Welcome!

Welcome to the Black Women Do Breastfeed blog.

Our breastfeeding stories and images are not easy to find online. In fact, it would seem as if the story of modern black American women breastfeeding is limited. This blog seeks to highlight the many black mothers in the United States (and beyond) who do indeed breastfeed their children. Despite the statistics that show a despairing picture of breastfeeding among black mothers in the United States, there are many of us who have breastfed, are breastfeeding, and will breastfeed our children.

We invite all mothers who identify racially as black to share your breastfeeding stories here. It does not matter how long you breastfed or even if you used alternative feeding methods at some point, your story is welcome. This is a judgment-free zone.

***Even though this blog exists primarily to highlight the stories of black mothers we welcome all mothers to this space.

Brown Mamas Breastfeed Project

Want proof that brown mamas DO breastfeed? Check out this collection of photos of brown breastfeeding mothers at the blog SoulVegMama. They are still accepting entries, so check out the submission guidelines here.

Natasha’s Story — “I thought it was the norm”

Natasha is the mother of an 18 month old boy who is still breastfed. She writes about her life at The Adventures of Natasha and Nate. You can read more about her breastfeeding journey here: Why I Breastfeed, Part Deux.

Keva’s Story — Fourth Time’s A Charm

Keva is a mother of 4 who is currently breastfeeding her youngest who is 14 months old. Keva supports other breastfeeding mothers as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor and writes about her life at Single Mama Tales It All.

Dawn’s Story — Breastfeeding with confidence

Dawn is a mother of four daughters — a 9 year old who breastfed for 26 months, a 7 year old who breastfed for 17 months, a 5 year old who breastfed for 28 months, and an 8 month old who is currently exclusively breastfed. Dawn is also a Certified Lactation Educator who enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for breastfeeding. You can read more of Dawn’s thoughts at the blog she shares with her husband at Offdachainandouttadabox.

Nadirah’s Story — It just seemed natural

Nadirah is the mother of a 16 month old girl, who is an avid nursling. Nadirah blogs about her views on motherhood at Nad and Zara Take on the World, and recently self-published a book of motivational essays, On All the Things That Make Me Beautiful. 

Kira’s Story: Persevering through a rough start

Kira shares her story of persevering through tremendous difficulty in order to successfully breastfeed her now 10 month old son. Kira blogs about being “a modern woman with old fashioned tendencies” at Just Like June.

Karianna’s Story – “Remember, it’s called breastfeeding…not nipple feeding”

Karianna is the mother of two girls – a 10 month old who is currently breastfeeding and a three year old who recently weaned. Karianna blogs about her life, motherhood, breastfeeding, feminism, faith and other passionate topics at Caffeinated Catholic Mama.

Be a part of the updated Breastfeeding Guide

I recently received this email request to pass along to all of you:

The Office on Women’s Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is developing a breastfeeding guide and would like to include personal stories from real women. We are looking for stories that describe how women have overcome challenges, such as a lack of support or mastitis, to successfully breastfeed. If you would like your story to be considered for the guide, please email it to us at 4.woman@mail.ps.net with “Breastfeeding Guide 2” in the subject line. Stories should be 300 words or less.

We are also in need of high-resolution, discreet photos for the guide. Please let us know in your email if you have any photos that you would like to share.

The present breastfeeding guides can be found here.

Ruthie’s Story – Preparation is key to success

Ruthie is the mother of four children, ages 12, 10, 22 months and 8 months. She breastfed each of her three oldest children for more than a year and is currently breastfeeding her youngest.

Christina’s Story: An interest in birth led to an interest in breastfeeding

Christina nursing her younger son at 16 months old

Christina is the mother of two sons ages 5 years 5 months and 2 years 10 months. She breastfed both of them for approximately two years each. You can find her occasionally blogging about her life at lafemmedesfemme.