Dr. Shela Hirani’s Impact on Breastfeeding Support in Saskatchewan
- Sarah Kasleder for SHRF
- 36 minutes ago
- 5 min read
by Sarah Kasleder for SHRF
Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation’s (SHRF) Impact Award recognizes a researcher, having received a SHRF Establishment Grant five years prior, who has demonstrated influence on practice, policy, and capacity over time.
Dr. Shela Hirani is currently a Professor at the University of Regina’s Faculty of Nursing, Founder of “Breastfeeding Advocacy Research: Programs, Policies and Practices (BARPPP) Lab”, and leads initiatives like “Breastfeeding Knowledge Hub”, and “Voices of Migrant Families-An Advocacy Hub”.
Dr Hirani’s work focuses on understanding and improving breastfeeding support for refugee and immigrant mothers in Saskatchewan. It is research shaped by more than two decades of her clinical and academic experience, including her role as an Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and grounded in years spent listening to mothers navigating displacement, trauma, and early parenthood.
For Dr. Hirani, this research began long before receiving her Establishment Grant.
Experience that shaped the work
Before joining the University of Regina, she worked closely with mothers in disaster relief and refugee settings during her nursing training and doctoral studies. In those environments, she saw how quickly breastfeeding practices could be disrupted when basic supports were missing.
Dr. Hirani explains, “I worked directly with mothers who were displaced by war and natural disasters. In those settings, breastfeeding became very difficult when there was no privacy, no consistent care, and limited access to clean water or supplies.”
What stayed with her was not the act of migration itself, but how instability shaped infant feeding.
“For many mothers, they were breastfeeding while living in shared spaces, sometimes with ten to fifteen people in a tent. There was no privacy, and often no safe or supportive environment to continue,” Dr. Hirani notes.
When Dr. Hirani later began working with newcomer families in Saskatchewan, she recognized similar pressures emerging in a different context.
“Just because families arrive in Canada does not mean their challenges disappear,” she observes, “the trauma follows them into healthcare settings, workplaces, and daily life.”
And for mothers, those stressors were often intensified during the postpartum period.
“They were breastfeeding. They were giving birth in a new country without support from their extended family. Language barriers, unfamiliar healthcare systems, and isolation all added to the difficulty of sustaining breastfeeding,” she adds.
She recognized that, although the setting was different, the pattern was familiar: “It wasn’t only trauma from war or natural disasters, it was how quickly breastfeeding could become vulnerable when systems were not designed to support mothers in complex situations.”
Those early experiences shaped how Dr. Hirani later approached her research in Saskatchewan. How could healthcare and community systems better support breastfeeding mothers?
Understanding breastfeeding barriers in Saskatchewan
Supported by SHRF Establishment Grant funding, Dr. Hirani led a study, “Facilitators and Barriers to Breastfeeding Practices of Immigrant Mothers in Saskatchewan.”
Through in-depth interviews and field observations, the research focused on understanding how systems, rather than individual choices, shape breastfeeding outcomes.
“In Canada, about 96% of mothers initiate breastfeeding, but by the time mothers reach 6 months, there is a significant decline. Migrant mothers experience an even steeper drop than others,” Dr. Hirani explains.
Dr. Hirani explored why that decline occurred. What emerged was a clear picture of gaps that were often unintentional but impactful. Dr. Hirani explains, “What I saw was a gap in cultural sensitivity. Many mothers preferred female providers. Some felt uncomfortable asking male providers for help, even when they were experiencing breast engorgement or infection. That hesitation often led to more complications.”
Mothers also described practical barriers that had immediate effects, which Dr. Hirani recalled, “So many postnatal mothers were uncomfortable eating hospital meals and were hungry while in the hospital after childbirth. With my advocacy, I asked mothers about their cultural and religious food preferences. Kosher food. Halal food. Small changes, but they mattered.”
Privacy was another recurring concern.
“Many mothers were looking for private spots within units where they could breastfeed. Sometimes even a curtain or a shield would have helped them continue breastfeeding,” points Dr. Hirani.
Despite these barriers, Dr. Hirani was consistently struck by the determination and resilience of the women with whom she worked.
“They were deeply committed to breastfeeding their babies. They were balancing trauma, resettlement, and caregiving at the same time.” Dr. Hirani says.
From Insight to change
Because the research was conducted in partnership with organizations such as the Saskatchewan Health Authority and settlement agencies, the findings were shared early, applied in practice, and were not limited to academic circles.
“When I presented the findings, it helped people see how cultural, social, and environmental factors were influencing breastfeeding. It created space for reflection across healthcare and community systems,” Dr. Hirani explains.
The research contributed to changes in how breastfeeding support was approached, including greater attention to trauma-informed care, more culturally responsive practices, and stronger coordination between healthcare providers and settlement organizations. It also informed how postpartum counselling, delivering prenatal and postnatal support in community settings, and how breastfeeding education can empower breastfeeding mothers.
“Everyone was doing good work, and the research helped bring people together instead of working in isolation,” Dr. Hirani reflects.
Building capacity for lasting impact
Capacity building was a central focus of the project. With SHRF funding, Dr. Hirani mentored undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral trainees across disciplines, including nursing, medicine, social work, psychology, and community health.
“For me, impact includes preparing people to continue this work. It’s about passing the torch,” Dr. Hirani says.
Many of those trainees are now working across Saskatchewan and Canada, supporting migrant newcomer families in healthcare, research, and community-based roles.
“That’s how change lasts,” Dr. Hirani adds.
Making research accessible
Dr. Hirani also prioritized accessible knowledge mobilization. Rather than relying solely on technical reports, she focused on developing plain-language PDF resources, animated videos, songs and toolkits designed for both healthcare providers and families.
“People need information they can understand and use,” she notes.
The project also led to the development of the Breastfeeding Knowledge Hub, designed in plain language and with accessibility in mind. As Dr. Hirani shares, “My work led to the creation of the Breastfeeding Knowledge Hub. It started in Saskatchewan, but it’s now been accessed by over 200,000 families worldwide.”
The hub reflects her belief that research should reach people where they are. Many of her resources have been shared widely through healthcare and community networks and are now being used beyond Saskatchewan.
“When information is accessible, it moves, and when it moves, it changes practice,” Dr. Hirani says.
Looking ahead
Reflecting on receiving SHRF’s Impact Award, Dr. Hirani emphasizes the importance of early investment.
“SHRF gave me the foundation to establish my research program,” she reflects, “The impact we are seeing now is built on that support.”
As she looks ahead, Dr. Hirani remains focused on strengthening breastfeeding support across healthcare, community and public settings, and she shares her primary focus: “Equitable breastfeeding support for all mothers, in all settings. That is the goal.”