World Breastfeeding Week 2024: Why Representation Matters for Black and Asian Mothers

Every year from 1 to 7 August, World Breastfeeding Week brings together communities, health professionals, and advocates to celebrate and support breastfeeding. At Elkan's Light, this week holds a particular significance. Our work centres on Black, Asian, and minoritised families in the UK, communities that face well-documented inequalities in maternity care, and breastfeeding is one area where those gaps are especially stark.

The Landscape for Minoritised Mothers

Research consistently shows that Black and Asian women in the UK face higher rates of maternal complications and receive less support when it comes to infant feeding. Cultural pressures, language barriers, a lack of relatable peer support, and care that does not account for lived experience all play a role. The result is that many mothers who want to breastfeed stop earlier than they would choose to, not because breastfeeding failed them, but because the system failed them.

The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, followed by continued breastfeeding alongside complementary foods for up to two years and beyond. For those who are able and choose to breastfeed, the benefits are significant: strengthened immunity for babies, reduced risk of infections, and powerful bonding. Yet for this choice to be meaningful, every mother needs genuine support, not a one-size-fits-all approach.

What Good Support Looks Like

Effective support for breastfeeding is community-rooted and culturally informed. It means having access to peer supporters who share your background, reading materials in your language, and health visitors who understand the specific pressures you may be facing. It means being taken seriously when you raise concerns, and not having your pain dismissed or your questions brushed aside.

For Black mothers in the UK specifically, the data is alarming. Black women are four times more likely to die during or shortly after pregnancy than white women. Postnatal support, including breastfeeding support, is one part of a much larger picture of care that needs to be redesigned with these communities at the centre, not added on as an afterthought.

Elkan's Light and the Call for Change

Elkan's Light was founded in the wake of devastating loss, and it stands today as a space of advocacy, solidarity, and hope. We believe that every family, regardless of race or background, deserves care that sees them fully, respects them deeply, and supports them practically.

This World Breastfeeding Week, we encourage families to reach out for support without hesitation. If you are pregnant or a new parent and finding breastfeeding challenging, you are not alone. Ask your midwife or health visitor for a referral to a breastfeeding support group, seek out peer-led networks, and know that your desire to feed your baby is valid however it evolves.

How You Can Help

You do not need to be a new parent to make a difference this week. Share information about breastfeeding support resources with families in your community. Challenge any stigma around breastfeeding in public. And advocate within your networks for maternity services that truly serve everyone.

The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2024 is closing the gap: bridging the distance between what families need and what they receive. At Elkan's Light, that is the work we do every day. We are grateful to stand alongside every family and advocate working toward the same goal.

To find out more about our work or to support Elkan's Light, visit www.elkanslight.org.uk or contact us at hello@elkanslight.org.