After the Applause: Sustaining Equity Beyond Breastfeeding Month

Every August, the world applauds. National Breastfeeding Month, World Breastfeeding Week, and Black Breastfeeding Week light up our calendars and our social feeds. Organizations rally, communities gather, and commitments are made. It is inspiring. It is powerful. And it is fleeting.

Too often, when September arrives, the spotlight dims. Maternal health and breastfeeding equity retreat into the background until the next August rolls around. This cycle of celebration without sustained action leaves us applauding the moment but neglecting the movement.

If we are serious about equity in maternal and child health, our work cannot be seasonal. It must be systemic. Equity doesn’t live in hashtags or awareness weeks: it lives in policy, practice, and persistence.

• Policy: The advocacy energy we saw in August must fuel legislative change and organizational commitments. It’s not enough to cheer—we must challenge and reshape the systems that continue to fail families.

• Practice: Awareness campaigns are only meaningful if they shift practice. From bedside manner to boardroom strategy, equity must be embedded, not added on.

• Persistence: Change is slow, uncomfortable, and often resisted. Sustained attention - long after the applause dies down - is the only way to transform awareness into equity.

  
  

This is why my work doesn’t stop in August, and neither should yours. Speaking engagements, trainings, and strategic consultations aren’t just opportunities to “check the box.” They are investments in ensuring that equity is lived - not performed - in every corner of maternal health.

As we look ahead to 2026, the question is not whether you celebrated breastfeeding month.

The question is: What will you do, all year long, to sustain the momentum?

Let’s move from applause to action - together.