August 25–31, 2025
As we approach Black Breastfeeding Week, we reflect on a complex legacy—one shaped by resilience, resistance, and deep cultural strength. This week is more than awareness; it’s a movement to reclaim a tradition and affirm that Black families deserve equitable support in breastfeeding, birth, and infant health.
Forced to Feed: A History of Exploitation Through Wet Nursing
During slavery in the United States, many Black women were forced to serve as wet nurses, breastfeeding the children of white families—often at the expense of their own. This exploitation disconnected many generations from the practice of breastfeeding their own babies and contributed to deep mistrust and generational trauma around infant feeding.
This legacy has shaped cultural attitudes toward breastfeeding among Black women, even generations later. Instead of being a natural bond, breastfeeding became associated with subjugation and loss of autonomy. Their bodies were commodified, and their milk was treated as a resource to be extracted. While white infants were nourished, Black infants were often left underfed, neglected, or weaned prematurely, leading to higher infant mortality rates in enslaved communities.
This form of exploitation was not just physical, it was emotional and cultural. It disrupted the natural bond between Black mothers and their children, turning a sacred act of nourishment into an act of coerced labor. This trauma didn’t end with emancipation. For generations, many Black women inherited cultural narratives of pain, shame, and disempowerment tied to breastfeeding. .Breastfeeding, for many, came to represent servitude, not love or connection.Rather than being seen as an ancestral practice to be honored,
it was avoided or discouraged—especially in contexts where formula was marketed as modern, clean, or more professional.
Breaking the Cycle: Breastfeeding Without Barriers
The narrative around Black breastfeeding is shifting—but persistent disparities remain. While more Black mothers are reclaiming breastfeeding as a cultural and empowering choice, national data still shows a gap.
According to the CDC, about 74% of Black mothers initiate breastfeeding, compared to 86% of white mothers.
This isn’t about lack of desire—it’s about access.
Black mothers face unique, structural barriers that limit breastfeeding success:
● Lack of culturally competent lactation support
● Racial bias and discrimination in healthcare
● Inadequate parental leave, especially in low-wage jobs
● Targeted formula marketing in Black communities
These obstacles reflect a long history of disempowerment—but change is underway. Black-led organizations and advocates are working to restore breastfeeding as a supported, informed, and celebrated choice.
Breaking the cycle means breaking down these barriers—so every Black mother has the freedom and support to nourish her child on her own terms.
Why Black Breastfeeding Week Matters
Founded in 2013 by three Black women advocates, Kimberly Seals Allers, Kiddada Green, and Anayah Sangodele-Ayoka, Black Breastfeeding Week was created to spotlight the unique barriers and cultural solutions Black communities bring to the conversation around breastfeeding.
In the communities we serve, we see the power of what happens when a mother feels supported—not judged. When she’s given culturally relevant education, affirming care, and space to make informed choices. Breastfeeding becomes more than nourishment—it becomes healing. It becomes reclaiming.
Breastfeeding can be a form of resistance in a system that too often overlooks our needs. It can be a form of restoration, reconnecting us with ancestral wisdom and pride. And most of all, it can be a form of community building. When one mother feels empowered to breastfeed, she inspires others. When a grandmother encourages her daughter, a new legacy begins. When a community wraps around a mother with support—not shame—we shift the entire narrative.
In the families we walk alongside, we see breastfeeding as a community practice, not just a personal choice. It’s relevant because it touches so many intersections: infant health, maternal mental wellness, economic justice, and cultural pride. The act of breastfeeding becomes a way to say: We are worthy. Our babies are worthy. And we deserve every resource to thrive.
The cycle doesn’t break on its own. It takes intention. It takes culturally responsive care. And it takes acknowledging the pain of the past while actively building a future rooted in love, knowledge, and liberation.
How We Can Support
● Uplift Black lactation consultants and doulas in your community.
● Support Black-led organizations working in maternal and infant health.
● Share stories—representation matters.
● Advocate for policy changes like paid family leave and expanded postpartum care.
Join Us!
Throughout Black Breastfeeding Week, we’ll be sharing resources, events, and stories that honor the legacy and promote the future of Black breastfeeding. This year’s theme is “Boots on The Ground: Rooted in Breastfeeding success, grounded in community support!” Let’s celebrate the strength, joy, and power of Black families reclaiming their narratives. #BlackBreastfeedingWeek #BBW2025
Great Job BWWLA & the Team @ Black Women for Wellness Source link for sharing this story.
