Add The California Post on Google As a mother and a nurse in LA, I’m tired of feeling invisible.
Yet even in Los Angeles — one of the most cosmopolitan cites in the world — I’ve struggled to choose between feeding my baby and being seen and present in my community.
Yet breastfeeding mothers are still expected to disappear.
Now, models are suddenly taking to the LA runway with breastfeeding infants.
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!
It sounds like a fashion revolution — and perhaps it is.
Last month, we hosted “Breastfeeding on the Runway” at the historic Leimert Park in South LA. Four mothers walked the runway with their babies and breastfed them as part of the celebration.
For me, this moment was about much more than fashion.
I am a board-certified lactation consultant, a nurse of more than a decade, a nonprofit CEO, a Black woman and a mother of four. I have breastfed all four of my children, including my twins, who recently turned 1.
I know firsthand that breastfeeding is beautiful, exhausting, empowering, inconvenient, emotional and deeply personal.
Los Angeles, an epicenter of fashion, constantly celebrates women’s bodies. We celebrate pregnancy. We celebrate curves. We celebrate confidence. We celebrate individuality.
But when a woman uses that same body to feed her baby, suddenly there can be discomfort.
That is where the idea for Breastfeeding on the Runway came from.
I run a nonprofit that helps mothers overcome barriers to care and access the education, resources and support they need to navigate breastfeeding and postpartum life, particularly in underserved communities.
I know how invisible new mothers can feel. I’ve felt it myself.
So I considered: What would happen if we took breastfeeding out of the places where society expects it to remain hidden and put it somewhere completely unexpected?
When four mothers breastfed their babies while walking the runway, and they were not asked to cover up or step away.
Several designers and brands supported the vision, showing that breastfeeding and fashion need not exist in separate worlds.
The event also happened at a meaningful time: Not only is August is National Breastfeeding Month, but our event landed during Black Breastfeeding Week, making the celebration especially significant to me as a Black mother and healthcare professional.
Holding it in LA’s Leimert Park made the moment even more meaningful.
It was a statement about Black motherhood, visibility, culture and community.
And then something happened that made the timing even more striking.
On Sept. 21, London designer Di Petsa presented her “Holy Milk” collection during London Fashion Week.
That chronology matters to me — not because I believe Los Angeles has to compete with London, but because it shows that mothers here were already challenging the boundaries of fashion.
We pioneered this particular concept in Los Angeles: a nonprofit-led runway where real mothers actually breastfed their babies while being celebrated.
We simply refuse to accept the idea that breastfeeding mothers should be invisible.
Because when a mother walks onto a runway carrying her baby, she is carrying more than a child.
She is saying that motherhood belongs in the room. That breastfeeding need not be hidden. And that women should never have to choose between being mothers and being seen.
Breanna Kuimi, is a mom, nurse, certified holistic nutritionist and the founder of Anew Life, a Los Angeles nonprofit providing prenatal, postpartum and lactation support to mothers and families throughout the community.
