20. Breastfeeding

In this week's episode we talk about breastfeeding: why some women do it, why others do not, and what factors play into their decisions. Since neither of us have children, we decided we wanted to hear from some experts for this episode: moms. So we asked our listeners to write in and tell us about themselves and their experiences with feeding their children. We share a little about the history behind feeding babies including breastfeeding, formula feeding, wet nurses, and pumping. Then we discuss how the media presents breastfeeding and the controversies between breastfeeding and formula feeding. Next we cover the effects of patriarchy and capitalism on how people choose to feed their babies. And we hear more from the moms who wrote in about their thoughts on feeding their babies. Finally we address the impact that the decision to breastfeed or not has had on different people. We talk about stigmas and push-back and then wrap up with a conversation on accommodations for breastfeeding and pumping in the workplace.

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Hosts: Kimberly Fludd and Rebecca L. Salois

Logo Design: Samantha Marmolejo

Music: Shawn P. Russell

Sound Consultant and Mixing: Shawn P. Russell

Recording and Editing: Rebecca L. Salois

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Sources:

• “Desperate Women, Desperate Doctors and the Surprising History Behind the Breastfeeding Debate,” by Lily Rothman
  
• Bottled Up: How the Way We Feed Babies Has Come to Define Motherhood, and Why It Shouldn’t, by Suzanne Barston
• "Does Formula Feeding Make Me a Bad Mom?" by Bridget Reed
• "The Sexualisation Of Breasts – What Has Caused It?" by Renee Kam 
• The US Breastfeeding Committee’s website
• Removing Barriers to Breastfeeding - RaceForward