Media Responsibility to Promote Breastfeeding: A Poll
July 5, 2007 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breastfeeding, poll
Remember when the sitcom Two and a Half Men portrayed breastfeeding in public? When Ross and Chandler joked around about breast milk on Friends? When Jamie and Paul had this exchange as Jamie breastfed her baby on Mad about You?
Have you thought about the portrayal of breastfeeding in children’s books like Baby on the Way and Mama Mama?
The next poll asks whether the television and print media have a responsibility to portray breastfeeding as opposed to bottle-feeding. To be clear, I’m not just talking about breastfeeding in public, but simply about showing breastfeeding rather than someone feeding a baby a bottle. Whenever my children and I encounter a picture of bottle-feeding, I make sure to talk about how there’s expressed breast milk in that bottle! 
At any rate, I believe the media should make an effort to portray breastfeeding. I wonder whether you think there is a media responsibility to do so….
I have a guilty pleasure in my life: daytime soaps. Its my way of unwinding by turning off my brain for a while after an intense day of working and mothering. But ever since my son was born I noticed how bottle-centric these programs are. Aside from the f**mula ads in every commercial break (which I fast-forward through on my tivo) every baby on these shows is bottle fed. I mean, they dont even have to show the breastfeeding if they are concerned about “decency” (nevermind all the sex on those shows!). But a recent character had just given birth and the first scene with the baby (and each subsequent one too), he has a bottle in his mouth. And this particular character is a nurse!
I know its silly, because soap operas are silly to begin with, but the target audience for these shows are stay-at-home moms (hence the f**mula ads), women who, ideally, should be breastfeeding their babies.
I actually wrote ABC a letter of complaint a while back, but got no response.
I’m impressed that you took the time to write a letter to ABC! Too bad there was no response, but I still think it’s important to voice your opinion anyway. What a shame that the soaps are not only missing an opportunity to support breastfeeding but are also undermining it by showing bottle-feeding.
I remember the media making motions to remove smoking and drinking from “family” programs, and also to portray people using seat belts and infant car seats. Just watch old movies, even some “G” rated ones, and it is a little shocking sometimes to realize how things have changed. I think it is time for the media to become more involved in promoting breastfeeding, and not just joking about it on the sit-coms.
Good point Matia!
I meant to say “No, but it would be nice” but my breastfeeding baby bumped me as I clicked and I ended up with just “No”.
LOL! Thanks for letting me know Jen. I’ll correct it when I post the final poll results!
Breastfeeding is normal and healthy and I think it would be wonderful if it was portrayed as such on tv more often! I will also be writing letters to the tv stations. I have already written to local mp’s and the PM, health minister and education minister.