Photovoice Exhibit Centers and Celebrates Families’ Breastfeeding Experiences

“Everybody’s breastfeeding journey looks different,” said Kellushia Chung, a New Haven Healthy Start participant. “It makes me proud that we’re trying.”

Chung was one of six participating families who shared photographs and personal stories during New Haven Healthy Start’s inaugural Photovoice Exhibit.

The project invited families to photograph and reflect on their own experiences with breastfeeding. Participants received disposable cameras to capture the routines, relationships, challenges, moments of connection and support systems that shaped their breastfeeding experiences. 

“We asked families to show us what breastfeeding looks like through their eyes,” said New Haven Healthy Start Director Natasha Ray. “What they showed us was that the story is rarely about one person; it is about families, relationships, support and the people who help one another keep going.”

The project was held during National Breastfeeding Month. The 2026 theme, R.I.S.E. — Resilience, Interdependence, Self-Determination and Empowerment — was reflected throughout the families’ photographs and stories. Chung and the other Photovoice participants spoke about persistence, family support, feeding decisions, lactation support and the determination required to navigate breastfeeding in ways that worked for their families.

Chung described the important role her family played during the early days of her breastfeeding experience. “I had my mom and my grandma who visited me every day, staying through visiting hours just to keep me mentally positive,” she said.

She also recalled advocating for the feeding experience she wanted while in the hospital. “In the hospital, I think my determination to breastfeed really prompted them to give me what was there that I didn’t even know existed,” Chung said. She ultimately received support from a lactation professional who helped her transition to breastfeeding and pumping.

“Nothing is wrong with formula, of course,” she added. “We’re giving our child the best thing that we can.”

Another participant, Carolina Carrion, described navigating early challenges with latching and supplementation before connecting with breastfeeding counselors through Healthy Start.

“Little by little, leaving the formula and having more milk production to satisfy the baby’s needs, we achieved it,” Carrion shared in Spanish, with interpretation provided during the exhibit.

Her participation also reflected another important element of the evening: families were supported in telling their stories in the language and manner that allowed them to express their experiences most fully. New Haven Healthy Start staff supported families throughout the project with transportation, materials, board assembly, interpretation and other needs.

“We take breastfeeding seriously, and it’s something that I preach to my families and my participants,” said Tessa Lindo-Davenport, NHHS Patient Navigator. “It is a bonding experience.”

Photovoice participant Mikayla Graham reflected on that bond through the images she chose to share.

“I like the way she looks up and she smiles at me now,” Graham said. “It’s so comforting and calming.”

For Ray, those individual stories demonstrated why participant voice was central to the project: “What made this project powerful was not simply that families took photographs; it was that they decided what those photographs meant, what belonged in their story, and what they wanted the rest of us to understand. Our job was not to interpret their experiences for them; it was to create the space for their voices to lead.”

Following the family presentations, guests were invited to walk through the exhibit and view the boards again, this time with the stories behind the photographs already in mind. The format was intentional: hear the story, look again and engage more deeply. Chung closed her presentation with encouragement for other parents navigating their own feeding experiences.

“My journey might look different from yours, but we’re all on the journey — and we all are doing amazing,” she said. “So for a new mom, if you’re already a mom, just keep pushing. It gets better.”