Black Breastfeeding Week commenced on August 25th for its sixth annual celebration filled with encouragement, support, information and, most of all, LOVE for black, breastfeeding mothers. We recently spoke to a few admins from Facebook’s Breastfeeding Support Group for Black Moms on the importance of the group’s existence, the change they’ve made, their goals and their professional, solid, science-based advice.

The Facebook group started in 2013 after Stacy Yeager, PhD, had her baby and was in search of breastfeeding support groups for black mothers. As her search came to an empty road, she did what every boss does — started it herself. At that time, Facebook wasn’t allowing its users to create groups unless they had peers joining in, to which Yeager found a wonderful solution to — creating other profiles with aliases for herself in order to start the much-need group.

#BlackBreastfeedingWeek 🖤 Moms share their breastfeeding stories in the link in our bio. #NormalizeBreastfeeding because #BreastfeedingSavesLives
A post shared by Black Moms Breastfeed (@blackmomsbreastfeed) on Aug 28, 2018 at 8:01am PDT

In five short years, the group has grown from Stacy Yeager, Stacy Yeager and Stacy Yeager to over 52,000 group members and nine administrators, spreading positivity and a wealth of factual knowledge. The administrators hold titles that include Certified Breastfeeding Peer Counselor, Lactation Consultant and Registered Nurses. In other words, women who know their stuff.

The Facebook group is a closed Facebook group, meaning you have to request to be a part of it. This allows the admins to see who they’re allowing into this personal and very intimate sharing space. The group is also closed on Mondays and Thursdays so that they can filter through the page and ensure that the rules are being followed.

I hope all of you mamas had a great Mother’s Day. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your story. Thank you for assisting me in helping the little babies I take care of and little babies all around the world- by showing that breastfeeding is normal, that breastfeeding saves lives, and that Black women and babies will not be left behind in this fight ❤️
A post shared by Black Moms Breastfeed (@blackmomsbreastfeed) on May 16, 2018 at 8:34am PDT

The group focuses on evidence-based advice, leaving behind the old wives tales, myths and the "this worked for me" advice behind. While this might seem restrictive, the admins want to ensure that the advice given is factual and current. If an old wives’ tale works for one mother, there isn’t a guarantee that it will work for another. The same goes for advice from past generations since having current, scientifically proven advice can ensure that moms (whether first-time or not) will have access to solid information that’s relevant and factual.

•GIVEAWAY•Hey y’all, hey! We are back and kicking off the first week of March with a giveaway!! As one our goals here at @BlackMomsBreastfeed is to provide positive representation to little Black girls and boys, this giveaway is for a copy of the children’s book “Fatimah the Fashionista.” - I remember as a kid when “My Sized Barbie” came out and my aunt gave me one as a gift- she was a white Barbie with blonde hair. When my mom asked if I liked it, I said “Yes...but I wish she was brown like me....I want one that looks like me, too. My mom drove around the entire city for a week to find me a Black My Sized Barbie. There were always dozens of White dolls, but we had to search so hard to find dolls that were both Black and beautiful. My momma finally found one, brought it home, and said “Here, she’s so pretty just like you. Now you have both and now they can play together.” ❤️ - To enter to win a copy of this book by author Stephanie Wright: 1. Like this post and leave a comment below with words that little Brown and Black children should be told more often. - That’s it! It’s that easy! Winner must reside in continental US. Giveaway open March 5th-15th. We will choose one winner. Link for purchase in bio.
A post shared by Black Moms Breastfeed (@blackmomsbreastfeed) on Mar 5, 2018 at 10:42am PST

One of the top concerns that come up in the group, according to Courtney Lomax Polk, RNC-OB, CLC, IBCLC, is the concern that they’re not making enough milk. Lomax encourages mothers in the group to trust their bodies:

"I just want moms to know that they are enough! Trust your body, trust your baby, trust the process. Your body grew this baby, your body has been making milk since before labor and you can absolutely do this!"

Fun fact about breast milk: one drop of colostrum has 3 million antibodies. 3 MILLION. As a #nurse you are always learning and I recently I attended a baby friendly class. I was blown away by that. So important to the little NICU babies I take care of. 💉 - Guys, I really want to announce the Milk Mutha pin, but IG is not letting me read our comments. Please hang tight! Thanks, loves! Also, today is the last day to enter the Ergobaby giveaway! See two posts ago! - But have you seen a more beautiful video today? @taja_janel shares// there's nothing greater than this feeling via @bosomnectar
A post shared by Black Moms Breastfeed (@blackmomsbreastfeed) on Oct 11, 2017 at 8:46am PDT

By encouraging women to trust their bodies to do something that women’s bodies have been doing for centuries, the group is battling unrealistic media standards, insecurities and stigmas that come with breastfeeding.

"We want women to be educated. We want them to know their options, we want them to be aware that they can say no — they can accept or deny anything they please. We have so much more information now and it’s time for women to stand up," shared Nzinga Malika with 21Ninety.

Happy #WorldBreastfeedingWeek, y'all!! Founder of this page, @heytaemama, is kicking off this week by syringe feeding babies in the #NICU their mama's milk. What do you guys have planned? Drop events in the comments below (please include the city and state).👇🏾
A post shared by Black Moms Breastfeed (@blackmomsbreastfeed) on Aug 1, 2017 at 10:15am PDT

The work that’s being done by the group has also made change and there’s only more to come. For great advice from other mothers, as well as breastfeeding professionals, please be sure to join Facebook’s Breastfeeding Support Group for Black Moms.

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