Parenting Group ‘Chocolate Milk Mommies’ Nurse in Photoshoot to Encourage Breastfeeding in the Black Community
A group of mothers from a local parenting group in Birmingham, Alabama say that they are proud to breastfeed and say they are working to end the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in the black community. To do so, members of the group decided to pose as breastfeeding “goddesses” in a powerful photo shoot for Black Breastfeeding Week.
The mothers did each other’s makeup, which included body art, and wore crowns as they posed on rocks for photographer Keisha Cohill. Not long after sharing the stunning visual, it went viral and the group received national attention. “To us a goddess theme was perfect because they represent strength, poise, and patience; qualities we all feel to be important when breastfeeding,” group member Rauslyn Adams, said to People.
“After rocks, dust, kneeling and crying babies Keisha was able to capture a beautiful moment, as she always does,” Adams said. “Every single time we get together we always discuss how beautiful it is to have all of us amongst one another.”
Adams says the group hopes the photos will encourage African American mothers to nurse their children and remove the negative stigma it has in the black community. According to People, the lack of support in black communities has left infants with the lowest rates of breastfeeding initiation, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control.
“It is important to show black women breastfeeding because our community needs it,” Adams said to People. “We need the support and we need our children to be healthy as well.”
“We are not nor have we ever frowned upon women who do not breastfeed, because that is a personal choice that we can not control nor do we care to control. We also have nothing against any other race; however, we are our community’s biggest advocates,” Adams said. “These photos were for empowerment, confidence, and awareness of breastfeeding.”
Photo Credit: Chocolate Milk Mommies/Instagram
