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Week 3/2010: Modern moms don’t breast-feed?

Does the desire of immigrant mothers to be modern lessen their willingness to breast-feed for longer periods? This is what Märta Salokoski from the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Helsinki wants to find out.

According to an earlier study, immigrant mothers, especially those from Africa and Asia, often abandon the breast-feeding traditions of their home countries. Mothers in Africa and Asia usually breast-feed until their children reach the age of two or three, but many immigrant mothers switch to formula when their babies are a few months old.

The earlier study explained that this abandonment of traditions came from the mothers’ desire to be modern. These mothers regarded breast-feeding for long periods as an old-fashioned habit.

“I want to discover if this is really true, or if there are other reasons for discarding traditions,” Salokoski says.

Salokoski thinks that the lack of a supportive network of family and relatives may be one of the reasons immigrant mothers are switching to the bottle early.

Mainstream culture may also communicate conflicting messages about breast-feeding. According to Finnish recommendations, mothers should breast-feed until the baby is at least one year old. General attitudes, however, seem to be negative: breast-feeding in public is not part of everyday culture, and the shelves at supermarkets groan with different brands of formulas.

Salokoski believes that educational materials provided by maternity clinics do not necessarily reach all immigrant mothers.

“Finnish mothers are used to reading guidebooks, but verbal advice might work better with immigrant mothers. This would also help make their voices heard.”

The National Institute for Health and Welfare has launched a three-year project to promote breast-feeding in Finland. Salokoski contributed to the project by providing immigrant perspectives.

Text: Anu Vallinkoski
Translation: AAC Global
Photo: Wikipedia

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