08/26/2026
🤎 Happy Black Breastfeeding Week! 🤎
August 25–31 is Black Breastfeeding Week—a time to celebrate, uplift, educate, and honor Black mothers and families on their breastfeeding journeys.
The photo of the tired, shuffled-around mama is me, Love Akana, just a few days shy of 22 years old, with our first daughter, Lauren.
I remember thinking, “I have met my match!” 😂
I had been warned: “It’s so hard, and it hurts so bad.” So I prepared. I took the breastfeeding class, read the books, gathered my resources, kept the La Leche League hotline close, and had supportive mamas on speed dial.
And then there was Lauren. 💗
She curled her tongue, thrashed her head, swung her little arms—and every feeding became an opportunity for us to figure it out together.
It took two weeks.
Two weeks that felt like the longest two weeks ever.
But we figured it out.
It took grit, patience, determination, and community.
I’ll never forget the encouragement from other mothers—even strangers. The La Leche League leaders who came into our home. The countless calls. The women who reminded me that I didn’t have to figure it all out alone.
There were plenty of stories about how difficult breastfeeding could be, and I listened with compassion. But I refused to let someone else’s experience overshadow what I believed was possible for us.
I knew what I wanted to gift her:
Me.
Liquid gold.
Nourishment.
Immune support.
Connection.
This week, we especially lift our Black mothers.
The mothers who are nursing, pumping, supplementing, relactating, seeking support, trying again, or finding their own way.
Every journey matters. Every mother matters.
And to the mama who desires to breastfeed:
You deserve support.
You deserve encouragement.
You deserve a village that believes in you.
Sometimes it takes more than determination.
Sometimes it takes a whole village saying:
“Keep going, mama.” 🤎
TheVillageMatters SacredDoulaCollective
