Listening, Learning, and Leading in the Dominican Republic
Penn Global Seminar: Lactation and Public Health Advocacy in the Dominican Republic
Gloria, one of the Spring 2026 Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Spring Break. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
I have just returned from my field experience in the Dominican Republic, where we explored lactation and the broader public health landscape. This week has been incredibly life-changing, shaping how I plan to practice and engage with communities as a future provider.
Throughout the week, our class had the opportunity to engage in a range of meaningful experiences:
- Learned directly from community leaders at Niños Primeros en Salud (NPS), a program that provides comprehensive pediatric care for children aged 0 to 5 in Consuelo
- Supported NPS community health fairs by taking blood pressures, applying fluoride, and measuring heights and weights
- Shared a meal with health promoters, trusted community members who conduct home visits and deliver health education, gaining insight into how care extends beyond clinical spaces
- Visited and learned from ProlactarRD, where we saw a model of community-based lactation support in action
- Learned how ProlactarRD provides support through WhatsApp group chats and has expanded from one group chat to over 200, with up to 1,000 participants in each
- Engaged directly with hospital residents in discussion at Hospital Universitario Maternidad Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia (HUMNSA) and observed their donor milk bank program
- Explored Dominican history and culture through tours of Santo Domingo, visits to Cueva de las Maravillas, and time spent in Altos de Chavón and Playa Minitas
- Experienced the vibrancy of Zona Colonial through dance
Some of my takeaways:
- Community and trust are central in everything we do in healthcare. One of the highlights of my trip was having lunch with Sandra, a health promoter, who explained that one of her favorite parts of her job is knocking on people’s doors and being welcomed into their homes.
- You must challenge your own biases, often and regularly. Through this experience, I was able to observe debates and dialogues over c-sections vs. vaginal births. Although they became heated at times, conflict is okay. We need to engage in these conversations, as our perceptions and biases ultimately shape patient care.
- Lead with purpose and passion. I particularly enjoyed speaking with Aurelina Estévez, founder of ProlactarRD, an organization that promotes exclusive breastfeeding through education, policy, and advocacy. She shared how her journey to ProlactarRD stemmed from her own struggles as a lawyer who did not have an appropriate place to breastfeed at work, which led her to start a petition on change.org that went viral with over 30,000 signatures.
- Meet others where they are without any preconceived notions. While we were walking through a barrio (or community) with Ramona (the lead nurse of NPS), another community member ran after us to tell us not to walk that way. Ramona explained how this area is known for drug use and selling, and that people who sell or use drugs are often ostracized in the community. She told us that we must treat everyone with dignity, and shared that when her daughter was having a sickle cell crisis in the middle of the night, she went to that same area to ask for help.
Now my advice for you: If you are in any way interested in joining a PGS, take the leap. I’ve made incredible new friendships, have been challenged in ways that make me a better learner and provider, and have taken lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.