Mothers, Babies, and Breastfeeding in Late Capitalist America: The Shifting Contexts of Feminist Theory

Blum, Linda M.

doi:10.2307/3178367

Cited by 95 publications

(82 citation statements)

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“…However, counter to this, expressing breast milk has been conceptualised as one of a range of controls put upon breastfeeding in an attempt by women to return to 'normal', generally productive life (Dykes, 2005;. It has also been argued to lead to disembodiment because it values technology over relationship (Blum, 1993;Dykes, 2006;McCarter-Spaulding, 2008;Van Esterik, 1996) and is therefore potentially disempowering because it can decrease women's confidence in breastfeeding. This contradiction between freedom and control is evident in the tensions between this theme and the previous one around women's concerns about the adequacy of the breastfeeding body, where expressing can make visible (literally) the inefficiencies of the breastfeeding body.…”

Section: As a Route To Freedom And Way Of Coping With The Demands Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, expressing was constructed as a practice for managing the realities of modern living as well as the demands of breastfeeding. Feminist debates surrounding expressing breast milk allude to it being a practice that can lead to disembodiment (Blum, 1993;Dykes, 2006;McCarter-Spaulding, 2008;Van Esterik, 1996) with the implication that it is disempowering. However, within a culture that privileges individualism and control (Bartlett, 2003) expressing was primarily constructed as empowering.…”

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Expressing within this context has been conceptualised as a form of 'control' placed upon breastfeeding in that it is a way of managing future expectations about returning to 'normal', usually economically productive, activities (Dykes, 2005). Additionally, the use of breast pumps in particular has been theorised as contributing to the medicalisation and mechanisation of breastfeeding, in that breast milk is seen as a product rather than breastfeeding as a process, which can lead to disembodiment because it values technical-physical aspects of breastfeeding over interpersonal and intrapersonal ones (Blum, 1993;Dykes, 2006;McCarter-Spaulding, 2008;Van Esterik, 1996). However, it has also been noted that the practice of expressing breast milk has the potential to be empowering, in that it can allow for shared parenting and a 'door to freedom' (Dykes, 2006;Morse & Bottorff, 1992) both of which increase options for women (Van Esterik, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A discourse of breastfeeding as a natural process which requires little support is also juxtaposed with a medical discourse which implies the necessity of close 'expert' supervision (Blum, 1993;Carter, 1995;Wall, 2001). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Expressing yourself: A feminist analysis of talk around expressing breast milk

Johnson

Williamson

Lyttle

et al. 2009

Social Science & Medicine

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Recent feminist analyses, particularly from those working within a poststructuralist framework, have highlighted a number of historically located and contradictory socio-cultural constructions and practices which women are faced with when negotiating infant feeding, especially breastfeeding, within contemporary western contexts. However, there has been little explicit analysis of the practice of expressing breast milk. The aim of this article is to explore the embodied practice of expressing breast milk. This is done by analysing, from a feminist poststructuralist perspective, discourse surrounding expressing breast milk in sixteen first time mothers' accounts of early infant feeding. Participants were recruited from a hospital in the South Midlands of England. The data are drawn from the first phase of a larger longitudinal study, during which mothers kept an audio diary about their breastfeeding experiences for seven days following discharge from hospital, and then took part in a follow-up interview. Key themes identified are expressing breast milk as (i) a way of managing pain whilst still feeding breast milk; (ii) a solution to the inefficiencies of the maternal body; (iii) enhancing or disrupting the 'bonding process'; (iv) a way of managing feeding in public; and (v) a way to negotiate some independence and manage the demands of breastfeeding. Links between these and broader historical and socio-cultural constructions and practices are discussed. This analysis expands current feminist theorising around how women actively create the 'good maternal 2 body'. As constructed by the participants, expressing breast milk appears to be largely a way of aligning subjectivity with cultural ideologies of motherhood.Moreover, breastfeeding discourses and practices available to mothers are not limitless and processes of power restrict the possibilities for women in relation to infant feeding.

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Section: As a Route To Freedom And Way Of Coping With The Demands Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Final Remarksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Expressing yourself: A feminist analysis of talk around expressing breast milk

Johnson

Williamson

Lyttle

et al. 2009

Social Science & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(Thompson & Bell, 1997). Nationwide statistics also revealed that women face barriers in their attempt to combine full time work with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding when they resume work (Blum, 1993;Thompson & Bell, 1997). According to Judith Galtry (2000), three main workplace facilities are required for women to successfully combine work with breastfeeding.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Workplace Facilities on Lactating Working Mothers’Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment: A Case Study of Lactating Working Mothers in Accra, Ghana

Mensah¹

2011

IJBM

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The purpose of the study was to find out the influence of workplace facilities on lactating working mothers' job satisfaction and their commitment level at work. The subjects for the study were two hundred and sixty lactating working mothers who were working full time from five different organizations in the Accra Metropolis in Ghana with age range of 24-41 years, mean age of 32.2 and a standard deviation of 8.8. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used at 0.05 levels of significance. The findings of the study revealed that, lactating working mothers who get Workplace Facilities are more committed to their work and also more satisfied with their work than those who do not get workplace facilities. This paper, therefore, suggests that employers should provide workplace facilities for lactating working mothers who want to continue the practice of exclusive breastfeeding when they return to work, Since the provision of workplace facilities benefit both the employers, the child and the working mothers. The result of this study is to help policy makers in Ghana to have a second look at the Ghana labour Act (2003) about employment of women especially lactating mothers who want to continue the practice of exclusive breastfeeding with full time work. The findings will also educate employers in Ghana about the benefit of workplace facilities for lactating working mothers and the organization as a whole.

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Good Mothers and Infant Feeding Practices Amongst Women in Northern Thailand

Liamputtong

Kitisriworapan

2010

Infant Feeding Practices

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Mothers, Babies, and Breastfeeding in Late Capitalist America: The Shifting Contexts of Feminist Theory

Cited by 95 publications

References 0 publications

Expressing yourself: A feminist analysis of talk around expressing breast milk

Expressing yourself: A feminist analysis of talk around expressing breast milk

The Influence of Workplace Facilities on Lactating Working Mothers’Job Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment: A Case Study of Lactating Working Mothers in Accra, Ghana

Good Mothers and Infant Feeding Practices Amongst Women in Northern Thailand

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