Ambivalence regarding breastfeeding by health professionals

Background/Significance: Despite the well-documented physical and emotional benefits of breastfeeding, for mothers and babies, there continues to be a significant disconnect between knowledge and action among health care professionals.

Objective/Purpose: Describe sources of ambivalence regarding breastfeeding for health professionals and society and ways to address them.

Discussion: The unique, intimate biological and emotional connection between a mother and her baby does not fit the health care model. After birth, there is a perceived conflict between the infant's needs and rights and the mother's. This social construct with needs and rights in conflict, rather than congruent, obscures the health care system's and society's responsibility to facilitate and support breastfeeding as an infant and maternal right. Pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding are among the very few situations in which an extremely vulnerable patient (the infant) must be entrusted to another patient (the mother) rather than having a direct relationship with the medical care provider. Compounding the issu, breastfeeding and other social tasks of child care are not well understood by those in medicine. Infant feeding, including breastfeeding, moved into the realm of medical management only when infant formula manufacturers developed an alliance with physicians. This commercial alliance supports the lack of breastfeeding knowledge. Formula feeding was considered “scientific” and freeing to women. As women sought peer support for breastfeeding, the development of hormonal birth control created new barriers. This presentation will offer clinical, policy and health education examples for protecting, promoting and supporting women's and infant's breastfeeding rights.