When it comes to breastfeeding, everyone’s journey is different — and for Black women, the journey can be amazing, enriching, and challenging, but at times more complicated than for moms of other races. For a long time, Black mothers have not been given the resources and support of other breastfeeding mothers, and there are serious racial disparities in breastfeeding rates — as well as negative stereotypes surrounding Black breastfeeding. That’s why there’s a need for Black Breastfeeding Week (Aug. 25-31), which closes out the month of August, recognized as National Breastfeeding Month.
“We must end the dangerous conversation of breastfeeding as a ‘choice’ without a deeper discussion as to how Black women’s choices are shaped by their circumstances,” Kimberly Seals Allers, co-founder of Black Breastfeeding Week, told the Huffington Post in 2018. Its purpose is to “highlight the unique challenges and triumphs of Black breastfeeding that are often overlooked in the general conversation surrounding breastfeeding.”
While there are many ways to feed our babies — and none of them are wrong — Black women have the lowest breastfeeding initiation and duration rates, which can result in health issues including Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), a serious gastrointestinal problem that mostly affects premature babies and disproportionately affects Black infants. The best way to help prevent NEC is with mother’s milk.
Black Breastfeeding Week also puts the spotlight on the role that breastfeeding plays in saving the lives of Black infants, so while it’s not the cure-all for this issue, it helps start and continue the conversation when Black celebrity moms share their own very personal experiences with breastfeeding. There will be challenges, yes, but we can get through the experience with the support of all of our sisters.
Whether it’s the biggest celebrity mom we can think of (Hey, Beyoncé!) or the everyday woman like you and me, breastfeeding can be complicated. Celebs like Keke Palmer, Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, Halle Berry, Regina King, and Alicia Keys have been vocal about their breastfeeding experiences and we’re thankful for their honesty because it allows us all to see that no breastfeeding experience is perfect.
We’re thankful to every breastfeeding parent out there who shares their journey as normalizing breastfeeding not only helps create bonds with our children but also with other parents sharing the journey. Here are some of our favorite quotes from famous Black moms who’ve shared their highs and lows while breastfeeding.
For more information about Black Breastfeeding Week, visit BlackBreastfeedingWeek.org.
Keke Palmer
Keke Palmer has spoken candidly about the challenges of breastfeeding her son Leo (b. 2023) and the ways it impacted her sense of self. “I think my breastfeeding journey was also very empowering because it was so difficult,” Palmer said. “And I wanted to give up at so many different points, but I just kept pushing myself and kept trying to figure it out.”
“I just got this overwhelming sense that I can do anything,” she continued in her interview with Essence. ” … There were so many things I was always trying to change before, but now, my being enough for my son has let me know that I’m enough in the world.”
The actress also spoke publicly about allegedly being stopped by a Transportation Security Association (TSA) agent for traveling witha large amount of breast milk even though TSA policy says that breast milk and other “medically necessary liquids” don’t have a 3.4-ounce maximum that other liquids do.
“I should’ve popped my tit out right then because the discretion and comfort of pumping is thwarted with threats to throw out over 16oz my babies food?!?!!!” Palmer said. “Why is that not a crime?? I’M A MOTHER for crying out loud 😩😢”
Rihanna
Rihanna is making breastfeeding sexy because of course the hot mama is! In 2023, her lingerie company, Savage X Fenty, dropped a new line of nursing bras and bralettes along with pictures of the “Umbrella” singer looking stunning and powerful as she breastfeeds her son RZA (b. 2022).
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington might have the coolest breastfeeding story we’ve heard. The Scandal star told Jennifer Hudson on the singer’s talk show that she went to President Barack Obama’s final White House party and had to go pump.
“I was nursing at the time, and I remember I brought my pump with me just in case,” said Washington, 45. “And thank God, because at 2 a.m. I was like, ‘Can somebody show me a little closet where I can go and pump?’ Because I’m not ready to leave this party!”
Regina King
While walking the red carpet at the 2016 Emmy’s, Regina King reflected on her experience starring in Jerry Macguire two decades prior. Her favorite part was how she was treated as a new mom on that set.
“Honestly I just had my son the month before we started shooting and just being able to be in an environment that embraced a new mom,” King said. “And they took breaks when it was time for me to nurse and that’s what I remember. I remember being able to be an actress and still be a mom and that’s special.”
We’re so happy to hear the cast and crew were so supportive. Unfortunately, not all working moms are treated with that level of respect and are not granted the accomodations they need.
Erykah Badu
Singer Erykah Badu is part of the sisterhood of celebrity moms trying to normalize extended breastfeeding. She breastfed her son Seven for two years and said he was very independent after.
“I was very worried that he was going to be attached since we were together every day, but I guess it made him feel comfortable: ‘I know she’s around. She’ll be there.’”
Holly Robinson Peete
Actress Holly Robinson Peete said breastfeeding made her lose weight after giving birth to her twins, and that’s actually pretty normal.
She also said she is “one of those annoying celebrities who talk about breastfeeding.” But there is nothing annoying about that! It’s empowering and makes breastfeeding moms feel connected and seen. So talk away!
Michelle Obama
Former First Lady Michelle Obama talked about taking her then-infant daughter Sasha, who was breastfed, to a job interview. “I packed up that little infant, and I put her in the stroller, and I brought her with me,” she said at a Workplace Flexibility Conference in 2010. “And I prayed that her presence wouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier. And it was fortunate for me that, number one, she slept through the entire interview. And I was still breastfeeding — if that’s not too much information. And I got the job.”
She also lobbied to award tax breaks to nursing mothers to cover the cost of breast pumps, a move which was met with harsh opposition from the right wing.
Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that not only did she breastfeed her kids Jaden and Willow, she nursed them for an extended period of time, telling Fit Pregnancy that she breastfed Jaden for 18 months. She also spoke about the judgment she felt while breastfeeding on an episode of her show, Red Table Talk.
“I had so much anxiety about it because back when I had them, breastfeeding was like, WHAT? What are you doing?!” she said.
Tia Mowry-Hardrict
Tia Mowry-Hardrict shared that she had two different breastfeeding experiences with her two children. Son Cree was born in 2011, and she wasn’t able to breastfeed him for long, but when daughter Cairo was born in 2018, Mowry-Hardrict got help from a breastfeeding consultant and breastfed Cairo for 13 months.
“#breastfeeding my son Cree was very challenging,” she shared on Instagram in 2020. “I just didn’t have enough milk and that was okay. However, with my daughter #cairo I was determined to try again and I’m so happy I did. I researched, looked to the #breastfeeding community for guidance and had an incredible breastfeeding consultant. I was able to #breastfeed #cairo for 13 months. Trust me, it was not easy. I had #mastitis in the first few months. Cairo also has a lip tie making it a little challenging. However, we did not give up! To all the #mothers who couldn’t breastfeed. Don’t beat yourself up. The most important thing is that your baby is fed, protected and loved. 💕 #wegotthis”
Alicia Keys
The “A Woman’s Worth” singer shared her breastfeeding experience with first son, Egypt, who is now 11 (she’s also mom to son Genesis, born in 2014) and said that she was told that breastfeeding would make her lose weight quicker. “I don’t know if it’s a total myth… but I used it as an excuse and said, ‘Oh, I can eat that!’,” Keys said during an interview for the since-canceled Lifetime TV show, The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet.
“I loved {breastfeeding] I took this whole class too, which I thought was really good because I think a lot of people think you’re just supposed to have this natural instinct that’s supposed to happen out of thin air,” said Keys, who had to discover another part of breastfeeding on her own. “The whole engorgement thing, no one mentioned that part. I remember I was in bed and I couldn’t move because it hurts and there is no way around it.”
Beyoncé
Beyoncé’s Homecoming concert at Coachella in 2018 was epic enough on its own, but did you know that while rehearsing for the show, the mom of three was also breastfeeding her twins backstage?
In the Netflix documentary of the same name that chronicled the Coachella event, Beyoncé revealed it was challenging to stay away from Blue Ivy, who was 6 years old at the time, as well as twin babies Rumi and Sir Carter. “My mind wanted to be with my children. What people don’t see is the sacrifice,” she said.
Beyoncé also revealed she would go back to her trailer to breastfeed the twins in between rehearsals, Buzzfeed reported. “It was a lot to juggle,” she said. “It’s not like before when I could rehearse 15 hours straight. I have children, I have a husband. I have to take care of my body.”
Halle Berry
Halle Berry welcomed both of her children in her 40s. During a 2014 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Oscar-winning actress compared breastfeeding her first child, daughter Nahla, born in 2008, to second child, son Maceo, now 8, and warned that what she was about to share was “probably way TMI.”
“There’s a difference between boys and girls. I breastfed Nahla and I’m nursing my baby,” she explained. “When I would put Nahla on the boob she would go [light sucking] — a nice little girly suck. With him it’s like, [chomping suck]. He’s like, sucking the life out of me! So I see the difference between boys and girls.”
Kandi Buruss
Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member Kandi Burruss is known as a businesswoman juggling many responsibilities, but she also takes motherhood very seriously. In 2016, after giving birth to son Ace Wells, Buruss (who is also mom to daughter, Riley, 20, and daughter, Blaze, almost 3) took to Instagram and shared her multitasking skills as she breastfed the little guy while having her hair washed at her in-home hair salon.
“This #breastfeeding stuff is no joke…” Buruss captioned the photo. “He doesn’t care that I have a head full of shampoo. He wants to eat now! Lol! This pic might be a bit much to share on the gram but this is my reality right now. Save your negative comments… #KandiKoatedMilk”
Serena Williams
In 2018, Serena Williams opened up about ending her breastfeeding with daughter Olympia. In her HBO documentary series Being Serena, the legendary tennis star revealed that she decided to switch to bottle-feeding, but she discovered that she missed the bonding time with her daughter.
“Once I got to six months I felt good about it. Then it was just emotionally letting go,” Williams said, reported USA Today. “I literally sat Olympia in my arms, I talked to her, we prayed about it. I told her, ‘Look, I’m going to stop. Mommy has to do this.’ I cried a little bit, not as much as I thought I was. She was fine.”
Laila Ali
A boxing champion in her own right and the daughter of Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali learned a hard lesson when breastfeeding her first child, son C.J., now 14. According to an interview with Best for Babes, she says she “made the mistake of giving my son a bottle so my husband [Curtis Conway] could help, and then the baby started liking the bottle, and I ended up having to pump,” Ali said, per People. She eventually exclusively pumped.
So when it came time to breastfeed her second child, daughter Sydney, now 11, Ali breastfed and the couple found other ways for Conway to bond with their daughter. “He knew that I didn’t want to introduce the bottle too early with Sydney, but it wasn’t like I had to say, ‘Honey, you’re going to be able to help in other ways,’” Ali explained. “He already knows, when it comes to the baby and feeding the baby and doing things the best way, I’m in the lead as far as that’s concerned. We don’t have an issue with that.”
Kelly Rowland
When her first son Titan was a newborn, the actress and Destiny’s Child veteran posted a emotional Instagram picture nursing him along with the lyrics to “You Are My Sunshine.” Rowland’s own mom had passed away a few week prior to that photo breastfeeding Titan in 2014.
In March 2021, Rowland took to Instagram once again while breastfeeding new son, Noah, who was just 5 weeks old at the time. Son Titan is sweetly laying by their side. “I’m breastfeeding successfully now, and I know it’s because when I’m happy, the mood is different,” she told People. I would definitely say what someone once told me is really true: Breastfeeding really does offer itself to emotion as well.”
“When I am pumping or anything like that, I always watch something funny,” she shares. “It’s a different outcome. It really is.”
Thandiwe Newton
“This is what my body is made for,” Thandiwe Newton wrote on Instagram in 2014, per People, as she shared a photo of herself breastfeeding her newborn son Booker Jombe at the music festival Latitude Fest in in Suffolk, England. “And the rest is my choice #Freedom.”
The Mission: Impossible 2 actress is also mom to daughters Repley, 18, and Nico, 14.
Tamera Mowry-Housley
Tamera Mowry-Housley is another mom who had two different breastfeeding experiences with her two children. On her personal website, she shared: “It’s incredible how different one child can be from the next, and how much easier it can be the second time around.”
She says breastfeeding with her son, Aden, now 9, was hard because “it didn’t come as naturally as we’re meant to believe. Aden wasn’t latching properly, which meant I experienced soreness, my nipples were callused and I was in pain for about 8 weeks. I was having a hard time keeping up my supply of milk and it was taking a major emotional toll on me.”
With daughter, Ariah, now 7, Mowry-Housley gleaned from her previous challenges when trying to latch with Aden, offering the advice: “Let me tell you, if breastfeeding is important to you, do not leave the hospital unless you’ve had the right latch with your baby!
“When it came time to breastfeed Ariah, I have to admit I was a little worried. I wanted to be sure that I could give her my antibodies, feed her nutrients and give her enough of my milk to help prevent her from getting sick. Thankfully my worries were unwarranted. I took everything I learned from my experience with Aden and Ariah had the perfect latch from day one.”
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