Jennifer Miller, one of the founders of Chocolate Milk Mommies, a group based in Birmingham, Alabama, is working to normalize breastfeeding for black mothers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 64% of non-Hispanic black mothers decide to breastfeed, compared with 81% of Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women. In addition to cultural factors, black women are less likely to breastfeed because they are more likely to have to go back to work earlier. They also don’t get enough information from doctors and lack access to professional breastfeeding support, according to the CDC.
Another study from the Centers for Disease Control which analyzed births from 2000 to 2008, posits that the lack of proper support for breastfeeding moms within the black community has left their infants with the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation.
Based on this research, The Chocolate Milk Mommies, a group based in Birmingham, Alabama, is working to normalize breastfeeding for black mothers. Members of this parenting group organized a stunning photo shoot to encourage more black women to breastfeed their babies. While the Chocolate Milk Mommies are proud to nurse their children, they’re aware that due to stigma, many mothers within the black community choose not to.
To provide more support for moms, the Chocolate Milk Mommies group has meetups, runs a Facebook group, and lately, has been staging some gorgeous photo shoots. Despite agreeing that every woman should do what’s best for her, whether that means nursing or not, the parenting group says that it is important to break free of the idea that breastfeeding is taboo and also empowers women to feel confident in the choices they make for their children.
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