It is always fun and fascinating to see lists of famous people who have
breastfed their babies. However, during the focus groups that were conducted
for the Office on Women's Health for the national breastfeeding awareness
campaign that will kick off in the US during World Breastfeeding Week, it was
found that real, everyday women who have breastfed, not celebrities were
stronger role models. This is important to know when we create support
systems for breastfeeding mothers. Friends who had breastfed were important
supporters. Mothers who had breastfed were able to convince women who had
rejected breastfeeding to reconsider.

We should make sure that we reinforce the message that breastfeeding is not
just for the well off fortunate few, but is for everyone. When I taught
childbirth preparation classes I would always have a breastfeeding couple and
baby from the previous class return to talk with the current class about
their experiences. That was more potent than all my weeks of teaching. The
celebrity message sometimes comes across that "if you have enough money you
can afford not to work, hire people to help clean your house and take care of
your other children, so you can sit around and just breastfeed!" Some mothers
may interpret this as "I am not like her, I don't have all that money and
time, I have to go back to work, so I can't breastfeed." As with breast milk,
so too with breastfeeding support--there's nothing like the real thing.

Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA

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