Five regularly expressed remarks that breastfeeding mothers desiring to be omitted from conversation
In a world where public health campaigns emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding, it's disheartening to find that social support often lags behind. Society can offer genuine support to breastfeeding mothers by creating comprehensive, sustainable systems that go beyond uninformed comments to provide practical, emotional, and institutional assistance.
Breastfeeding is a deeply personal journey that can be challenging, with physical and emotional hurdles. Comments like "breastfeeding is natural - it should be easy" can be harmful to mothers who face difficulties. Instead, it's important to provide empathy, education, and encouragement.
One way to offer support is by ensuring lactation support is a standard part of maternity care. This means having trained lactation consultants available in hospitals and covered by insurance. Breastfeeding can be a learned behavior needing professional help, and health system integration is crucial.
Hospital programs that educate staff, avoid early formula use, and promote rooming-in can also improve breastfeeding success rates. Initiatives like the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative are a step in the right direction.
In the workplace, providing clean, private lactation rooms, flexible scheduling, and policies that normalize breastfeeding can create an environment where nursing parents feel supported. This not only benefits the mother but also the baby, as continued breastfeeding provides immune support, emotional comfort, and nutritional benefits.
Community and family support are equally important. Encouraging family members and friends to offer emotional support and practical help (e.g., bringing food or helping with childcare) without judgment or unsolicited advice can reduce stress and isolation for the mother.
Education and empathetic communication are key. Health workers should be trained to give clear, reassuring guidance from pregnancy through postpartum, and society should replace common misinformed comments with questions like “How are you feeling?” rather than focus solely on the baby's feeding or sleep patterns.
Governments and organizations should also build cross-sector collaborations to enforce policies that protect and promote breastfeeding, such as longer maternity leaves and workplace rights. National efforts like those in Sri Lanka with WHO support are evidence of this.
Telling a struggling breastfeeding mother to "just give formula" can be dismissive of her goals, effort, and emotional investment. If a mother opens up about difficulties, the best response is to listen and ask if she wants help, not if she's ready to quit. Instead of casting judgment, offering a smile or saying nothing at all can help a breastfeeding mother feel more comfortable.
It's important to remember that breastfeeding in public is a biologically normal, functional, and necessary act, but social acceptance still lags behind. Mothers often face stigma, misconceptions, and outdated beliefs about breastfeeding. Legal protections exist in many countries that uphold a mother's right to feed her baby wherever she is allowed to be.
For some women, breastfeeding is about more than just milk; it may be tied to their identity as a mother, their sense of connection, or healing from past experiences. Comments like "You're lucky - you don't have to deal with bottles" overlook the intense demands of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding mothers need encouragement, education, and empathy, not judgment.
In many cultures, breastfeeding children past their first birthday is considered normal and healthy. It's common for people to side-eye continued nursing once a child reaches toddlerhood, but extended breastfeeding continues to provide immune support, emotional comfort, and nutritional benefits.
The World Health Organisation recommends breastfeeding for at least two years and beyond, as long as it's mutually desired by mother and child. Let's strive to create a world where breastfeeding mothers are supported, respected, and empowered in their journey.
- Creating a comprehensive, sustainable system that provides practical, emotional, and institutional assistance can help overcome the social support lag for breastfeeding mothers, as emphasized in public health campaigns about women's health and parenting.
- Informed comments that breastfeeding should be easy can be harmful to mothers who face challenges, highlighting the need for empathy, education, and encouragement in the health and wellness culture.
- To improve breastfeeding success rates, hospital programs should integrate lactation support, promote education for staff, avoid early formula use, and encourage rooming-in, as seen in the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.
- Workplace policies normalizing breastfeeding, such as providing clean, private lactation rooms and flexible scheduling, can make nursing parents feel supported, benefiting not just the mother but also the baby's health and well-being.
- Community and family support play essential roles in reducing stress and isolation for breastfeeding mothers, with emotional support and practical help being more effective than unsolicited advice or judgmental comments regarding parenting or motherhood in various cultures and education backgrounds.
