Women Supporting Women In Breastfeeding - or not: 3 Ways to Make a Difference for Breastfeeding Parents
I read a study today that initially made me angry, but subsequently made me think hard about what needs to be done about it. The study polled 1000 adults in the U.S. and the questions centered on pumping in the work place and nursing in public. At first I thought it must be an outdated study, however, it was conducted in May of this year (2019). The results were rather bleak.
These two statistics really stuck out:
1 in 4 (25%) of women and 1 in 5 (22%) of men find breastfeeding and pumping in public inappropriate. (1)
41% of men felt that employers shouldn’t be required to provide a pumping space for employees and 23% of women felt the same. (1)
In many countries breastfeeding in public is normal and expected.
Most shocking to me was that MORE women than men find breastfeeding in public offensive and almost a quarter of the women polled do not think space should be required for pumping at work. I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked since “mom shaming” is common, but it was really disheartening to realize how often women do not support women in this.
That being said, I also get where it comes from. For the last 70 years breastfeeding has been pushed aside and formula marketing has prevailed. So it’s understandable if no one in your family has ever breastfed, you’ve never done it yourself, and you’re inundated with advertising (and even healthcare professionals) that tell you formula is better, why would you support it?
As for those who actually do want to breastfeed, the current state of parental leave, lack of workplace support and inadequate medical protocols make it so difficult that only 16% of mothers in the US exclusively breastfeed to 6 months – and who can blame them (2)?
So how can we help increase these rates?
Contact your legislators. We all the know the saying about the squeaky wheel. Voice your support by signing petitions that support breastfeeding. The US. Breastfeeding Committee keeps up to date with this and regularly send out petitions to support.
Advocate for yourself and others in the workplace. If you are currently breastfeeding, have ever breastfed, are the spouse of someone who has breastfed, or simply support breastfeeding, make it known and vocally support and encourage women who are working hard to provide breast milk for their babies.
Breastfeed in public. Maybe we can’t change the minds of past generations, but the more often kids and young people are exposed to breastfeeding the better. If they see it early and often as the normal way to feed a baby, they and their partners will be much more likely to choose that route.
If you or someone you know is pregnant and interested in a support program for breastfeeding parents that includes education on the basics of breastfeeding, guidance on going back to work, ongoing professional and peer support and many other resources, check out my Nourishing Moms at Work Program piloting in November. It is free for the first 5 people that sign up and highly discounted after that for this pilot launch. I’ll be asking for feedback throughout to make the program as useful as possible!
To register, head to the Coming Soon page here.
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