As a future obstetrician, potential mother, and of course a woman, I find the current debate over public breastfeeding and the fact that some people find it offputting and distasteful for women to perform this natural act in public places both frightening and deeply concerning. There is a tendency in our society as a whole to sexualise women’s breasts and use them as a marketing tool to sell anything from fast food to cologne when in reality, breasts are mammary glands. They produce milk to feed their young, milk that is, in the majority of cases, the only nutrition that a young baby will need. In many cultures breastfeeding has deep religious and social value, and breastfeeding in public is widely accepted and encouraged.
Throughout history, breastfeeding has been an essential part of survival- babies were at high risk of illness and death if they could not receive proper nutrition. In Ancient Greece, breastfeeding was highly valued and is referenced heavily in mythology. In Catholicism, there is a myriad of different versions of the Madonna Lactans, in which the Virgin Mary is shown nursing the baby Jesus. Breastfeeding is promoted by the Pope and the Catholic church, with Pope Francis telling a woman to “please give it something to eat!” and “not worry” about being in public. In Israel, as early as 2000 BC, children were believed to be a blessing from God and breastfeeding was considered a religious obligation.
The second largest religion in the world, Islam, deeply values breastfeeding and according to tradition, wet nurses- women employed to breastfeed babies when their mother’s can’t- are to be chosen with great consideration because children nursed by the same woman are considered family. The United Nations recommends that babies are exclusively breastfed until they are 6 months old, however in recent times this has become less like reality. In the Philippines, the government has implemented laws in order to control aggressive marketing by formula companies and encourage mothers to meet the UN requirements, however only 34% of babies under 6 months are breastfed. Perhaps what has become known as “bottle culture” in western society has made its way into the unique culture of the Philippines. In Australia, even fewer babies are breastfed until 6 months of age- only around one quarter are still being nursed between 5 and 6 months.
But why are so many of our babies missing out on the benefits of breastmilk? Research has shown that while most women can breastfeed, a small percentage cannot due to any number of reasons; the baby may have a small mouth, the mother’s supply may be impacted on because of prescription medication or she may just not want to breastfeed for personal reasons. All of that is fine, but when someone else- man, woman, politician, cafe owner or otherwise- tries to tell a mother that she cannot feed her child in a public place, that is not okay, and is illegal under the federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984, which states that it is against the law to discriminate directly or indirectly against a person on the grounds of breastfeeding.
In the years following the invention and popularisation of formula milk, there has been a not so subtle shift in the way people perceive breastfeeding. We have seen the evolution of a woman’s body in advertising from the curves of the 1950’s pin up girls and Marilyn Monroe to the bouncy hair and cleavage of the Victoria’s Secret Angels. Our priorities are skewed when it comes to when it is appropriate to see a breast- people are more than happy to read trashy magazines filled with sexualised images of women’s chests but as soon as a mother sits down on a park bench near them, they find it offputting and immodest.
Online comments ask- “what will we tell our children when they see a woman breastfeeding?”- As though it is something that needs to be hidden. How can it be awkward to simply explain that the baby is having something to eat, and that’s one way that a mum can feed her baby- they’re more likely to see a mother animal nursing her baby at the zoo, and no one sees that as a problem. It is during these moments in a child’s formative years that attitudes are developed, and right now our kids are forming the wrong attitudes. This is carrying through to teenage years when girls magazines mostly contain articles showing impressionable young girls to become hyper-sexualised objects.
How can we expect for people to accept breastfeeding in public with or without a cover when young girls are groomed to become not much more than something pretty to look at when breasts are sexualised, reshaped, enlarged, injected with botox, uplifted and exposed on red carpets? Sure, we can be geniuses, we can be hilarious, we can be incredible at sports, but there are other women out there whose breasts are being photoshopped larger and made the key focus for a cologne commercial.
Many people, after hearing the argument for acceptance of public breastfeeding that it is natural, mention other things that are natural, like going to the toilet, that aren’t done in public. How is that the same thing? Faeces are waste products from an animal’s digestive tract expelled through the anus, whereas breastmilk is the milk produced by a woman for her offspring. The former contains harmful pathogens that can cause serious illness, whereas breast milk is an antibacterial, antimicrobial substance that has been shown to kill infections.
Imagine that the world had created a new 'perfect product' to feed and protect every newborn on earth. Imagine also that it was available everywhere and required no storage or delivery. Then imagine that the world decided that it was weird to use it when it was needed. Sounds foolish, doesn’t it?
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