Hello everyone,
My name is Holly Mattern and I am a junior at the University of North
Dakota College of Nursing. I have been researching attitudes of
breastfeeding in public places. I was wondering when you teach
breastfeeding in the clinical settings, if health care professionals
are also addressing the issue of breastfeeding in public, because this
seems to be an issue for many mothers wanting to breastfeed.
Li, Hsia, Fridinger, Hussain, Benton-Davis, Grummer-Strawn
(2004) state that despite a wide range of benefits of breastfeeding for
children and their mother, rates of breastfeeding in the United States
are low, especially when measured by duration. Many states have
established legislation that supports breastfeeding and many
corporations have implemented lactation support programs. Li et al.,
(2004) state that from the 2001 Healthstyles survey, a national mail
survey of 5,065 US adults who completed that years DDB Needham lifestyle
survey, 3,719 people returned the instrument, yielding a 73 percent
response rate. This study found that modern American societies pay
great attention to the sexual and aesthetic functions of women's
breasts, which may make people, perceive breastfeeding should be hidden
from the media. Therefore it is important to encourage media to portray
breastfeeding as a normal, desirable, and achievable activity for women
of all cultures and socioeconomic levels.
It has been argued that midwives and health visitors should focus their
limited resources on those couples that have chosen to breastfeed and
provide them with accurate information on the benefits and
technicalities of breastfeeding (Bond & Greigson, 1991). Some studies
suggest that for some women the stigma or embarrassment associated with
breastfeeding in public places is a barrier to breastfeeding. Even
people with positive attitudes towards breastfeeding may be
uncomfortable with this idea, or even when in front of non family
members. This potential barrier can be diminished by interventions that
challenge and change societal attitudes and support the mothers right to
breastfeed wherever she chooses (Hughes, 1999). The need for local
advocacy to increase community acceptance for breastfeeding in public
was identified by the broad membership of the Tasmanian Breastfeeding
Support Coalition (Hughes 1999). Several randomized controlled trials
have found that structured breastfeeding education and behavioral
counseling programs improve rates of breastfeeding initiation,
breastfeeding duration, or both. Several included efforts to bolster
social support for breastfeeding initiation and maintenance, both in
health care settings, and in home settings (Berg 2004).
The question that I pose to you is that while you are teaching
about breastfeeding in the hospital setting, do you also address issues
about breastfeeding in public and how women can do this without feeling
ashamed and embarrassed?
Reference Page
Berg, A. (2004). Behavioral Interventions to Promote
Breastfeeding: Recommendations and Rationale: United States Preventive
Services Task Force [Electronic version]. Internet Journal of
Gynecology & Obstetrics, Vol. 3 Issue 1, 5-11.
Li,R., Hsia, J., Fridinger, F., Hussain, A., Benton-Davis,
S., Grummer-Strawn, L.(2004).Public Beliefs about Breastfeeding
Policies in Various Settings [electronic version]. Journal of the
American Dietetic Association, Vol. 104, Issue 7, 117-123.
Hughes, R. (1999). Use of Social Marketing Strategy to
Promote Community Acceptance of Breastfeeding in Public [Electronic
version] Australian Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics, Vol. 56, Issue 2.
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