Ep. 15: Prof. Amy Brown on why breastfeeding is championed but not supported

On the podcast this week I am joined by academic and author Professor Amy Brown. Amy has dedicated the last fifteen years to breastfeeding research, specifically looking at the psychological, cultural and societal barriers to breastfeeding. In this episode, we look at why breastfeeding is championed but not supported.

As well as publishing over 100 papers on breastfeeding, she’s also the author of several books including ‘The Positive Breastfeeding Book’, ‘Breastfeeding Uncovered’ and ‘Why Breastfeeding Grief and Trauma Matter’.

I wanted to pick Amy’s brain about a number of breastfeeding matters – including society’s lack of regard for breastfeeding and why breastfeeding grief and trauma exist.

Whilst most of us get the message during pregnancy that breastfeeding is a fantastic thing to do and we should all be doing it – the support and infrastructure to help women breastfeed is way off being where it needs to be. Due to generations of formula use, breastfeeding knowledge amongst families and communities has been lost and we’re left struggling to find the right information and support to help us.

“We lost the skill of breastfeeding several generations ago when formula milk started to be marketed as ‘science milk’ and something that was much better for our baby than breastfeeding ever could be.”

Professor Amy Brown

So how can professionals, friends and family and society as a whole do better to support a person to breastfeed? Listen to the episode to see all that Amy has to say, and to get an update on the latest edition of her book ‘Breastfeeding Uncovered‘.

Listen to the episode here

Amy’s key talking points

• The ways in which we know breastfeeding is championed but not supported
• Why attitudes towards breastfeeding have a detrimental impact on peoples decision to breastfeed
• The truth of how we’ve gradually lost the skill of breastfeeding over the generations
• Ways in which we can better support a new mother to breastfeed
• What breastfeeding grief and trauma is and why it can affect so many mothers in both the short and long-term
• The impact of the Covid pandemic on the uptake and continuation of breastfeeding

Thank you to our sponsors

Thank you to BREAST-FRIEND for sponsoring this episode of the boobingit podcast. BREAST-FRIEND was set up by a mother and daughter duo who wanted to make life a little easier when breastfeeding. They offer a range of eco-friendly breastfeeding accessories, including their best-selling Top-Pop which instantly makes any clothes feeding friendly. You can check out their range of eco-friendly products on www.breast-friend.co.uk.