BPL Black Breastfeeding Week Virtual Program To Be Held Thursday, August 27

In celebration of Black Breastfeeding Week, the Birmingham Public Library Diversity Committee will present a special program on Thursday, August 27 at 11:00 a.m. on the BPL Facebook page.

In its eighth year, Black Breastfeeding Week is being observed Tuesday, August 25 through Monday, August 31. The discussion Thursday will be facilitated by former BPL employee and doula Chauntel Norris and her partner, Danica Davis, of Baobab Birth Collective.

Baobab Birth Collective ( https://www.baobabbirth.com/) was founded in 2014 by Norris and Davis, a pair of doulas with a passion for women's healthcare. They chose the name Baobab for their company because the Baobab tree is known as the "tree of life" because of its ability to thrive in harsh conditions and give life to people by providing nutritious food and shelter.

Black Breastfeeding Week was founded in 2013 by three black mothers to counter four decades of disparity between breastfeeding by white women vs. black women. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Controls found that 75 percent of white mothers have breast fed their babies vs. only 58.9 percent of black women.   Breast feeding has health benefits that could help counter higher rates of diseases such as asthma, diabetes and obesity common in African-Americans.

 Join BPL for this powerful discussion on the BPL Facebook page www.Facebook.com/BirminghamPublicLibrary. Remember, BPL is open 24/7 on our website, www.cobpl.org, as well as many of our social media pages.