Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chardá Bell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Chardá thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
I knew I wanted to have my own private practice for lactation and infant feeding since I got into the birthwork arena. I didn’t see anyone who looked like me in my city or county doing this work. I knew this was one of the primary reasons people who look like me do not get the support they need. Part of my journey to becoming a lactation consultant was inspired by the individuals that I knew were lacking access to culturally congruent care and as a result it was causing major disparities in chest/breastfeeding, adverse infant and birth outcomes for Black families. It is proven that getting health care from someone who looks like you makes you more comfortable with that care and also more likely to seek care. As a Black mom, woman and only the second Black IBCLC lactation consultant with private practice in my city, I knew that I wanted to have not just the ability to give good care, but also provide it in a safe space within the heart of Southeast San Diego. This is an area with one of the largest predominances of Black and Brown people in San Diego county. It is where I grew up and it’s also known as a first foods desert, with little to no access to breastfeeding support and affordable nutritious whole first foods beyond human milk.
I now operate the Southeast San Diego Breastfeeding Clinic, which is a satellite location of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation. We had an open house in December of 2022, both healthcare professionals and community members attended. We officially opened in January of 2023. This is a collaborative partnership between the SDBFC foundation and Global Communities Healthy Start and we provide a free weekly support group with a focus on serving marginalized communities. I lead the group and we have a few lactation educators we trained from within the same community to help out. In addition to the group, I oversee a 24/7 warmline that is staffed by the lactation educators from diverse language backgrounds. This is done in partnership with the San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition.
The best part of this whole clinic is that I (as Melanin Milk SD) provide private consults here for free for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous or People of Color) community members. I can even do virtual consults for out of town BIPOC folks and parents deployed overseas. For those who do not identify as BIPOC, I accept cash and some insurance. The private consults that are free are funded by the SDBFC foundation. The foundation also supports the items and space rental for my clinic location, as well as supported me on my journey to becoming a lactation consultant with a scholarship opportunity.
The challenges I ran into when opening my own private practice were plentiful! Thankful for amazing mentors to get me through and give me valuable advice and guidance. From the finances of opening to learning a new booking/charting system, accepting insurance and then figuring out how to creatively gain and keep a steady stream of clients, it’s definitely an entrepreneur grind, but I’m used to it. My parents are entrepreneurs and taught me everything I know about opening and running a business. While it is a huge undertaking and you work like 150 hours a week doing this, in the end working for yourself is quite an accomplishment and a freedom like no other.
Advice for future Black lactation consultants considering private practice, your community needs you, find a way! I wrote blogs, articles, speaking engagements all to raise awareness of the lack of lactation support in my area. Eventually, this trickled down to the right people and the voices of the community, including mine, were heard. You can’t do it alone, find a good mentor, support system but learn to be self sufficient with getting things done. It took many years and a tremendous community effort to bring this clinic to life, but I’m ecstatic that it finally exists! Networking is everything, so practice doing this in every space you enter.
Chardá, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m an IBCLC (international board certified) lactation consultant, certified doula, certified childbirth educator. I’m also a mom to 5 children, 2 by birth and 3 bonus with my incredibly intelligent partner, Tré Watkins, a University of San Diego – PhD Student/Lecturer and Point Loma Nazarene University – Career Services/Faculty. He is also a Southeast San Diego native, like myself. We share the passion of serving our community. So I must say one thing I’m most proud of my resilient family!
The reason I got into this work is because of family, my kids, and friends. I saw so many people struggling with birth/pregnancy and breastfeeding and they always asked for my help. I was a stay at home mom for 10 years. I was the first of my friend group and cousins to have a baby, yet I also became an aunt at 13. I had a lot of experience with babies and motherhood before others, so I was the natural person for them to ask when a problem arised. I realized I wanted to do something more with my life after my kids went off to school. I needed work that was flexible, so I could still be a very involved mom, and something I felt good about doing. So I discovered I could be a professional birth worker. I started out as a volunteer and then went to UCSD for lactation and also earned my full spectrum doula and childbirth educator certifications.
The offerings I provide are everything from childbirth classes (provisional Certified Spinning Babies® Parent Educator) to postpartum ceremonies, birth planning and birth story processing. I stepped away from doing birth doula work, as I now train and mentor doulas professionally for different organizations like Commonsense Childbirth Institute and Global Communities Healthy Start. Additionally, I do content creation and curriculum consulting for parenting and birth work related brands and companies.
With my private lactation practice, I offer inclusive non-judgmental support for: chest/breastfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, weaning, back to work / school, inducing lactation for non-birth giver parents, relactation, transitions to solids, and everything in between! What sets me apart is the whole family centered support and the fact that all my clients say I feel like family to them when we work together. I meet people where they are, I provide trauma informed care and my focus is on marginalized communities. Most of my clients are Black, Brown, LGBTQAI+ and I also work with a large military population in San Diego. I love that I can relate to my clients and they feel comfortable and safe opening up to me which helps me with getting to the root of the challenge and solving it from there. I work from a very holistic, whole person/body approach when it comes to lactation solutions.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I definitely have had a few pivots in my career life. I went from being a professional model to a casting director, to a Stay at Home Mom / PTA vice president, to an elected official (Board of Education for La Mesa Spring Valley) and finally, a professional birth worker, doula and childbirth educator. While I have worked with families, kids and babies in almost every aspect of each one of these jobs, I’ve finally reached my true calling and passion which is being an IBCLC Lactation Consultant.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
TikTok! OMG, I love it so much. It allows me to show my personality, which helps attract clients who see my authenticity. Social media is a great tool for business growth and expanding your brands reach. I had a few videos go viral (2.5+ million largest reach) which helped my online presence. However, the real power lies within how people share it so much that it becomes word of mouth. Now I would say my reputation within my market is more due to people sharing with each other about my business. I always tell my clients, if there is a way you wish to support me is to share my information, and it works!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.melaninmilksd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melaninmilksd/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Melaninmilksd
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chardabell/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/melaninmilksd
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@melaninmilk
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/melanin-milk-sd-la-mesa
- Other: https://melaninmilksd.intakeq.com/booking – Booking https://www.tiktok.com/@melaninmilksd – TikTok https://www.melaninmilksd.com/blog – My Blog
Image Credits
Sophia Elizabeth Photography; Jamilla Allen Creative Photography