Today is the first day of Black Breastfeeding Week! It's also National Breastfeeding Month!

Did you know that breastfeeding provides the perfect balance of nutrients and antibodies for infants and reduces their risk for allergies, infections, and diseases?

Also, did you know that breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes type 2, and heart disease for moms? And that breastfeeding also helps moms lose weight after pregnancy and can even help to prevent postpartum depression.

For numerous reasons, Black/African Americans have lagged behind other races/ethnicities in receiving these tremendous benefits. That’s why AAHP strongly encourages moms to breastfeed as an important part of giving their infants a healthy start in life. AAHP’s SMILE program provides breastfeeding support to Black/African American moms and babies as a critical part of our mission to end health disparities.

We hope you can join us in celebrating breastfeeding and how far we've come with more and more Black/African American moms breastfeeding. Check out the official Black Breastfeeding Week page to learn about the virtual events taking place in observance of this special occasion here.