The Feminist Movement and Breastfeeding from a Literature Review

Abstract

The female identity is socially related to motherhood and breastfeeding is understood as a representation of the female body that has generated important gender debates in recent years. The objective of this bibliographic review is to describe the social evolution of breastfeeding from the feminist and gender perspective at the present time. The in-depth review of 16 scientific articles published in the last 5 years found in the main databases has allowed us to structure the results into three sections on motherhood, the influence of feminism and the debates on breastfeeding. The decision to breastfeed and the maintenance of it are influenced by the historical, cultural, social and political context of our days. Historical events have marked the evolution of the feminist movement on the milestone of motherhood and breastfeeding. Two main feminist positions can be distinguished from the understanding of breastfeeding as rooted in home-rearing and sacrifice of other aspects of a woman's life to the enjoyment of breastfeeding hand in hand with ecofeminism as natural and biological. The lactating woman can experience a personal and social process accompanied by feelings of guilt, love, anxiety and loneliness. The lack of studies from a gender approach towards the experience of women during their lactation has been exposed in this bibliographic review. Information and health advice, respecting the decisions of each woman and taking into account the symbolic burden and the gender perspective that accompany breastfeeding, we can try to improve the support that these women receive.