Lactivism: How Feminists and Fundamentalists, Hippies and Yuppies, and Physicians and Politicians Made Breastfeeding Big Business and Bad Policy

by Courtney Jung

Overview

Social scientist and mother Courtney Jung explores the ever-expanding world of breastfeeding advocacy, shining a new light on the diverse communities who compose it, the dubious science behind it, and the pernicious public policies to which it has given rise

Is breast really best? Breastfeeding is widely assumed to be the healthiest choice, yet growing evidence suggests that its benefits have been greatly exaggerated. New moms are pressured by doctors, health officials, and friends to avoid the bottle at all costs-often at the expense of their jobs, their pocketbooks, and their well-being.

In Lactivism, political scientist Courtney Jung offers the most deeply researched and far-reaching critique of breastfeeding advocacy to date. Drawing on her own experience as a devoted mother who breastfed her two children and her expertise as a social scientist, Jung investigates the benefits of breastfeeding and asks why so many people across the political spectrum are passionately invested in promoting it, even as its health benefits have been persuasively challenged. What emerges is an eye-opening story about class and race in America, the big business of breastfeeding, and the fraught politics of contemporary motherhood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465061655
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	11/24/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Courtney Jung is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

…[a] riveting exposé of the forces that have turned the simple act of feeding one's baby into a veritable battlefield…[Jung's] keen analyses and wry humor keep the reader engaged…Jung makes clear [that] breast milk is not an elixir with the power to make you a good parent or give your child a leg up in life, no matter how reassuring it might be to believe otherwise.

The New York Times Book Review - Lori Gottlieb

08/24/2015
This harsh critique of breastfeeding advocacy in America may be hard to hear for people who subscribe to the now widespread notion that “breast is best,” but Jung makes some thoughtful points against seeing the practice as the most or only acceptable option for mothers. She worries that “lactivism” transforms parenting choices into competitive arenas or moral imperatives, makes it too easy for companies to present themselves as family-friendly simply on the basis of allowing employees to pump at work, and encourages peer judgement by defining formula feeding as a poor lifestyle choice. Jung also sees women’s control over their bodies as being at stake, noting that nonbreastfeeding women have seen their federal nutritional benefits reduced. Arguing that the evidence for breast milk’s nutritional benefits over formula is modest, she believes that the societal treatment of breastfeeding has gone way beyond acknowledging that it’s a good method to feed a baby, moving into self-congratulatory middle-class identity politics. Though Jung probably won’t convince anyone to change policy, her intersectional perspective, which looks at how feminist concerns mesh with those related to race and class, may encourage advocates to approach new moms with more sensitivity, and to view the ubiquity of breast pumps with a slightly more dubious eye. Agent: Sam Hiyate, Rights Factory. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly
“Jung makes some thoughtful points against seeing the practice [of breastfeeding] as the most or only acceptable option for mothers.... [H]er intersectional perspective, which looks at how feminist concerns mesh with those related to race and class, may encourage advocates to approach new moms with more sensitivity, and to view the ubiquity of breast pumps with a slightly more dubious eye.”

Shelf Awareness
“[Jung's] research is extensive.... Lactivism illustrates how a woman's choice has become a matter of public health and a socially enforced necessity. A critical look at policies that have cemented poor science and damaged women's rights in the United States.”

Kirkus Reviews
“Jung offers readers an inside look at the modern world of breast-feeding, which has undergone transformative changes since its revival in the United States in the 1970s.... Using solid evidence to back her statements, the author analyzes how the simple act of breast-feeding has shifted into a mechanical process through the use of breast pumps, with a salable commodity: the breast milk.... A levelheaded, well-researched analysis of the many ‘trappings of contemporary breastfeeding culture.'”

"Jung's book is a bold challenge to the prevailing parenting orthodoxy."—National Post

"The truths [Jung] uncovers may make your jaw drop.... But perhaps most interesting is Jung's astute observation that what is being so ardently promoted isn't actual breast-feeding--whereby a baby is fed from the breast--but human milk as a product, creating pressure for working mothers of all income levels to pump in less than ideal conditions, when what might benefit them and their babies most is paid maternity leave (or simply using formula).... [Jung's] keen analyses and wry humor keep the reader engaged."—Lori Gottlieb, New York Times Book Review

"[Jung] makes a provocative case that [breast-feeding's] benefits have been drastically oversold.... [She] is particularly sharp in describing how 21st-century policy makers have turned breast-feeding into a consensus issue."—Wall Street Journal

"[A] groundbreaking new book.... Jung's subject in Lactivism isn't nursing itself, but a strain of advocacy that prizes feeding babies breast milk above all else, no matter the cost to their mothers or, in some cases, the babies themselves.... [An] important book."—Michelle Goldberg, Slate XX

"Highly readable.... [Jung] makes a strong argument: If women are supposed to have a 'choice' about their reproductive activities, why can't they choose how to nourish the offspring that might emerge?"—Weekly Standard

"[Jung's] research is extensive.... Lactivism illustrates how a woman's choice has become a matter of public health and a socially enforced necessity. A critical look at policies that have cemented poor science and damaged women's rights in the United States."—Shelf Awareness

"Jung lays out an intriguing analysis of how different groups have interpreted the 'breast is best' slogan to reflect their own agendas."—Washington Post

From the Publisher

11/01/2015
In this well-researched and captivating work, Jung (political science, Univ. of Toronto; The Moral Force of Indigenous Politics) explores the U.S. culture of breastfeeding advocacy or "lactivism" from its revival in the 1970s to the present day. Jung, who breastfed both of her children, confronts misconceptions about the act of nursing while placing it into a medical and political context. She then proceeds to compare nursing in different countries, investigating the factors that affect initiation and duration. Most importantly, the author discusses the culture of breastfeeding, one in which breast milk has become a commodity and breastfeeding has become big business, while also challenging exaggerated health claims and explaining how new mothers often feel pressured to breastfeed exclusively at all costs. Jung further cautions that exclusive breastfeeding is not the panacea of parenthood and carefully explores the intersection of race, class, and gender in the related debate. VERDICT A thought-provoking book with many compelling points. Readers interested in the social sciences and/or women and children's health issues will appreciate Jung's examination of America's obsession with breastfeeding and of the breastfeeding orthodoxy.—Lyndsie Robinson, Milne Lib., SUNY at Oneonta

Library Journal

2015-08-16
The pros and cons of using breast milk instead of formula for your baby. Jung (Political Science/Univ. of Toronto; The Moral Force of Indigenous Politics: Critical Liberalism and the Zapatistas, 2008, etc.) offers readers an inside look at the modern world of breast-feeding, which has undergone transformative changes since its revival in the United States in the 1970s. Prior to that time, women were encouraged to use formula, giving mothers the freedom to return to work shortly after giving birth. Then feminists took a political stance on breast-feeding, claiming that it was a woman's right to choose how to feed her children. This revolution against corporations and the desire for individual choice has slowly morphed into a multifaceted, multibillion-dollar industry in which those who breast-feed are considered fashionable and intelligent and those who don't are often frowned upon by others. Using solid evidence to back her statements, the author analyzes how the simple act of breast-feeding has shifted into a mechanical process through the use of breast pumps, with a salable commodity: the breast milk. In fact, the actual act of feeding the child sometimes takes a back seat to it all. Jung explores the questionable practice of encouraging mothers with HIV/AIDS to breast-feed since substantial scientific evidence shows that breast milk, a bodily fluid, can carry the virus. The author also explores the effects of the formula vs. breast-feeding debate on developing countries, particularly Africa, where the dangers of waterborne illnesses often outweigh the risk of contracting HIV. She discusses the history of La Leche League and other breast-feeding support groups and the difficulties women face when they return to the workplace and need to express milk but are given little or no support in their endeavors. Jung offers her own experiences breast-feeding her children as a side note to the political, social, health, and economic ramifications of this now-convoluted procedure. A levelheaded, well-researched analysis of the many "trappings of contemporary breastfeeding culture."

Kirkus Reviews