Dr. Sahira Long is a board certified pediatrician and lactation consultant, and a Fellow of both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM). She is a graduate of the George Washington University School of Medicine, where she is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. She is Medical Director for Children’s Health Center—Anacostia in Washington, DC and for the Children’s National East of the River Lactation Support Center.
Dr. Long has been involved in breastfeeding advocacy on the national, state and local level. As president of the DC Breastfeeding Coalition and a member of the DC Lactation Commission since their inception in 2004 and 2016 respectively, she works collaboratively with the DC AAP Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinators. She currently serves as Co-Chair for the United States Breastfeeding Committee’s CRASH Committee that oversees the organization’s diversity and inclusion efforts. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) and the AAP Section on Breastfeeding Executive Committee. She represents ROSE on the AAP Physician Engagement and Training Focused on Breastfeeding Project Advisory Committee.
Dr. Long participated as a panelist during the US Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding and is featured as an expert in the US Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health It’s Only Natural campaign (www.womenshealth.gov/itsonlynatural) to improve breastfeeding rates among African Americans. She has published peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and blogs on various topics related to breastfeeding.