Founder of Melanin Milk
Empowering the Birthing People Everywhere
Melanin Milk SD was born & raised by Chardá Bell, Pronounced (shar-day) rhymes with Hey!
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I have 10+ years combined professional & volunteer birth work experience positively impacting the lives of others. My goal is to eradicate inequities and disparities through multi faceted support efforts such as eliminating barriers, networking to find trusted resources and offering mentorship, partnership or sliding scale fees.
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I run the Southeast Breastfeeding Clinic, a satellite location of the San Diego Breastfeeding Center Foundation. Located at 704 Euclid Ave San Diego CA 92114. Additionally, I hold a support group there every Tuesday 11am - 12pm for Global Communities Healthy Start and manage a warmline for it with San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition. This is partially grant funded by United Health Care in a community collaborative effort to collectively create synergy and circles of support within our community in an effort to defeat the Black maternal health crisis as well as to empower and connect our BIPOC families and birth workers to one another and raise awareness around advocacy efforts and the presence, access and increasing of BIPOC birth workers.
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As a San Diego native raised in an entrepreneur household, I'm defining my own lane in the field of reproductive health and wellness in our community to bridge the birthing community to fill the gaps we know exist through building connections, partnerships with each other to provide full wrap around care and warm hand offs for our clients.
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The dedication I put forth to the birthing and parenting community of San Diego is a part of my lifeblood and shows in every aspect of my work. Everything I do is meant to uplift, empower and celebrate black family wellness and resilience.
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My focus is on local marginalized communities with regard to maternal and family health with a particular emphasis on the Southeast San Diego, where I was raised from birth until my teen years and where majority of my family still resides in Skyline hills.
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Melanin Milk SD is committed to the wellness of families in mind, body, and soul.
Welcome to Melanin Milk
Melanin Milk hosts offerings for women and families along the paths of fertility, pregnancy and parenthood. A well supported birth, often leads to a confident birthing person and positive birth outcome. Whether you are searching for a doula of any kind, prenatal/postnatal or baby and me yoga class, one-on-one personalized guidance or spiritual support, we have you covered.
What We Do
Melanin Milk is a highly respected doula & lactation support practice in San Diego, CA. We are committed to supporting birthing people along their reproductive journey. We support women and families during fertility/conception, during pregnancy, after birth and into new parenthood offering a full spectrum approach to holistic wellness. We are the only Black owned practice in San Diego to offer doula support at every stage along the childbearing continuum - Melanin Milk is now recognized as a doula immersion program educating doula-trainees from the community become the next generation of birth workers that will help transform the system for our Black women and babies. We have cultivated partnerships with leading health & wellness organizations, and through these relationships, are deeply committed to education, advocacy and impact.
We Believe
Melanin Milk believes in empowering you to give birth to yourself as you bring life into the world. My clients tell me that I hold an immense grace, power, and wisdom, in teaching others to develop a deep trust in their bodies through casual education. Birth is a sacred process, sometimes and all you need is prayer and a bathtub to make it through. Confidence and balance are key to a successful and positive perinatal journey!
