PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – There’s a nonprofit in Philadelphia that supports black and brown mothers and improves breastfeeding rates. The CDC says black mothers are less likely to breastfeed their babies and have more health problems compared to white mothers.
Now a group called CocoLife wants to change this trend.
Eroleen Watkins and her three-month-old baby Miles talk to a doula about postpartum health.
They are together in Germantown through a mom resource platform called CocoLife.
“The disparities in mortality and illness among our black mothers and babies are astronomical,” said CocoLife founder Alexia Doumbouya.
Doumbouya founded CocoLife to improve the health of black mothers and their babies. An important part of the mission is increasing breastfeeding rates.
“Breastfeeding is not talked about much in the black community because of systemic racism,” Doumbouya said. “It’s been relied upon to bottle feed. So why breastfeed, that means the baby will be clingy? Why not give the baby a few bottles and then you can go back to work.”
Doumbouya is also a doula, a non-medical professional who specializes in maternal care, and helps educate women.
“I think it’s important to show the different belly sizes because then you think, ‘Oh my God, my baby isn’t getting enough milk,'” Doumbouya said.
Using fruits that represent the size of a baby’s stomach, she illustrates how much milk a baby needs.
“It helped me a lot to understand that my baby, for example, doesn’t need as much formula as he would for a large bottle,” Watkins said.
Watkins says breastfeeding Miles has been easy and he is growing quickly.
It is comforting to know that breastfeeding is good for both mother and baby, both mentally and physically.
“We just found out he has eczema and breast milk is better for his eczema,” Watkins said.
CocoLife offers various programs and support groups to support women.
Stephanie Steel
