Mixed feelings about Breastfeeding Awareness Week

Breastfeeding Awareness Week will soon be upon us once more and, as usual, I won't be participating. I believe that breastfeeding is normal and therefore doesn't need an awareness week - we don't have a "birth awareness week" so why do we need one for breastfeeding? Giving it its own "week" only serves to highlight breastfeeding as something unusual that only affects the lives of the few. While the UK breastfeeding statistics may currently bear that out (!), we all want them to improve. Portraying breastfeeding as an exception to the norm is only going to help keep it that way. 

NBAW can also be a platform for stunts like nurse-ins, which is when as many mums as possible all breastfeed their babies in the same place at the same time. If that's not weird, I don't know what is! But breastfeeding isn't weird and, to my mind, one of the aims of NBAW should be to minimise any weird image attached to breastfeeding, not add to it. Other events are just a bit pointless. I noticed a scavenger hunt is being organised this year to "raise awareness of breastfeeding."  I can only assume this raises awareness of breastfeeding in the same way that changing your Facebook status to a fruit raises awareness of breast cancer. 

I also question whether the good that NBAW achieves justifies the organising of it. NBAW has several audiences but I don't think they particularly benefit. Mothers-to-be are the obvious one. It is widely observed that the majority of pregnant women can't think beyond labour and so their thoughts about breastfeeding are probably going to be either "I'll give it a try!" or "yuck!" and no more detailed than that. I know my own thoughts weren't! So they're probably not going to come up to an enthusiastic health visitor/lactation consultant stationed in her local shopping centre to get more information like they would if it pain relief advice were being offered. Conclusion: NBAW has little to offer mothers-to-be.

Mothers are another obvious audience. They, too, are unlikely to benefit. If they are already breastfeeding, unless theyr'e struggling, they won't need any breastfeeding information. If they are struggling, they'd be better off going to a  breastfeeding group that meets regularly than getting help on a one-off basis. A regular group gives better support as mums will receive continuity of care and have their concerns followed up. With the best will in the world, a random health visitor in a public place cannot do that and, at best, can only offer details of the aforementioned groups.

Other mothers may well have given breastfeeding a go but given up before they wanted to, for all kinds of reasons. The last thing these mothers want is people telling them how great breastfeeding is. They know that. They've just been to hell and back trying to get it established because "it's so great" but ultimately (and often wisely) prioritised enjoying motherhood over dragging themselves up the steepest learning curve of their lives. So NBAW isn't going to help them either. 

Then there are mothers who have never had any intention of breastfeeding and really, unless you manage to convert them while the babies are young enough that lactation can be re-established, they have little to gain. 

Lastly, there is everyone else! These are the people that I think could potentially benefit from NBAW!  Grandmothers of breastfed babies could be told in a non-emotional, polite way why giving bottles to the babies isn't actually helping  in the long term. Likewise dads who were feeling a bit left out  and wanted some reassurance that they were still needed.  Shop owners, say, could get information about the importance of demand feeding and how to sensitively offer a mother a chair if she needed to feed her baby in the shop, maybe coming away with  "breastfeeding welcome here" signs to put up on their doors. 

The problem is, I don't think that happens very often. Not only are these people not NBAW's target but they are also unlikely to get involved. My partner wouldn't go up to someone at a stall to talk about his relationship with his breastfed baby: he'd either talk to a fellow dad or to me or - more likely - just keep schtum. If you're not a breastfeeding mother or close to one, you're unlikely to be trying to implement a positive breastfeeding policy in your business. If you are a working breastfeeding mother, you don't need the information because you already have it (see above).  The grandmothers, though, they might get something out of this. Picture the three-generations shopping party - you've all seen them! The mother might say to the grandmother, "ooh, look, Mum, there are the breastfeeding ladies. You know what I was saying about not using dummies? Bet they've got a leaflet - it'll probably explain better than I did. Come on..." and, the relationship between mothers and daughters being as it is, off they all troop and the grandmother may well come away enlightened. 

In conclusion, I believe Breastfeeding Awareness Week will, at best, help a few people; at worst, damage the image of breastfeeding and most likely...? Achieve nothing at all. 

Anyway, these are just my opinions. What do the rest of you think? Am I being too cynical? If NBAW does real good or has helped you then please, put me right! 

Thanks for reading.