Breastfeeding and Sexuality: Professional Advice Literature from the 1970s to the Present

Abstract

Since the 1970s, there has been a trend on the part of physicians and other health practitioners to promote breastfeeding in the United States, a movement that has not been as successful as hoped, since the majority of mothers in this country continue to feed their babies formula. Several socioeconomic factors are considered to be barriers to the success of breastfeeding promotion today. Yet, even among those who promote breastfeeding there exists a notable constraint in dealing with the issue of sexuality and breastfeeding. Indeed, as the female breast is eroticized in Western society, breastfeeding promotional messages have often exhibited a tacit conformity to social conventions regarding female sexuality. When analyzing selected works of advice literature written by health care practitioners from the 1970s to the present, it will be clear that breastfeeding promotional information often reflects dominant views of the sexuality of the female breast and her body.