Black Breastfeeding Advocacy Organization Awarded $2,000 to Share 5 Stories of Nursing Parents and Their Barriers to Wellness

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Blacktation relates to the lactation and breastfeeding experience within the Black community ranging from its history and cultural dynamics to social inequities and modern challenges. Blacktation Certified is a Colorado-based group working to advocate for Black parents who face distinct systemic barriers to support that are rooted in racism during the breastfeeding stage in their child’s lives. Due to these efforts, the organization received $2,000 from the Colorado Equity Compass (CEC) to uplift the stories of its efforts.

“We will use the funds to recruit storytellers to share their experiences. Funding would be used as incentives to participants for their time in addition to gift cards to local grocery stores,” Blacktation Certified representatives say. “We will host healing and breastfeeding circles to explore seven topics and the intersectionality of social determinants of health (SDOH).” The process would involve a seven-day asynchronous journey exploring the following themes through The Milk that Built America, a peer support breastfeeding curriculum:

Day 1: Honoring the Mothers/Nurturers Before Us

Day 2: The reemerge (from the darkness) from self, new identity, a mother, but still an individual

Day 3: The Duality of Life (mother and child dyad)

Day 4: Rooted & Release

Day 5: Flow into the Let Down (navigating expectations)

Day 6: #LifesNectar

Day 7: The Stillness of the Night

“These seven themes will be explored in a group setting, then individual stories will be highlighted and featured to allow a wider audience to be educated, promote exploration and demonstrate exhibition of these unique experiences and how we are related in our human experiences,” representatives continued.

“So often the interconnected nature of the SDOH are not taken into account when considering the health of a community,” says CEC Project Lead Dr. Rachele Espiritu. “The CEC is pleased to support Blacktation Certified in its efforts to uplift the voices of Black parents who face barriers to breastfeeding and emphasize the importance of holistic health at the start of childrens’ lives.” 

These products can be found below.

• The Milk That Built America Reflective Journey - Ronnette's Story

• The Milk That Built America Reflective Journey - Geneva's Story

• The Milk That Built America Reflective Journey - Melody's Story

• The Milk That Built America Reflective Journey - Alex's Story

• The Milk That Built America Reflective Journey - Evany's Story

About Blacktation Certified Disparities due to socio-economic status and racial inequity creates limited access and barriers to education and ongoing breastfeeding/nursing support required to meet breastfeeding goals. The lack of quality health care, food security and economic instabilities directly correlates with substandard neighborhood and physical environments. Blacktation Certified is bridging the lactation support gap helping families access the care needed during the perinatal period. Its goal is to increase community-based access to breastfeeding/nursing to promote thriving families and communities. The organization currently provides nursing education and support during house calls and online visits alongside other services.

About the Colorado Equity Compass Across Colorado, communities are facing inequities that impact their health and wellbeing. Different factors, including systemic racism, a lack of affordable housing, and environmental concerns, contribute to these inequities.

As a project of The Colorado Trust, CEC helps communities — and the organizations that serve them — better understand these issues and advocate for change using data and stories. This work consolidates diverse resources, connects peers, and both aligns and empowers communities and institutions via its Equity Data Navigator. The model showcases inequities and the social determinants of health (SDOH) across communities. CEC also serves as a hub for community storytelling and information-sharing.

For more information and to view the Equity Data Navigator, visit coequitycompass.org. For media inquiries, contact CEC at [email protected].