Health Stigma: Breastfeeding

The world we live in is unfortunately filled with far too many stigmas. Judgemental mindsets cast over society and create shameful, illegitimate motives.

Over the next couple of months I will focus on several stigmas related to health and wellness that oftentimes go under the radar. It’s important to comprehend these forms of unwarranted negativity. Everyone needs to do their part in alleviating the sway of stigmas.

For this piece, I’ve chosen to focus on stigmas directed at mothers breastfeeding their babies. This is something that has always boggled my mind. Why do stigmas exist for something as natural as a mother breastfeeding? Is it an unfair social view? Is it something that stems from a sly business minded ploy? Or a combination of the two?

The General Public's Views on Breastfeeding

Those who expect and demand mothers to cover up with a blanket while nursing are the major contributors to the stigmas aimed at nursing mothers. When someone complains about this they are creating levels of unnecessary shame and discomfort for mothers simply feeding their babies.

A resource by Bradley University Online accentuates some important facts around breastfeeding:

“The health benefits of breastfeeding for a child and mother are immense. Despite this fact, discrimination and shaming still plague women across America when it comes to breastfeeding, especially in the workplace and in public.”

Additionally:

“74% of infants were never breast-fed, 43.5% of infants were breastfed until six months, and 22.7% of infants were breastfed until one year.”

Why should a mother have to go to a private or discrete place, or cover themselves just to simply feed their young children?

A major reason that men have associated levels of backwards mindsets when it comes to women breastfeeding is due to the oversexualization of women’s bodies that men project. Men are not hardwired to find women’s breasts sexually arousing, despite constant arguments made against this claim.

In the U.S. especially, media and backwards societal norms play a role in oversexualization, and it doesn’t stop there. Breastfeeding stigmas are one example of how men far too commonly objectify women. And this absolutely needs to stop.

An article by The Times-Delphic further elaborates on this idea:

“These cultural norms are altering male minds of reality. Little boys and girls are growing up seeing sexy, passive women and strong men on magazine covers. They don’t see strong women that take a stand and make a difference in this world. This sense of male dominance and the norm of lusting over essentially naked women is the culture these children are raised in.”

These backwards mindsets need to be addressed early on in life. Situations such as this are examples of how public health and justice are intertwined. Women have the right to breastfeed publicly, without fear of criticism.

Boys need to understand this as early as possible in order to grow up to be men who view women in a way that is respectful and projects equality.

Baby Formula Companies And Aggressive Marketing Tactics

The baby formula industry is not as small as one might think. It’s literally a billion dollar market in the US alone. These companies do not have the best interest of developing infants in mind, because they have become convoluted by the dollar signs in their eyes. What’s possibly the most disturbing thing about the marketing tactics of formula companies is the ways in which they target mothers to be, both before and after delivery of their babies.

In an article by ABC News, Barbara Heiser, executive director of the National Alliance of Breastfeeding Advocacy chimes in with the relevant facts:

“Formula companies target new mothers before and after they deliver their babies. They buy lists from maternity stores and send coupons for formula to homes. Then they provide free, so-called "starter" samples, bottles, nipples, tape measures, pens and posters to hospitals to give to the mothers.”

Heiser continues:

"These are unfair marketing techniques. How can a message of exclusive breast-feeding compete against that when a mother's hormones are raging and a health-care professional offers her a product? Hospitals should not accept these products for free.”

While some women may not be able to breastfeed for any number of health related reasons, many can and should. Women should not have to feel pressured by big business or shamed by anyone for the decision to naturally feed their children.

What We Can All Do to Reverse the Stigma

It’s clear that change needs to occur and that stigmas that are prevalent in the world must be smashed. But how exactly can we contribute to change?

Parents need to be diligent in their efforts to teach their kids that breastfeeding is a natural and acceptable in public places. They should be informed in a way that resonates and keeps stigmas from forming: explain how important breastfeeding is to infant development, and how associating shame with something like this is damaging and unfair.

Furthermore, if we want to end stigmas like the irrational negative views on public breastfeeding, we must call out those who publically shame mothers for feeding their babies. Take the following viral video of a man complaining about a woman feeding her infant on a train, for example (warning, some explicit language). The man complaining about it claims to be uncomfortable by the woman 'exposing' herself and is enraged when the mother and other passengers call him out for acting irrationally. Simply put, the man couldn’t have been more out of line; he acted absolutely disrespectfully and was over-the-top aggressive. Behaviors such as these are what cause and support stigmas.

This is a perfect example of how people witnessing unnecessary public shaming should step in and help. Teach your children and the young people in your life about stigmas and help support the unlearning of them to anyone who displays backwards mindsets when it comes to breastfeeding, or any other stigmas for that matter.

In my future pieces, I’ll focus on stigmas aimed at mental health, obesity, and addiction. What other stigmas related to health exist? Please post your suggestions in the comments section.