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The social act of breastfeeding: sense and representation

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The social act of breastfeeding: sense and representation

dc.contributor.author	Robledo Díaz, Luis
dc.contributor.author	Barreira Barreal, Cristina
dc.contributor.author	Carvajal Roca, Eva
dc.contributor.author	Fornes Vivas, Rosa
dc.date.accessioned	2023-11-14T15:46:08Z
dc.date.available	2023-11-15T05:45:07Z
dc.date.issued	2023	es_ES
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10550/91133
dc.description.abstract	Introduction Many variations exist in breastfeeding practices and their meanings. These depend on the historical and sociocultural context experienced by the mothers and the symbolic constructions present in each group, moment, or place. The positive or negative view will be defined by the meanings attributed to breastfeeding, that is, the perception of their health and that of their children, and the support received by the relatives, the professionals and health institutions. Methods The goal of this study is to describe the social representation of breastfeeding by a postpartum women group from the “Hospital La Salud” in Valencia, Spain, that has chosen exclusive breastfeeding. We have chosen a crosscutting and descriptive approach based on the qualitative methodology employing in-depth interviews, using semi-structured questionnaires. Findings The mothers who participated in this study consider the ability to breastfeed as a prerogative that they possess as women that affords values and symbols to their bodies, developing the idea of a (the) useful body. These connections may create a certain amount of dependence and responsibility on the mothers, in the case in which their bodies are valued less than their children’s and their personal needs become secondary. All women in this study think that a healthy body condition consists of adequate function and must meet the breastfeeding needs in terms of milk production, provides feelings of happiness and pleasure and be able to get back their baseline condition through physiological mechanisms. Imbalance and normalcy, for most of them, were associated with constant pain, milk scarcity, daily fatigue, a general feeling of discomfort, functional limitations and, any negative feeling they generally perceived. Nevertheless, other women argue that pain is useful; they see it as something positive and necessary for their recovery. This different assessment explains the importance of each idea and the power to redirect the different perceptions of breastfeeding towards the positive axis. On the other hand, mothers who lived a negative experience may feel disenchanted and, sometimes, guilty. This feeling of guilt is due to the challenging process of defining their gender identity, which imposes significant responsibility on women: providing the best nourishment for their children. The goal of being “a perfect mother” will become a woman’s sole ethical and moral focus, accepting praise and blames for her breastfeeding performance. A woman could become the author of her self-inflicted oppression, which could generate feelings of insecurity and self-sacrifice in front of a society which does not spare women from the feelings of guilt when they neglect nursing to meet and satisfy their own needs.	es_ES
dc.language.iso	en	es_ES
dc.publisher	Dykinson	es_ES
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Colección Conocimiento Contemporáneo;123
dc.source	Robledo Díaz, L., Barreira Barreal, C., Carvajal Roca, E., & Fornes Vivas, R. (2023). The social act of breastfeeding: sense and representation. In M. Bermúdez Vázquez & M. Rojano Simón (Eds.), Estudios sociales, estética, arte y género: nuevos enfoques (1st ed., Vol. 123, pp. 486–504). Dykinson.	es_ES
dc.subject	lactancia materna	es_ES
dc.subject	breastfeeding	es_ES
dc.title	The social act of breastfeeding: sense and representation	es_ES
dc.type	book part	es_ES
dc.subject.unesco	UNESCO::SOCIOLOGÍA	es_ES
dc.identifier.idgrec	725442	es_ES
dc.accrualmethod	-	es_ES
dc.embargo.terms	0 days	es_ES
dc.type.hasVersion	AO	es_ES
dc.rights.accessRights	open access	es_ES