Tig ol' bitties

Halle Berry debuted her post pregnancy body Sunday at the Silver Rose Gala in Beverly Hills, just six weeks after giving birth to daughter Nahla Ariela.






She looks sickeningly good. And you know with those tig ol' bitties that Ms. Berry is breastfeeding! According to the Celebrity Baby blog, while hosting the celebrity charity golf tournament, Ms. Halle took to the stage and told the golfers, "I'm going to have to leave. My baby is calling for my breasts. So, if I don't see everyone later, thank you!"
Love her!

An all-time high for black breastfeeding!

I was feeling really depressed last week about the rates at which black women breastfeed. I posted an informal poll on a gossip site for sistas that I frequent, wanting to know how many had breastfed their babies. It was abysmal! Besides me, only one other woman had breastfed. When I asked the women why they chose to use formula, I heard, "I am a picky eater so I decided not to breastfeed"; "I was stressed out when I had my baby and my doctor told me it wasn't good to breastfeed if you're stressed out"; and "I don't breastfeed because formula has DHA & ARA in it now so it's the same thing." Oh, Lawd! The last excuse we've all heard before. Lots of people believe that formula is "just as good" as breast milk even though it has been proven again and again to be an inferior infant food. So needless to say I was thrilled when I came across this article today on Yahoo! news. According to the CDC, breastfeeding rates are at an all-time high, with about 77% percent of moms breastfeeding at least briefly. I know a lot of women only breastfeed for 6 weeks or so, but some breastmilk is better than none! I am thrilled that so many babies are getting the food they deserve, at least for a little while.
The even better news? The percentage of black infants being breastfed has had the most dramatic spike, up to 65% from a shockingly low 36% in 1994. Historically we've always had the lowest rates, so this study gives me hope.

First post!

Welcome to my new blog, Blacktating! I've chosen this title because I am a black mom who is currently breastfeeding my first child. I have been inspired by Jennifer James, current writer of The Black Breastfeeding Blog over at Mommy Too! magazine to begin my own blog. While Jennifer's blog deals mostly with the history of black women breastfeeding (check it out..she's dug up some amazing pics and slave narratives on the topic), this blog will mostly talk about my own trials and tribulations with breastfeeding and breastfeeding in the news. So welcome! Grab a cup of tea, your Boppy and kick up your feet and enjoy.