Lactation is not optional support.
It is essential maternal-infant health infrastructure.
The Obsidian Milk Collective is a Black-led, Alabama-based organization working to transform how lactation care is understood, accessed, and integrated across health systems.
OMC was founded in response to persistent gaps in access, representation, and support—particularly for Black families navigating the perinatal period.
Rather than focusing solely on individual-level support, OMC works to shift the systems that shape lactation outcomes—including access, workforce development, funding, and policy.
This work is guided by the Latch to Systems Framework™, a model developed by Jasmine Hammonds that examines how feeding outcomes are shaped not only at the point of the infant, but across systems.
Why We Exist
The Obsidian Milk Collective is a Black-led, Alabama-based organization working to transform how lactation care is understood, accessed, and integrated across systems.
We center Black families and communities most impacted by maternal health disparities—not to exclude others, but to address where gaps in care are most visible.
By building solutions in communities facing the greatest barriers, we create systems that are stronger, more equitable, and more effective for all families.
OMC’s work focuses on:
Education and narrative change
Lactation access funding
Workforce development and representation
Policy and systems advocacy
Strategic partnerships and integration
OMC is committed to ensuring that lactation is recognized, resourced, and integrated as a foundational component of maternal and infant health.
OMC is not a clinic. It is infrastructure.
From Babies to Systems
We envision a future where:
Families have equitable access to skilled lactation care
Feeding is recognized as environmental, economic, and public health justice
Access is not determined by income or geography
Black families experience improved outcomes, informed choice, and affirming support
Black lactation professionals are visible leaders, educators, and decision-makers
Systems of care are accountable, inclusive, and rooted in equity
Birth justice that excludes lactation is incomplete.
Reproductive justice that excludes lactation justice is incomplete.
Our mission and vision guide how we serve, teach, partner, and lead—today and into the future.
We acknowledge that systemic racism and structural inequities have long impacted access to quality lactation support and representation within the perinatal workforce. Our work is rooted in the belief that equitable care requires intentional action, cultural humility, and accountability.
We center Black families and communities most impacted by maternal health disparities while remaining inclusive of all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, family structure, ability, socioeconomic status, immigration status, or feeding journey.
Our commitment includes:
Culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and affirming lactation education and support
Increasing representation and leadership of Black lactation professionals
Advocating for informed, autonomous infant feeding decisions
Creating inclusive learning and professional spaces that honor lived experience alongside clinical knowledge
Equity is embedded in how we serve, teach, partner, and lead.
community data.
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cultural storytelling.
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systemic change.
community data. 〰️ cultural storytelling. 〰️ systemic change.
Our vision & Mission
Centered, Not Limited
We center Black families because that is where the gaps in care are most visible. By building solutions in communities most impacted by inequity, we create systems that are stronger and more effective for everyone.
Mission
The Obsidian Milk Collective exists to advance equitable, culturally responsive lactation support & education, professional development, and systems integration within maternal and infant health.
We support families through informed, autonomous infant feeding decisions and strengthen the lactation workforce by centering Black professionals, honoring lived experience, and building sustainable pathways for leadership, education, and impact.
Vision
We envision a maternal health landscape where:
Lactation care is integrated, accessible, and respected across all points of perinatal care
Black families experience improved outcomes, informed choice, and affirming support
Black lactation professionals are visible leaders, educators, and decision-makers
Lived experience and clinical knowledge are valued equally
Systems of care are accountable, inclusive, and rooted in equity
Our vision is a future where lactation support is not an afterthought, but a foundational component of maternal and infant health—and where those most impacted by inequity are leading the change.