WOMEN DON'T FAIL AT BREASTFEEDING
The odds are against them before they even begin.
Feeding their babies in a culture that is not conducive to optimum infant care.
For breastfeeding to happen, we need a culture:
⭐ where women aren't stressed about going back to work
⭐ where feeding a baby hourly isn't seen as spoiling them
⭐ where men don't complain about the mother-baby dyad taking over the bed
⭐ where birth interventions that affect breastfeeding rarely happen
⭐ where breasts aren't sexualised
⭐ where women see other women breastfeeding from childhood
⭐ where women's mental health after birth is prioritised
⭐ where people don't insist on "helping" by removing the baby from the mother rather than removing her responsibilities so she can care for her baby.
It's a wonder anybody manages to breastfeed under these conditions.
My heart hurts for those who wanted to feed and did not have the support and the information.
We can turn our anger towards other women (like the media encourage) or we can turn it at the institutions that divide us and fail us.
I will always champion choice but our choices do not exist in a vacuum - there is no doubt in my mind that many women never stood a chance.
