The Imperative to Breastfeed: An Australian Perspective

Sheehan, Athena; Schmied, Virginia

doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-6873-9_4

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Online breastfeeding discourse can be polarised, with some using it to express very strong attitudes around the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in a way that is not always helpful (Mecinska, ). Research shows that women often feel pressure to breastfeeding exclusively (Sheehan & Schmied, ), feel shamed or ostracised if they discuss formula milk (Thomson, Ebisch‐Burton, & Flacking, ), or struggle to find information around mixed feeding (Brown, ) despite the majority of women in the United Kingdom using formula at some point (McAndrew et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of online breastfeeding support: Support and reassurance versus judgement and misinformation

Regan

Brown

2019

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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Breastfeeding support is integral to many women's successful breastfeeding experiences. However, cuts to professional and peer support services, distance from family, and a predominant formula‐feeding culture mean that many women in the United Kingdom do not receive the support they need. Turning to online support is an increasingly popular means of gaining both informational and emotional support, but research into online breastfeeding support groups is sparse in the United Kingdom. Data from Australia and the United States tend to focus on the positives: Women value such groups, finding information, reassurance, and a feeling of belonging. This study explored 14 women's experiences of using online support for breastfeeding in the United Kingdom, using semistructured interviews to understand their motivations and positive and negative experiences. Mothers were drawn to online support due to a lack of professional, familial, and partner support. Online support was reassuring, empathetic, and available around the clock and less daunting than attending a face‐to‐face group. Many attributed their continued breastfeeding to the support they received. However, women also experienced negativities: judgement for using formula, polarised debate, and a lack of regulation, meaning that unhelpful information was sometimes posted. The findings have important implications for those working to support mothers. These groups provide a safe space for breastfeeding mothers, but moderation is needed of such groups to ensure information is accurate and debate respectful. Online support groups are currently plugging a gap in funded support; they should be in addition not in replacement to professional and trained peer support services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of online breastfeeding support: Support and reassurance versus judgement and misinformation

Regan

Brown

2019

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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“…35). The privileged position of health care providers charges them with the responsibility of eradicating practices that discourage exclusive breastfeeding 'success' and that present opportunities for the provision of supplementation (Murray et al, 2007;Sheehan and Schmied, 2011).…”

Section: 'Breast Is Best' and The Hospital Experiencementioning

confidence: 99%

When ‘breast’ is no longer ‘best’: Post-partum constructions of infant-feeding in the hospital

Braimoh¹,

Davies²

2014

Social Science & Medicine

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“…The mainstream claim made most strongly and frequently about breast‐feeding is that in myriad, proven ways the practice makes for better infant health (Sheehan and Schmeid 2011). Evidence shows that formula feeding is harmful to health relative to breast‐feeding, it is argued, and so the promotion of breast‐feeding is represented as self‐evidently necessary and right.…”

Section: Science Risk Society Authority and Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

Breast‐Feeding Advocacy, Risk Society and Health Moralism: A Decade’s Scholarship

Lee

2011

Sociology Compass

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This article reviews research published this century that engages critically with the mantra 'Breast is Best' and the associated expansion of official breast-feeding promotion programmes. In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of such studies published. They mostly explore experience in English speaking, industrialised countries (the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain) which are in some social and cultural respects dissimilar, yet where very similar developments and problems are detected in regards to breast-feeding promotion. We highlight how this exploration of breast-feeding promotion internationally has developed understanding of wider sociological themes. This scholarship, we suggest, has provided a powerful illustration of the relation between risk society (more particularly a heightened consciousness of risk) and the evolution of a code of conduct that regulates behaviour, that has been termed 'health moralizm'. The article covers three themes: 'Science, risk society, authority and choice'; 'Public health policy and infant feeding'; and 'Moralization and women's identity work'. We conclude that the research discussed shows how the sociological imagination continues to shed light on the relation between private troubles and public issues. We also suggest one conclusion that can be drawn from this research is that official discourse and everyday maternal experience appear increasingly distant from each other.

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The Imperative to Breastfeed: An Australian Perspective

Cited by 5 publications

References 43 publications

Experiences of online breastfeeding support: Support and reassurance versus judgement and misinformation

Experiences of online breastfeeding support: Support and reassurance versus judgement and misinformation

When ‘breast’ is no longer ‘best’: Post-partum constructions of infant-feeding in the hospital

Breast‐Feeding Advocacy, Risk Society and Health Moralism: A Decade’s Scholarship

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