Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez

A clear medical bias and the stresses of new motherhood, often leaves Black women unsupported on their breastfeeding journeys.

For me, feminism felt like finding a beautiful shoe in the wrong size. No matter how much I strained, it never seemed to be a perfect fit. I found my size in womanism.

Growing up, I had a lot of access to people who looked like me. I was completely unaware of the struggles that accompany interracial friendships.

There were (are) many things that people warned me about when it came to the parenthood transition. But of course, no one prepared me for how having a child would affect my sexual relationship with my husband.

I couldn’t believe the medical system and several of my peers had me obsessing about my food consumption. I was experiencing food shaming during pregnancy.

By educating my son on Juneteenth, I am able to make it clear to him that we may live in a nation that wasn’t established with us in mind, but we continue to find freedom anyway.

There are far too many stressors involved to force breastfeeding on new mothers. And far too many challenges involved to continue to pressure women who are dealing with a multitude of other issues into choosing one style of feeding.

Next time you see moms flying alone with kids, try some of these tips. You might make someone's day.