Western Medicine and Marketing: Construction of an Inadequate Milk Syndrome in Lactating Women

Abstract

I conducted a longitudinal phenomenological study in England to explore the perceptions of 10 lactating women related to the nature of their breast milk and their ability to exclusively breast-feed their babies. The women viewed breast-feeding as a mechanical manufacturing process, and they carefully monitored the output of breast milk. Health care professionals contributed to the women's perceptions and displayed mechanistic assumptions in relation to breastfeeding, reflecting their enculturation through the biomedical paradigm. I present personal accounts to highlight the influence of two dominant Western ideologies-biomedical science and capitalism-upon women's perceptions of their breast milk.

Understanding Maternal Breastfeeding Confidence: A Gadamerian Hermeneutic Analysis of Women's Stories

“…Inconsolable crying did not resolve for several months. As in other studies (Dykes, 2002;Dykes & Williams, 1999;Hill & Humenick, 1996;Lewallen et al, 2006;Mozingo et al, 2000), women used their infants' behavior as the measure of their milk supply and continually questioned whether they were producing adequate milk to nourish their infants. As women bring their infants and children for well-child visits, health care professionals need to ask at each visit how breastfeeding is going for them and their perceptions of their infants' breastfeeding behavior.…”

“…Nurses and other health care professionals who practice in similar international settings, however can use the findings of this study to assist women in developing their breastfeeding confidence during pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, and throughout the time they are breastfeeding. Dykes (2002) described the main task for health care professionals who are caring for breastfeeding families: The ultimate aim should be to place authoritative knowledge in the hands of the mothers, with health professionals seeking to empower women to become the experts" (p. 500). The findings of this research offer guidance in planning clinical approaches that assist women in developing maternal breastfeeding confidence by becoming the experts of their breastfeeding experiences.…”

“…Dykes and Williams (1999) identified confidence as central to women's lived experience of breastfeeding within the first 18 weeks after birth. Other qualitative studies identified maternal confidence as important to women's decisions to initiate and continue breastfeeding (Dykes et al, 2003;Dykes, 2002;Hoddinott & Pill;Whelan & Lupton), but none specifically studied it.…”

Why do women stop breast-feeding? Results from a contemporary prospective study in a cohort of Australian women

“…[31][32][33] Indeed, it has been suggested that 'I did not have enough milk' may be a socially acceptable reason for breast-feeding cessation, 24,34 or a reflection of the negative influences of medicalisation and commercialisation on women's confidence in their ability to nourish their infants. 35 Both 'I did not have enough milk' and 'Breast milk alone did not satisfy my baby' have been linked to a lack of breast-feeding selfefficacy 36,37 and associated concern over the productive, nutritive functions of breast-feeding. In contrast, two of the remaining reasons -'My baby had trouble sucking or latching on' and 'My nipples were sore, cracked or bleeding' -are acute breast-feeding management issues most likely to occur during the early phases of lactation, which may be addressed by skilled health professional intervention at that time.…”

A Double-Edged Sword: Lactation Consultants' Perceptions of the Impact of Breast Pumps on the Practice of Breastfeeding

“…The desire to quantify breastmilk through pumping was also illustrated by Dykes's (2002) study of British mothers who appeared to be preoccupied with breast pumps and found the quantity to be either reassuring or a cause for concern. This dilemma also is reflected in the ambivalence of some LCs who suggest breast-pump practice to mothers in the initial hours or days after childbirth.…”