Questioned: an approach to redefining mothers’ breastfeeding experience through women’s voices

Abstract

Every year in Spain, some 340,000 women give birth, becoming the protagonists of a process that will lead them to exercise motherhood in its broadest sense. During the first years, breastfeeding emerges as a central part of maternal practices as it connects with the ways of nourishing the new life. Thus, in the following article we approach the study of women’s experiences of breastfeeding. What expectations they have about breastfeeding, what possibilities they have experienced or what changes they have undergone are questions that have led us to delve deeper into this subject. Thus, after the initial objective of finding out about the experiences of women who have been mothers, we present the results of a qualitative research study based on the response to an open questionnaire to 72 women who had given birth in the last 5 years. Among the findings we have been able to observe how breastfeeding is a major concern for women, leading us to ask ourselves whether or not there has been a social redefinition of breastfeeding. We conclude that there is an interplay between initial expectations, the disciplinary frameworks that are configured around breastfeeding and women’s possibilities for action, and that it is necessary to rethink how support, accompaniment and information are offered by professionals, as well as a better knowledge and awareness on the part of close family circles and society in general.