What happened to breastfeeding? (Why isn't it easy anymore?)
- Doula Matters
- Apr 17, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 12
Why Is Breastfeeding So Hard? Understanding the Roots of a Lost Intuition
When a woman first finds out she’s pregnant, her mind is often consumed with thoughts about the pregnancy itself—what to expect, the labour, and of course, the birth. Breastfeeding and caring for a newborn might feel like something to think about later, something that’s supposed to come “naturally.” After all, isn’t breastfeeding meant to be instinctive and easy?
It used to be. And it should be. But long before many of us were even born, things started shifting. Society began to chip away at this natural process, leaving women wondering why something so fundamental has become so difficult.
This blog is here to dig into the “why.” Why has breastfeeding—something that should feel instinctive—become such a source of stress and anxiety? It’s time to stop blaming ourselves and start looking at the bigger picture. There’s more to this story than meets the eye.
The Two Biggest Culprits: Scientific Motherhood and First-Wave Behaviourism
Scientific Motherhood
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the rise of the “expert” gave birth to the ideology of Scientific Motherhood. Women were told that they needed scientific advice to successfully raise their children, much like today’s notion that a healthy pregnancy or birth requires constant monitoring.
This approach discredited maternal intuition and the generations of wisdom passed down through families. Women who resisted these new “expert-driven” methods were often labeled as “bad mothers”—a stigma no one wanted to bear.
While it’s true that infant mortality rates were alarmingly high at the time, this was often due to unsafe practices like feeding babies from lead-lined bottles or using harmful substitutes for breast milk—not a lack of maternal competence. However, these complexities were overshadowed by the growing narrative that experts, not mothers, knew best.
First-Wave Behaviourism
Enter First-Wave Behaviourism, an early school of psychology that studied animal behaviour. Ivan Pavlov’s famous experiments with dogs inspired a wave of interest in shaping human behaviour through stimulus and reward.
This philosophy seeped into maternal care, medicalizing childbirth and breastfeeding. Women, now giving birth in hospitals instead of at home, were cut off from the generational wisdom of mothers, aunties, and sisters. Instead, they were subjected to rigid hospital schedules and inflexible protocols. These practices disrupted breastfeeding during the critical postpartum period and normalized challenges that were previously rare.
Even today, while other branches of psychology have evolved, the remnants of this rigid, first-wave thinking linger when it comes to mothers and babies. Arbitrary rules about feeding schedules and sleep training remain deeply embedded, creating unnecessary stress and disrupting the natural neurohormonal processes that guide maternal instincts.
What Can We Do? Reclaiming Power and Wisdom
We live in a world where generational breastfeeding knowledge has been eroded, and our instincts have been suppressed by a culture of "expert-driven" advice. But all is not lost. Here’s how we can start to reclaim our confidence and connection:
Learn the Basics: Seek out resources like the Australian Breastfeeding Association or Possums for Parents, which provide evidence-based support and guidance.
Observe and Learn: Join local breastfeeding support groups to watch, learn, and connect with other mothers. Even observing animals with their young can be surprisingly insightful.
Drop the Rules: Let go of rigid feeding or parenting rules. Breastfeeding and newborn care should adapt to your unique rhythm, not a predefined schedule.
Embrace Imperfection: Release the pressure to be a “perfect” parent—it’s an impossible standard that doesn’t exist.
Breastfeeding isn’t supposed to be complicated, and it doesn’t have to be. By reconnecting with intuition, seeking support, and letting go of unnecessary rules, we can rediscover the ease and beauty of this natural process.
It’s time to take back our power, trust ourselves, and rewrite the narrative around breastfeeding and motherhood.
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