By now in celebration of Black Breastfeeding Week, SELCA has highlighted some of our members that are making a difference, provided ideas for how to celebrate #BBW18, and focused on the NEED for Black Breastfeeding Week. We have shared resources this week from across the internet to “help you help breastfeeding families”…and now, we would like to know what difference is it making in your practice, your perceptions, your persistence in helping support black families. Comment or email us at contact@selca.info.
As the SELCA members at A Mother’s Answer pointed out in yesterday’s post, “[t]here’s not enough of access to safe spaces where black women can go to give and receive information. Black breastfeeding week highlights the existing resources that are available, but also shows that we are severely limited in what we offer women of color throughout the state.”
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune explained the issue like this-“So in addition to the usual dirty looks and exhaustion that many breastfeeding moms face, I had to deal with the lack of understanding and the stigma that surrounded breastfeeding in the black community, much of it related to the painful legacy of neglecting our own children to nurse white babies both during and immediately after slavery. Many lactation consultants do not account for this, or the economic struggles that leave black women without the information or opportunities they need to breastfeed successfully. And there are few black lactation consultants to assist these women.”
These three excellent organizations that support Black Breastfeeding Week, and are great resources:
Also, Georgia is home to the nationally renowned organization/member network Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere (ROSE) which was founded “… to address breastfeeding disparities to improve health equity among people of color nationwide through culturally competent training, education, advocacy, and support. With a focus on increasing breastfeeding initiation and duration rates, ROSE seeks to normalize breastfeeding by providing resources and networking opportunities for individuals and communities.” ROSE’s programs have been credited by many SELCA members of color as launching their lactation careers, and the impact the dedicated staff and volunteers of this organization makes on Georgia families, as well as lactation support nationwide, is enormous!
Despite the excellent efforts of ROSE and the #BBW18 sponsors, there is a demonstrable shortage of breastfeeding support for black communities in Georgia, and our resources reflect this lack of help for breastfeeding families . . . Here is a database listing Lactation Support Groups for families of color, and there are THREE listings for the entire state of Georgia… THREE.
We can do better. We must do better. SELCA will highlight concrete steps that we, as an organization, are taking later this week, but right now we are asking … How can we help YOU make a difference?
