Meet the founder

As a Black lactation professional in the Deep South, I have witnessed how feeding support is routinely treated as secondary — disconnected from birth justice, reproductive justice, policy, and funding priorities.

Meanwhile, Black families continue to face disproportionate barriers in maternal health outcomes, access to lactation care, workplace protections, and professional representation.

In Alabama, where Black lactation professionals represent only a small fraction of the field, practicing quietly was never an option.

So I developed a framework to name it—and built what I could not find.

I am the creator of the Latch to Systems Framework™, a model that reframes lactation as essential maternal-infant health infrastructure shaped by systems—not just individual behavior.

Through this framework, my work focuses on transforming how lactation is understood, funded, and integrated across healthcare and community systems.

What I’m Building

Through The Obsidian Milk Collective, I am building more than a service model. I am building infrastructure.

It is infrastructure. It is:

  • A justice-centered lactation framework

  • A funding pathway through the Lactation Access Fund

  • A collaborative ecosystem for providers

  • A re-centering of Black families in feeding narratives

  • A systems-level approach to lactation as essential care

Feeding support is not boutique.
Not trendy.
Not optional.

It is foundational.

Founder & Executive Director, The Obsidian Milk Collective
Creator of the Latch to Systems Framework™
Maternal & Infant Health Advocate | Systems Strategist

“Lactation is not optional support. It is health infrastructure.” - Jasmine Hammonds

  • Jasmine Hammonds is an Alabama-based maternal and infant health advocate, systems strategist, and the creator of the Latch to Systems Framework™—a model that reframes lactation as essential maternal-infant health infrastructure shaped by systems, not just individual behavior.

    Her work is grounded in the belief that lactation care does not begin or end with birth, but exists across the full reproductive continuum—and must be understood within the systems that shape access, support, and outcomes.

    Her work centers the belief that lactation care does not begin or end with birth, but exists across the full reproductive spectrum.

  • Her interdisciplinary training informs a systems-based approach to lactation, maternal health, and reproductive care.

    • Certified Breastfeeding Specialist
    • Certified Childbirth Educator
    • Certified Fertility Doula
    • Certified Placenta Encapsulation Specialist
    • Certified Nutrition Educator
    • Certified Babywearing Educator

    She is currently preparing to sit for the IBCLC examination as part of her continued commitment to advancing clinical and systems-level lactation care.

    She brings over a decade of experience in both healthcare and community-based spaces and currently serves as Co-Director of a nonprofit advancing reproductive care throughout Alabama.

  • As Founder and Executive Director of The Obsidian Milk Collective, Jasmine leads systems-level work to integrate lactation care across the full reproductive continuum—including abortion, pregnancy loss, postpartum, maternal mental health, and beyond.

    Her work is grounded in harm reduction, reproductive justice, and equity-centered systems change—focused on transforming how lactation is understood, funded, and delivered across healthcare and community settings.

    She also serves in her individual capacity as a member of the Alabama Breastfeeding Committee.

    Through her work, Jasmine is building models that move lactation from individual support to system-wide infrastructure.

  • Her additional training reflects a commitment to comprehensive, interdisciplinary care across the perinatal experience.

    Jasmine’s additional training includes:

    • Labor doula support (CAPPA)
    • Pregnancy and infant loss advocacy (P.A.I.L)
    • Perinatal mental health (PSI)
    • North Alabama Count the Kicks Ambassador

    She is a former Certified Medical Assistant with experience in Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine.

    Her leadership has been recognized with the Terry Jo Curtis Award from USLCA and a CHAMPion of the Week spotlight from CHEER.

  • Beyond her professional roles, Jasmine is a wife and mother of four.

    She brings lived experience, cultural grounding, and deep relational care into every space she serves, ensuring that her work remains not only evidence-informed, but deeply community-rooted and systems-aware.

“Lactation is not optional support. It is health infrastructure.”