Alyssah Hall
Black Breastfeeding Week is an initiative founded in 2013, by Kimberly Seals Allers, Kiddada Green and Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka to highlight the disparities in breastfeeding rates and close those gaps among Black mothers compared to their racial/ethnic counterparts.
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Black Breastfeeding Week takes place from Aug. 25 through Aug. 31 and this year’s theme is “Boots on the Ground: Rooted in Breastfeeding Success, Grounded in Community Support.”
Breastfeeding is the ideal source of nutrition for most infants, however, the lowest prevalence of breastfeeding initiation is among Black mothers, according to 2020-2021 disaggregated data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)The overall prevalence of breastfeeding initiation was 84.0%, ranging from 74.5% (mothers identifying as Black) to 94.0% (mothers identifying as Japanese),” according to the report.
Some barriers to breastfeeding include cultural and historical trauma, unpaid family leave and little support from employers, and a lack of access to good quality breastfeeding support, according to March of Dimes.
Jennifer Evans is a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor and birth and postpartum doula who works with the Sankofa Birthworkers Collective. Evans has been working as a lactation educator for about nine years and has been a doula for about eight years. She first entered the lactation field after she experienced breastfeeding challenges with her second son. She recalled learning more about lactation because she didn’t see representation in breastfeeding in her family or in daily life. Instead, she saw some white mothers breastfeeding, but didn’t see anyone who looked like her.
“It’s not as publicized as it is [for] our white counterparts. You don’t see Black moms on TV, breastfeeding or anything like that. It’s very common for us to not have an ancestor who breastfed,” Evand explained. “We know that having a mom or grandmother or auntie or someone in your family makes you more predisposed to breastfeed and succeed at it.”
“But when we have no examples of it, it’s like, ‘oh, that’s not for us then. And with formula marketing, it’s always been geared towards Black folks for a very long time,” Evans continued.
Evans shared that it’s important to change that narrative and highlight Black women breastfeeding with community support, because Black babies need breastfeeding now more than ever.
Devona Robertson is a Lactation Consultant and community engagement doula with the Sankofa Birthworkers Collective. She’s also a founding member. Robertson has been providing family support services in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties for over 15 years.
Robertson became interested in lactation after she had challenges with breastfeeding her third baby. Robertson had visited a lactation specialist for help and received support from a compassionate worker there. She said that it isn’t always a positive experience for Black mothers looking for help with breastfeeding.
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“It’s always important to me that even if I have an engagement with a person, family member and or mother, especially or breastfeeding person, and they choose not to breastfeed, that I’ve left a good enough taste in their mouth that they won’t discourage their sister when she’s making the decision,” Robertson shared.“They’ll say it may not have been my choice, but hey, I know somebody who you can go talk to and get some quality education and support,” she continued.
Robertson explained that Black Breastfeeding Week is not just for Black women who are breastfeeding, but it’s also for Black women who choose not to breastfeed.“It’s about awareness,” Robertson said.
Robertson finished teaching a lactation training course last month for birthworkers and shared that the lactation work is not only about breastfeeding, but also offering alternatives for mothers who don’t wish to or can’t breastfeed.Robertson explained that it’s important to ensure mothers feel encouraged to feed their baby the best way possible, outside of breastmilk, and support them and not shame them for it. It’s important to educate nonbreastfeeding parents about things like pace feeding, making sure to not over feed their baby, and if the baby is handling the formula well, according to Robertson. She also noted that breastfeeding is not supposed to be painful and that it doesn’t mean the breastfeeder is lying when they say they are in pain, just that something is wrong.
“The milk you make for your baby today is going to be different from the milk that you have for the same baby in two weeks, in three months and four months, at 18 months, two years, two and a half years. Your milk is tailor-made for the baby and will continue to change to meet your baby’s [changing] needs,” Robertson said.
Studies have shown that breastfeeding reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), as well as reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and asthma. For mothers, it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer and high blood pressure.“These are things that are rampant in our communities. And if it can offset that, that’s amazing to me. It helps with bonding and all these things,” explained Evans.
Evans said that if moms can go at least a year breastfeeding, their babies will see many benefits. However she supports mothers’ choices and said that breastfeeding can stop whenever the mom feels ready.
A few local resources for birthgivers include the Woman Infants and Children program (WIC) in San Bernardino and Riverside County and the Sankofa Birthworkers Collective which also offers Mama’s Harambee, a hybrid postpartum peer support group.
Check out four events celebrating Black Breastfeeding week:
– Black Infant Health is hosting a Spill the Tea, Not the Milk event on Aug. 28 at the Living Way Christian Fellowship in Moreno Valley. RSVP to celebrate and raise awareness about breastfeeding in the Black community.
– IE Breastfeeding Coalition’s virtual panel “Mother’s Milk, Many Voices: Cultural Conversations on Breastfeeding” is being held on Aug. 26 from 12:30 p..m. – 2 p.m. on Zoom. Panelists include Jasmine Creighton CBS, Dr. Priya Masih MD, Doula Andrea Rodriguez IBCLC, and Ashley Sayers IBCLC, Doula.
– On Aug. 29 from 11a.m- to1 p.m. “Breastfed & Blessed” is celebrating the beauty, strength, and sacredness of breastfeeding in the Black community. The event will be held at the Rita D. Walters Learning Complex in Los Angeles.
In partnership with Irth and The Suckle Center, “Milk Crawl: A Black Breastfeeding Week 2025 Celebration” is being held in Los Angeles on Aug. 27 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The crawl starting location is at the California African American Museum and the final stop is at the Rose Garden. It is a stroller friendly “mini-walk” with stretching, trivia, and lactation tips.
Source: Black Voice News
