Milk Magic Educators: Tteka

To describe the communities in which I serve, I would say we are resilient and strong birth warriors, because we must battle iatrogenetic medical apartheid and obstetric violence and continue to be dependent on the system that turns a blind eye to our mistreatment especially with regard to medical care. We suffer the highest statistical rates of three of the top five annual preventable killers here in the U.S. (Heart disease, diabetes & cancer) and we suffer the highest statistics for infant mortality and maternal mortality as well. There are so many disparities that interact in the lives of the families I serve such as, initiation of breast/chestfeeding and duration of continued breast/chestfeeding, poverty/financial burdens, food insecurity, job insecurity, stress, psychological trauma as well as other environmental, economic and social disparities that are highly racialized, but also affect other marginalized communities such as LGBTQIA folks, differently-abled families, non-nuclear families and immigrant & refugee families. The communities that I serve are those that are most affected by discrimination and those least likely to receive the equitable support and care they need and deserve.