This August, we Celebrate National Breastfeeding Month: Forward Together 

Breastfeeding is about more than nutrition. It is about equity, dignity, and the right to be supported. We celebrate National Breastfeeding Month by lifting up the realities families face and demanding the policies they deserve. Forward Together means building a world where every parent no matter their race, income, or geography, can feed their baby with support and without barriers.

Many moms want to breastfeed, but face challenge after challenge in trying to meet their breastfeeding goals. In fact in the United States, 4 out of 5 mothers start out breastfeeding, but less than half are still breastfeeding at 6 months postpartum.

Why are so many women falling short of meeting their personal breastfeeding goals and recommendations of public health professionals? It's the reasons MomsRising members share with us everyday - the lack of access to paid family and medical leave and lack of lactation support and education.

Right now, 1 in 4 women is back at work within just two weeks of giving birth, not because they want to be, but because they simply can’t afford unpaid time off. That’s before they’ve had a chance to heal, let alone establish breastfeeding routines. When moms encounter challenges breastfeeding, many seek help from lactation professionals. But for low-income women, those supports are often inaccessible and unaffordable, even with limited healthcare coverage.

Now, the threat is even greater!

Cuts to Medicaid and coupled with threats to HHS funding put millions of families at risk of losing critical maternal and postpartum care, including access to lactation support. Medicaid currently covers more than 40% of all births in the U.S. and is a cornerstone of care for low-income families throughout pregnancy, birth, and beyond. The impact of these cuts would be especially devastating in rural communities, where Medicaid funding helps keep hospitals, especially labor and delivery units open. Over 35% of U.S. counties have no birthing hospitals, birth centers, or obstetric providers. That means millions of families will be denied basic care.

And let’s be clear: these barriers are not felt equally. Black, Indigenous, and Latinx families face the steepest challenges not because of individual choices, but because of systems rooted in racism, underinvestment, and exclusion from policy decision-making. These inequities compound already dangerous disparities in maternal and infant health.

But There Are Solutions

The good news? We know what works.

Families need paid family and medical leave, access to lactation support, education, and supplies, and fully funded breastfeeding support programs that make it possible to receive support. These aren’t luxuries, they are necessities. They are how we move Forward Together.

Breastfeeding isn’t just good for moms and babies, it’s also good for the economy. If parents were supported in meeting breastfeeding recommendations, it could save the U.S. nearly $13 billion annually in pediatric health costs and preventable deaths. 

Join Us This August

Throughout National Breastfeeding Month, MomsRising will lift up the real stories behind the stats. Stories of struggle, joy, resilience, and love. Please join us in celebrating the month with observances each week:

National Breastfeeding Month Theme - Forward Together
August 1-7: World Breastfeeding Week - Theme: Prioritise Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems & National WIC Breastfeeding Week
August 8-14: Indigenous Milk Medicine Week - Theme: Unapologetically Indigenous: Love, Landback, & Liberation
August 15-21: Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Breastfeeding Week - Theme: Diverse Voices, One Vision
August 22-24: Military Lactation Celebration - Theme: TBD
August 25-31: Black Breastfeeding Week - Theme: Boots on the Ground - Rooted in Breastfeeding Success, Grounded in Community Support
September 1-7: Workplace Lactation Week - Theme: A World of Support: Creating Breastfeeding-Friendly Workplaces Everywhere
September 8-14: Lactancia Latina: Theme - Territory of the Heart/Breastfeeding without Borders
September 16-22: Deaf and Hard of Hearing Breastfeeding Week Inaugural year!

Haven’t shared your story?  You can do so now. 

Snap a photo and tag us @MomsRising and use #NBMRisers25.

Together, we rise - for our babies, for our bodies, for our future! Let’s make sure no parent is left behind.