--- title: Breastfeeding: Why the U.S. Needs to Raise Awareness description: It’s not about affluent parents’ feelings—it’s about public health, and discrimination canonical: https://time.com/3989960/us-needs-breastfeeding-awareness/ author: Sabrina Joy Stevens article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-10T18:08:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:13.389Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Why the U.S. Needs World Breastfeeding Week og:description: It’s not about feelings—it’s about public health, and discrimination og:url: https://time.com/3989960/us-needs-breastfeeding-awareness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2640c5d734c50a03/69869fb4810bbb6616c93094/breastfeeding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4150 og:image:height: 2334 og:image:alt: breastfeeding og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why the U.S. Needs World Breastfeeding Week twitter:description: It’s not about feelings—it’s about public health, and discrimination twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2640c5d734c50a03/69869fb4810bbb6616c93094/breastfeeding.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why the U.S. Needs World Breastfeeding Week > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=1699b957-e63e-40d6-8920-f4ef385353ad&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Critics Say Mexico City’s Breast-Feeding Ad Campaign Is Too Sexualized [Watch (HLS stream): Critics Say Mexico City’s Breast-Feeding Ad Campaign Is Too Sexualized](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2UYqgInO.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2014-05-27. There have been plenty ads pushing the practice of breastfeeding, but many critics say an ad campaign from Mexico City is sending the message the wrong way._ by [Sabrina Joy Stevens](https://time.com/author/sabrina-joy-stevens/) ## Sabrina Joy Stevens Aug 10, 2015 6:08 PM UTC  Mother breastfeeding baby girl (0-3 months), close-up Mother breastfeeding baby girl (0-3 months), close-up Getty Images by [Sabrina Joy Stevens](https://time.com/author/sabrina-joy-stevens/) ## Sabrina Joy Stevens Aug 10, 2015 6:08 PM UTC Which is worse: feeling a pang of regret when a friend posts a “#brelfie,” or feeling pangs of fear that you might lose your home after being wrongfully fired for requesting pumping breaks? Feeling like somebody might have given you a dirty look while you bought a can of formula, or worrying about the man leering at you while you feed your baby? To hear some Mommy Warriors tell it, all of these situations are equal, thus there’s no value in campaigns to normalize breastfeeding, such as last week’s World Breastfeeding Week. But what people on both sides of the fence seem to forget is that many moms don’t live in a wealthy bubble where our feelings are the only things at risk as we make choices for our children and families. Complaints about rampant shaming or “bressure” among affluent women ignore the structural obstacles that working class women and women of color—like myself—face if we decide we want to nurse our babies. While affluent women have the freedom to walk away from jobs that don’t allow them to nurse or pump, as well as the power to demand individual accommodations like paid family leave and comfortable lactation rooms, working class women and women of color disproportionately work in low-paid service sector jobs where they aren’t given the same flexibility. This means that many struggling mothers are stuck either spending thousands of dollars on formula, or losing their jobs altogether. We need breastfeeding advocacy campaigns in order to create the public understanding and political will to expand such accommodations, and to make mothers aware of the rights we already have. In several online communities for black breastfeeding moms that I belong to, women frequently share stories of being mistreated by employers for requesting pumping breaks or clean, safe places to express and store their milk. Many have no idea that such mistreatment is illegal. Others are seeking support after partners and family members accuse them of being lewd or inappropriate for nursing their children. Lacking support at work or at home or both, many moms forfeit their breastfeeding goals despite wholeheartedly wishing to start or continue nursing. Regrettably, mothers of all kinds face undue scrutiny and judgment no matter what we do for our kids. But the Department of Labor has found at least 71 serious instances of [lactation discrimination](http://usnews.nbcnews.com/%5Fnews/2014/01/10/22257760-pumped-up-breastfeeding-mothers-fight-for-rights-at-work%23th3916076-c81602662) since the Affordable Care Act took effect. Trying to turn campaigns like World Breastfeeding Week into #AllFeedingMatters completely ignores the difference between hurt feelings and discrimination. No one should be shamed for how they feed their children, as long as those children are well fed and cared for. But letting privileged parents who already have a choice undermine attempts to offer less advantaged parents the information and advocacy they need to claim that freedom for themselves is shortsighted and unfair. Transforming earnest attempts to destigmatize and demystify women’s bodies into a conversation about privileged women’s feelings obscures the fact that breastfeeding awareness campaigns are—or should be—about promoting public health and ending widespread discrimination. ## Transcript [00:00] There have been plenty ads pushing the practice of [00:03] breastfeeding but many critics say an ad campaign [00:05] from Mexico City is sending the message the wrong [00:08] way. This pro breast feeding ad shows topless Latino [00:11] celebrities with the message don't turn your back on [00:14] them give them your breast sprawled across their [00:17] chest, hoping to encourage Mexico City mothers to [00:20] breastfeed. The ad is pushing a practice that health [00:22] officials say could use a boost in popularity. According [00:26] to the World Health Organization only 14 % of Mexican [00:29] women breastfeed their children exclusively for the [00:32] first six months. But, critics argue while many see [00:35] breastfeeding as a great cause, putting toned topless [00:38] celebrities on the cover is not the best way to reach out [00:41] to new mothers. According to the New York Daily [00:44] News, one of the featured models even said the ad [00:46] was in bad taste after seeing it, and asked to not be [00:49] associated with the campaign. It's not only a very [00:53] terrible campaign in terms of how it looks, but it's also [00:57] the message is that if you don't breast feed, it's [01:00] basically because you are a bad mother. And Time [01:02] points out, for many mothers in Mexico City, choosing [01:06] to breastfeed is not a question of desire. Many women [01:09] in Mexico City cannot breastfeed because they don't [01:11] have access to proper nutrition, don't have enough [01:14] maternity leave, and are forbidden from breastfeeding [01:17] or pumping milk at work. It seems though the backlash [01:20] may have worked its magic, the ads are no longer on [01:23] the city's website and several outlets are already [01:25] speculating the next phase of the campaign will include [01:28] everyday moms with a different slogan. 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