Liquid Gold: Celebrating Black Breastfeeding Week
Black stories are rarely front and center in discussions of breastfeeding. Each year, the entire month of August is dedicated to Breastfeeding Awareness in the United States. Yet, the conversation often prioritizes the experiences of white women, failing to address the needs of Black, Brown, and other marginalized communities whose breastfeeding journeys are shaped by legacies of racism.
Despite this, breast milk—often affectionately called “liquid gold”—provides many important health and wellness benefits for birthing people and babies. These include reducing the mother's risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, and helping protect babies against short- and long-term illnesses and diseases like asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Thankfully, Black Breastfeeding Week offers an opportunity to address these gaps. Read on for some important quick facts about this cultural celebration.
What is Black Breastfeeding Week, and when did it start?
This year marks the 11th anniversary of Black Breastfeeding Week, a multi-platform, week-long national celebration of public health and a campaign to honor Black breastfeeding. This event takes place annually from August 25th to 31st.
The week serves to uplift cultural concerns about health and wellness, including celebrating our lives, fostering a culturally congruent breastfeeding culture, and providing support, resources, and opportunities to get involved.
What are the stats?
Black women have the lowest initiation rates and shortest durations of breastfeeding. Fewer non-Hispanic Black infants (75.4%) are ever breastfed compared to Asian infants (92.7%), non-Hispanic White infants (86.2%), and Hispanic infants (83.4%), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Black Breastfeeding Week exists for several important reasons:
Black moms and infants experience the highest rates of mortality compared to other racial groups, and breastfeeding offers significant health benefits for both.
Black women are often steered towards formula feeding and are less likely to receive the social support necessary to continue breastfeeding.
Black trans-birthing people face additional barriers to accessing gender-affirming breastfeeding resources.
What’s this year’s theme?
This year's theme is “Listen Up! Reclaiming Our Narrative & Centering Our Stories for Breastfeeding Justice.”
One of Black Breastfeedings Weeks founders, Kimberly Seals Allers, explained the significance of this in a recent Instagram post: “This year’s theme recognizes the power of narrative shift and amplifies storytelling as a key catalyst for equity and justice in lactation,” she wrote. “This year, we center our stories—ALL OF THEM. This year, we celebrate all the voices and all the journeys of Black birthing families. This year, we invite you to Listen Up!”
How can my loved ones and I stay engaged?
Go to the Black Breastfeeding Week website, follow them on social media, and Google “Black Breastfeeding Week” + your city and state.