Approximately 74% to 79% of Black mothers in the United States initiate breastfeeding. While that means more than two out of every three Black mothers start out breastfeeding, a persistent racial gap remains compared with white, Hispanic and Asian mothers.
Recent CDC breastfeeding data show that 79.4% of non-Hispanic Black infants are ever breastfed, but the disparity becomes more pronounced as breastfeeding continues, with Black infants experiencing steeper declines in breastfeeding duration than infants in several other racial groups.
The decline cannot be separated from systemic health disparities, unsupportive hospital environments, limited access to culturally responsive lactation care and workplace policies that can make sustained breastfeeding difficult.
In alignment with National Breastfeeding Month and to consistently address persistent barriers, Southeast Michigan IBCLCs of Color (SEMI) operates on the ground across Metro Detroit.
In an exclusive feature for Auntie Magazine, SEMI’s leadership breaks down how culturally responsive care, community milk support and specialized lactation services can help families overcome barriers that often determine whether breastfeeding continues beyond the earliest weeks and months.
“Culturally responsive lactation education and clinical support looks like diving deeper into why a baby is not gaining well instead of automatically jumping to neglect or failure to thrive,” SEMI’s Executive Director, Meka Jackson–Dyer, explained. “In practice, it looks like during a home visit, we ensure a client understands their care plan and will actually follow their care plan.”
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SEMI traces its roots back to Black Breastfeeding Week in 2017, when a local photoshoot celebrating African American International Board-Certified Lactation Consultants in Metro Detroit sparked a movement. The event inspired a formal collective, leading to SEMI’s official founding in 2018 by a core group of trailblazing leaders affectionately known as the “Starting 5ive”:
- Jennifer Day, IBCLC: Executive Director of the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), former Michigan Breastfeeding Network (MIBFN) Project Manager, and owner of Feed the Babes, LLC.
- Tameka Jackson-Dyer, IBCLC, BAS, CHW: Community Health Worker, trained doula, and mental health advocate with nearly two decades of clinical and counseling experience across Detroit hospital systems, WIC agencies, and OB/GYN clinics.
- Dr. Sekeita Lewis-Johnson, DNP, FNP-BC, IBCLC: Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, birth doula, owner of Mommy and Me Lactation Consulting, LLC, co-founder of Mama’s Mobile Milk, and former USBC Board Director.
- Mia Roetherford, BA, IBCLC, CHW: Children’s Hospital IBCLC, Wayne State University biology alumna, and graduate of the Mother Nurture Lactation College dedicated to advancing infant and maternal equity.
- Shonte’ Terhune-Smith, IBCLC: Chair of the Genesee County Breastfeeding Coalition and owner of You Overcoming Lactation Obstacles (YOLO), driving clinical lactation support across hospital birthing units and public health clinics in Genesee County.
Since its inception, SEMI has expanded from community health fairs and birthworker gatherings to presenting at international conferences and producing a documentary detailing their work to transform clinical care.
The Impact of Culturally Responsive Lactation Care
In clinical practice, culturally responsive care requires providers to understand the specific historical and social realities Black mothers navigate. Traditional clinical environments frequently operate with systemic bias, misinterpreting normal postpartum roadblocks as parental incompetence or non-compliance.
| Care Model | Traditional Healthcare | SEMI Culturally Responsive Care |
| Weight Issues | Quick to diagnose “failure to thrive” or neglect | Investigates root cause with full environmental context |
| Family Dynamics | Often ignores extended family structure | Integrates trusted family into the home care plan |
| Postpartum Scope | Isolated, highly transactional clinical consults | Holds space for non-lactation life stress and barriers |
SEMI’s team of International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) brings lived experience to its clinical encounters, helping reduce friction that can arise when families receive care from providers who lack cultural understanding or familiarity with the specific barriers Black mothers may face.
“We hold space for all of the postpartum roadblocks our clients encounter—even those that have nothing to do with breastfeeeding—so Mamas can successfully nurse their babies,” Jackson–Dyer told Auntie Magazine. “We meet them where they are without asking a million invasive questions because we already know the background. We know the extra set of ‘boobie traps’ our clients face because we have been in their shoes. That creates trust that wouldn’t exist otherwise.”
This holistic approach ensures that families receive whole-person lactation support tailored to their home environment.
Closing Black Infant Health Disparities Via Community Milk Banks
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black infants experience lower rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration than any other racial group—a direct driver of higher infant mortality rates. When traditional healthcare systems fall short, SEMI steps in with targeted, direct-action infrastructure.
To bridge these gaps, SEMI operates a comprehensive suite of community-based services:
- Mama’s Mobile Milk (M3): Transports expressed mother’s own milk to infants separated from their parents due to NICU stays, foster care placements, hospitalizations, or maternal incarceration.
- Community Milk-Sharing Depot (CMSD): Restores safe, peer-to-peer community milk support to ensure babies have access to human milk during formula shortages or maternal supply challenges.
- Holding Space: Delivers virtual peer and mental health support to address postpartum depression and anxiety before they derail the nursing journey.
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“If more of our babies had access to their mother’s milk, our infant mortality rate would decrease,” Jackson–Dyer noted. “And if more Black mothers were able to successfully provide their milk, our disproportionately high rates of breast cancer and postpartum depression could be reduced. Equity requires funding to fairly compensate our team. Full-time salaries would exponentially increase the number of families we reach while protecting the health of the birthworkers doing this heavy lifting.”
By expanding community milk support, SEMI ensures that infants receive life-saving nutrition regardless of immediate physical separation or economic hurdles.
How Does a Full Continuum of Care Build Systemic Change in Public Health?
Education alone won’t dismantle health disparities; families need continuous, multi-layered support systems from pregnancy through the postpartum period.
Research consistently shows that prenatal education combined with sustained postpartum care dramatically increases nursing exclusivity and duration.
SEMI’s operational philosophy is simple: “When you see a need, fill it.”
When mental health struggles spiked during the pandemic, SEMI launched Holding Space. When exclusively nursing infants were separated into foster care, they built M3.
When nationwide formula contamination triggered nationwide shortages, it established the Community Milk-Sharing Depot.
SEMI’s model isn’t built around a single lactation appointment. It is designed as a continuum that can follow a family from pregnancy through postpartum care and, when necessary, through hospitalization, separation and mental health challenges.
“All of these service models create a full continuum of care,” Roetherford expressed, “A client can attend a prenatal class, give birth prematurely, start attending Holding Space for emotional support, have her milk transported to the NICU by M3, and get milk from the Depot to bridge the gap while our IBCLCs help restore her supply.”
While grassroots momentum builds across Metro Detroit, lasting progress requires policy alignment, such as passing federal and state Momnibus legislation.
Achieving true public health equity requires mainstream institutions to actually listen to Black birthworkers, invest directly in culturally responsive care, expand community milk support and ensure accessible lactation support for every family.
National Breastfeeding Month dates back to August 6, 2011, when the United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) officially designated August as a dedicated time to educate, advocate, and build momentum for changes in lactation policy and practice.
Recognized nationwide each year, the month-long observance aims to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding by highlighting systemic barriers, raising public awareness, and advancing health equity for all nursing parents and their infants.
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