Black Breastfeeding Week is helping connect mothers and mothers to be with partners, peers, and resources to raise healthier babies.
The theme for the week-long effort ending August 31 is “The Big Pause: Collective Rest for Collective Power.”
The focus is to help Black women give their minds and body the rest needed after 16 months of the pandemic, and use the pause to re-energize and promote healthier lives for their children with breastfeeding.
Promoting healthier lives is important as Black babies have a statistically higher infant mortality rate according to Tiffany Chalk, the chair of The Delaware Healthy Mother & Infant Consortium’s Well Women/Black Maternal Health Group (DHMIC), and a governor-appointed consumer advocate and representative.
"In Delaware alone 12.5 Black infant deaths occur for every 1,000 live births compared with 5.1 white infant deaths with Black babies being 2.5 times more likely than white babies to die before their first birthday."
And nationwide, Black babies are 15 percent less likely to have been breast fed than white infants, but increased breastfeeding by Black mothers can decrease the infant mortality rates by as much as 50 percent.
Shamiya Gould, the co-chair of the Delaware Breastfeeding Coalition concedes making it happen remains an uphill climb.
"It goes back to history and it goes back to the lack of resources, and the lack of education for our families. And trust in healthcare. Black women being afraid to talk about those fears and talk about what they feel."
Gould says a number of barriers contribute to many Black mothers not breastfeeding.
"With just mental health challenges, with access to care, so some of our families are still walking to appointments, lack of support within the community, or at home care, or not trusting healthcare providers, then you also have homelessness."
The week includes free virtual events. More information on those events is available at the DE thrives website.
