Why aren't you stopping now?!’ Exploring accounts of white women breastfeeding beyond six months in the East of England

Abstract

Breastfeeding infants for a period of two years is endorsed by international health agencies such as the World Health Organisation. However, discourses of breastfeeding in a British context are complex and contradictory, juxtaposing representations of breastfeeding as healthy and a moral obligation for mothers with views of the act as unseemly and an expectation that nursing women practice 'socially sensitive lactation' especially in public spaces. Sustained breastfeeding rates in the UK are poor and most British women discontinue breastfeeding well before six months. Mothers who elect to feed their infants at the breast for longer than these normative periods appear to experience suspicion and disapproval, especially in a public context and breastfeeding women are only legally protected in feeding their infants in public for up to six months. Although breastfeeding research is flourishing, research on this particular population of mothers remains relatively limited. Therefore, in this study, we explore in-depth experiential accounts of eight women, resident in a town in the East of England, who breastfed their infants beyond six months. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis four themes are presented. Really horrible looks': stigma from families and the community', 'Feeling quite exposed': managing extended breastfeeding etiquette', 'Weird freaky paedophiles': representations of extended breastfeeding women in the media' and 'You really need that': the importance of support for longer-term breastfeeding women'. Applications to extended breastfeeding promotion and advocacy are discussed.

Breastfeeding predicts blood mitochondrial DNA content in adolescents

“…The effect of breastfeeding was also dose-dependent, with longer duration and exclusivity increasing its effects 32 . The WHO recommended to further breastfed infants up to two years 33 , as children's health and development continued to benefit from the provision of breast milk 34 . To our knowledge, no other study previously described this association and it might entail an important mechanism to explain the positive effects of breastfeeding on the energy metabolism [35][36][37] .…”

High confidence, yet poor knowledge of infant feeding recommendations among adults in Nova Scotia, Canada

“…For instance, the mean age to terminate any breastfeeding was 18.3 months, which is in agreement with previous research suggesting that people tend to underestimate the recommended total time for any breastfeeding (Fairbrother & Stanger‐Ross, ; Rempel & Rempel, ). Although not explored explicitly in this study, social disapproval of breastfeeding older infants and toddlers has been well documented (Cockerham‐Colas, Geer, Benker, & Joseph, ; Dowling & Brown, ; Newman & Williamson, ; Rempel, ; Stearns, ). Low awareness and potentially low acceptance of the recommendation to continue breastfeeding for toddlers may be contributing to reduced adherence to the recommendation for continued breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond.…”

“…Although not explored explicitly in this study, social disapproval of breastfeeding older infants and toddlers has been well documented (Cockerham-Colas, Geer, Benker, & Joseph, 2012;Dowling & Brown, 2013;Newman & Williamson, 2018;Rempel, 2004;Stearns, 2011).…”

‘I felt like I was doing something wrong’: A qualitative exploration of mothers' experiences of breastfeeding

“…These studies also raise issues around language, disputing the terms 'extended' or 'long term' breastfeeding in toddlerhood due to the connotations it implies. A recent qualitative exploration of eight white women breastfeeding beyond six months offer insights into issues such as stigma, breastfeeding etiquette, media representations and the need for supportive family and friends (Newman and Williamson 2018). It's concluded that HV's could be better trained and educated on benefits of continued breastfeeding, however, what is unclear is the mothers' experiences of these professionals.…”