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Jessica Armstrong

Professor Rebecca Morean

English 1201.503

1 July 2020

Why do current social norms and the lack of societal support pose a significant barrier to

successful breastfeeding?

Having a baby is one of the most beautiful and amazing experiences anyone can go

through. Mothers that choose to breastfeed their babies and toddlers are relying on this incredible

experience to not only feed and nurture their children, but also create a bond with them that is

indescribable and like no other. Breastfeeding is supposed to be a happy time and should be

thought of just the same as feeding any other way. So why is it that the social norms around

breastfeeding are negative regarding women breastfeeding in public openly or extended

breastfeeding past twelve months old? The lack of societal support also weighs into the situation

making mothers and families feel uncomfortable or even ashamed for doing something that is

supposed to be healthy and natural.

Breastfeeding has been around since the beginning, before infant formula was even

available. It was the easiest and cheapest way for mothers to feed their children. If for some

reason a mother could not breastfeed her baby due to death, illness, or lack of milk production,

what you call a “wet nurse,” which was a lactating woman, would breastfeed your baby for you.

“Wet nursing began as early as 2000 BC and extended until the twentieth century” (Stevens et

al.). Before formula this was the only way to keep your baby fed and alive before they could eat

solid foods. In early times, attempts were made to replace breastfeeding or the use of wet nurses
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with animals' milk unsuccessfully and eventually there was the invention of bottles and formula

because even then there was a negative undertone surrounding breastfeeding. “Before the

invention of bottles and formula, wet nursing was the safest and most common alternative to

breastfeeding by the natural mother. Society's negative view of wet nursing, combined with

improvements of the feeding bottle and the availability of animal's milk, gradually led to the

substitution of artificial feeding for wet nursing” (Stevens et al.).

Dating back to Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times many royal women started out as

breastfeeding their own children, but later gave up that role to wet nurses as it was considered

beneath them. During the eighteenth-century women were urged to stay home and breastfeed

their own babies, sometimes even by force of law. From the 1800s to the 1960s breastfeeding

was on the decline and was seen as low class. After the 1960s, breastfeeding began to increase

again, even among wealthier women. Today, women are encouraged to breastfeed as being the

best option for their baby. Breastfeeding in public, extended breastfeeding, promotions of its

benefits and attempts to encourage mothers to breastfeed are all important aspects that lead to a

successful breastfeeding journey for mother and child (Stevens et al.).

The public’s general opinion in recent years on breastfeeding in public has been negative.

Many people feel like it’s something that needs to be done in private or the mother must cover up

while breastfeeding if in public. Society has made many mothers feel the need to breastfeed at

home instead of out in public, so they aren’t putting on a public performance (Potter5). Some

think it is disturbing to see while in a public setting and it makes them feel uncomfortable. In the

United States, it is legal to breastfeed in public in all fifty states. “It is unnecessary to defend

breastfeeding in public. To me, it's like walking in public. It's a basic human right” (O’Mara 1).

This issue is still current in that women do not feel comfortable breastfeeding in public. “This
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moral right to breastfeed entails an unconditional right to breastfeed in public without social

sanction. Mothers should be made to feel welcome to breastfeed in public even if they are not

able to breastfeed ‘discreetly’” (Woollard 7).

Dating back to even the earliest of times, women have not received the social support

they should in order to feel comfortable enough to breastfeed in public no matter what age the

child is. Instead, many mothers have ended up feeling shamed or embarrassed. “Mothers who

breastfeed have faced discrimination, threat, and humiliation by choosing to breastfeed, at least

when finding themselves faced with a hungry infant outside of the home or other supportive

environments” (Dillard 3). The lack of public accommodations to support breastfeeding mothers

is still quite large. While some employers and public places have acceptable and nice

accommodations for mothers to breastfeed in public, but in a secluded setting, the majority do

not. “Bathrooms are not sanitary locations for nursing or pumping. Businesses must be educated

on how to comply with laws permitting public breastfeeding” (Point).

Society and the public have sexualized the female breast, making breastfeeding your own

child seem wrong. This has also led to the decline of breastfeeding, especially past the first year

and the negative attitudes surrounding extended breastfeeding. “It is often lack of a store policy,

intimidation or sensationalism by an extreme individual, or simple ignorance that causes people

to object to breastfeeding in public or images of breastfeeding” (O’Mara 3). The lack of adequate

knowledge of the many benefits breastfeeding does for not only baby, but mother as well, certain

hospital practices to promote formula, and poor maternity leave policies all contribute to the

common theme that the public is just not educated enough about breastfeeding and the country

lacks a plan on a small and large scale to change that. “One issue noted by the CDC (2013b),

though, is the lack of coordinated efforts to affect promotion of breastfeeding at a local, state, or
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national level, and in 2011, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office

of the Surgeon General issued a call to action to develop better social support in employment and

community settings for breastfeeding mothers” (Dillard 3).

Some think that breastfeeding content focuses on the negative aspects or challenges

instead of the positives and should be shining more of a negative light on the downside to

formula feeding like more susceptibility to illnesses (Potter). Breastfeeding should be promoted

for the many health benefits it has. “Research suggests that breastfeeding prevents adverse health

conditions, whereas formula-feeding is linked with their development. This evidence confirms

breastfeeding is still the best source of infant nutrition and the safest method of infant feeding”

(Stevens et al.).

One idea is that the medical community in general has failed the public for not

normalizing breastfeeding. By now, breastfeeding should be something normal, expected, and

celebrated. “Several federal initiatives enacted by multiple agencies to promote breastfeeding

have demonstrated some success; however, from the declining maintained rates of breastfeeding,

perceived lack of continuing support may override the benefits of these programs” (Dillard 3).

A few years ago, it was said that positive deviance is the way that could help to promote

breastfeeding in a positive light. “Although breastfeeding rates improved following

informational campaigns, federal and state initiatives to increase awareness of breastfeeding

benefits have stalled, particularly in maintaining breastfeeding intention, creating opportunities

for exploration of less conventional and more localized positively deviant approaches to

promoting breastfeeding” (Dillard 1). More recently, it has been argued that breastfeeding should

not be looked at as a deviant activity. It should be something natural and healthy. Women should

not have to justify or defend their right to breastfeed, whether in public or past infancy.
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“Breastfeeding is not a potentially deviant activity requiring justification. On the contrary, there

is a moral right to breastfeed grounded in the moral right to pursue our own family ways of life

and the moral right to intimacy between parent and child” (Woollard 7).

The information in this review is from within the last five with some going back a bit

further. The information is from scholarly, peer-reviewed sources and supplies quality facts and

references. The purpose of these articles is to inform the public on the current issues about

breastfeeding in public or extended breastfeeding. The consensus is that people need to be more

educated on the benefits of breastfeeding and the social norms need to adjust with the times. This

information is not only good for mothers and families, but for anyone who is uneducated, biased,

or wanting to learn more about how natural it is to breastfeed your child whether you are in

public and exposed or your child is two or three years old. .

Social norms are exactly what they sound like. Something that seems normal to do in

society. It is hard to break habits that seem like something you should do or how you should

think, but if we continue to work on ourselves independently and on a bigger level scale with

population as a whole we can overcome our fears and worries and misunderstandings. Together

we can find acceptance again and support one another even if we disagree. The biggest area

further research could be done on is how to get more education to the public and how to get more

cities to make major buildings and establishments require quality, private accommodations for

mothers to breastfeed in public. Overall, breastfeeding is healthy and natural for mother and baby

and should be accepted by society as normal.

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Works Cited

Dillard, Dana M. “Nurse-Ins, #NotCoveringUp: Positive Deviance, Breastfeeding, and Public

Attitudes.” International Journal of Childbirth Education, vol. 30, no. 2, Apr. 2015, pp.

72–76. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=ccm&AN=109802686&site=eds-live.

Fiona Woollard. “Requirements to Justify Breastfeeding in Public: A Philosophical Analysis.”

International Breastfeeding Journal, vol. 14, no. 1, June 2019, pp. 1–8. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1186/s13006-019-0217-x.

O’Mara, Peggy. “Breastfeeding in Whose Public?” Mothering, no. 132, Sept. 2005, p. 8.

EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=f5h&AN=18096463&site=eds-live.

“Point: Breastfeeding in Public Should Be Welcomed and Supported.” Points of View:

Breastfeeding in Public, July 2016, p. 1. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=pwh&AN=116567177&site=eds-live.

Potter, Jennifer1. “Needy Mothers, Coddled Children: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Public

Comments about Extended Breastfeeding.” Women & Language, vol. 41, no. 2, Winter

2018, pp. 104–121. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=hft&AN=134089763&site=eds-live.
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Stevens, Emily E, et al. “A History of Infant Feeding.” The Journal of Perinatal Education,

Lamaze International Inc., 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684040/.