Angela Tatum Malloy, a doula and lactation consultant in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is working to improve maternal and infant health outcomes for Black families. She founded Momma’s Village, a nonprofit clinic providing culturally-centered birth support and breastfeeding education to address alarming racial disparities. Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Tatum Malloy’s clinic is leading a $10 million study on interventions like doula support and patient monitoring to reduce preventable deaths. She trains other Black women as doulas to bridge communication gaps between patients and providers. As a lactation consultant, she promotes breastfeeding’s benefits and fights stigma rooted in slavery’s legacy. Her advocacy helped Fayetteville achieve “Breastfeeding Friendly Community” status.
Beyond her research, Tatum Malloy is a community leader fighting for racial justice and police accountability. She draws inspiration from generations of strong Black women before her — like Harriet Tubman, as well as her grandmother, mother, and mother-in-law. Tatum Malloy lives by the mantra “persistence and determination,” pushing through discomfort to create change. For her passionate work to save Black mothers’ lives, she is recognized as North Carolina’s USA Today Woman of the Year. This honor highlights her leadership in tackling racial disparities head-on. Though her efforts center the Black community, Tatum Malloy believes undoing racism will improve outcomes for all women.
Read the full article in The Fayetteville Observer.