrative and fundraising work is currently unpaid, and clinical care is provided to HER below market rate. Because so much of this work is donated, nearly every dollar goes directly to a family’s care and supplies. The small amount used for essential operations, including our website, secure email, insurance, required filings, and community outreach, provides the infrastructure necessary to deliver that care responsibly and sustainably.<ul><li>$25 provides a new pump-parts kit for a mother receiving a donated pump or replacing worn parts. Depending on use, a kit may last four to six weeks with exclusive pumping or six to eight weeks when pumping one to three times per day. </li><li>$100 helps provide essential feeding supplies to several families.</li><li>$250 covers approximately half of one family’s standard care.</li><li>$500 sponsors one family’s standard care from beginning to end.</li><li>$1,200 sponsors a family through more complex care, including tongue-tie support and oral-habilitation follow-up.</li></ul>Families frequently need nipple cream, breast pads, milk-storage bags, bottles, nipple shields, supplemental nursing systems, replacement pump parts, and other feeding supplies. When these items are donated, we distribute them at no cost. When they are not, HER purchases them, and your donations make that possible. Your gift also helps build what comes next. HER is developing perinatal mental-health programming that may include education, screening, peer support, facilitated groups, counseling, and connections to additional care as funding and qualified professionals become available. Donations also support the essential operations behind every program we provide. This includes maintaining our website and domain, secure organizational email and communication systems, insurance, required filings, and community outreach and advertising so families know help is available. These expenses may not be as visible as a pump kit or a family’s care, but they are necessary for HER to serve families responsibly, securely, and sustainably. Our first fundraising goal is $5,000. That amount is equivalent to standard care for approximately ten families if used entirely for direct services. In practice, donations will help HER balance direct care, feeding supplies, program development, and essential operating expenses according to the organization’s greatest needs. Our estimated first-year budget is approximately $20,000, and we will serve families as funding allows. If we raise more, we can serve more. The need is already here. Free to Every Family, With No Income Requirement<ul><li>Bereavement support and grief coaching following pregnancy or infant loss, in partnership with Glory Baby Ministries</li><li>Lactation care following loss, including comfort, milk-suppression, expression, and milk-donation support</li><li>Safe-sleep education</li><li>Safe infant sleep spaces and supplies, subject to available funding and inventory</li><li>Community classes open to the public</li></ul>Who Qualifies for Clinical Lactation and Infant Feeding Care and SuppliesFamilies may qualify when:<ul><li>Their household income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty guideline for their household size; and</li><li>Their insurance does not provide reasonably accessible coverage.</li></ul>Families receiving Medicaid, WIC, SNAP, or TANF are presumed financially eligible. Insurance is not considered reasonably accessible when a qualified provider is unavailable within a reasonable distance, care cannot be obtained within a clinically appropriate timeframe, or the family’s out-of-pocket cost would create a financial hardship. Our service region includes communities within 150 driving miles of Bowling Green. Exceptions may be made when a family must travel to obtain qualified care or when services can be provided virtually. No Family Is BilledFamilies receiving HER-funded services are never billed by HER.  Where the Money GoesHER keeps its operating costs intentionally low. Grief coaching, bereavement support, and lactation care following loss are donated entirely. Chart review, care-plan preparation, referrals, and coordination between visits are also donated. All administrative and fundraising work is currently unpaid, and clinical care is provided to HER below market rate. Donations support direct care, feeding supplies, future program development, and the essential operating expenses that make every service possible. This is just the beginning. As our funding grows, so will the programs, services, and support we can offer families throughout our community. HER Infant and Family Support, Inc. is a Kentucky nonprofit corporation. Its application for recognition as a 501(c)(3) public charity is pending. If approved, recognition is expected to be effective from HER’s date of incorporation, subject to the IRS’s determination. Donors should retain their receipts.

HER Infant and Family Support, Inc.

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