All in Mothering
The theme of this year’s Black Breastfeeding Week is Revive, Restore, Reclaim. What a beautiful and on-time theme because 2020 has been a rough one. A global pandemic, the righteous reckoning and continued fight for racial justice in America, and even more lives lost from the black maternal mortality crisis. The beauty of this theme is that it asks us questions that acknowledge our inherent power.
I literally crossed a threshold into a new way of being, thinking and moving in this world. And it was right on time. This Fall, I will officially begin training to become a childbirth educator with Birthing from Within, an organization committed to honoring the sacred in birth experiences.
I look forward to the day when breastfeeding rates among African-American women no longer lag behind our white counterparts. I envision a tomorrow where hospitals, workplaces and systems everywhere advocate for EVERY nursing mother.
I was not gentle with myself. And I was so sad for my baby who had no say in her genetic coding. But I had to center the facts. We knew the chances of us having a child with sickle cell. But the fact is, we created our daughter in love, and that is exactly what I needed to center as we raise, nurture, teach and fight for her.
How do we protect our narrative and stop it from becoming the medical systems’ tool for fear mongering? And how do we do this while honoring those who have been harmed? These are not simple questions. But we can all play a role in the answers.
This lady’s face, her voice, her smile and even her scent likely connected him to a mother he’d already bonded with by the time he was my age. For him it was a reunion. For me it was an introduction to a benevolent stranger. I didn’t know this woman.
All of our stories are like wells, providing growth for ourselves, our diverse narrative, and our maternal health advocacy.
I will share our stories of pain and peace, laughter and sorrow, tragedy and triumph, to help nourish a whole and balanced picture of what our maternal health looks like.
