Just as each woman lives her motherhood in a unique and different way, each mother experiences a different breastfeeding than others. For some it can be a wonderful experience, while for others it could be something very sad.
All those faces of breastfeeding are the ones shown in the campaign "Sincere breastfeeding", in which we can see 18 mothers from Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Spain speaking with total honesty about their experiences, good or bad, with breastfeeding.
Supporting breastfeeding, as it is
As the name says, the goal of the campaign is show breastfeeding in a real way, but above all, sincere. Sometimes we can read hundreds of tips about breastfeeding and think that being a natural act is something simple, but in practice things may not be as planned.
The truth is that although there are many informative resources and support groups, in many countries breastfeeding rates are very low, as in Mexico, the country where I live. On the other hand, many people continue to believe many of the myths about breastfeeding, and that makes those who decide to breastfeed are sometimes cornered or demotivated by people who do not support them.
For these reasons, any effort, campaign or dissemination supporting breastfeeding will always be welcome and encouraged.
Lactation, an experience with many feelings
"Sincere breastfeeding" shows that each mother is different and each one lives her breastfeeding differently. For some it is a good and successful experience, for others it is more difficult and for some more it can be a sad experience because they failed to have the breastfeeding they wanted.
Although it is true that when a successful breastfeeding is achieved, one of the most incredible and loving experiences in a mother's life is lived, there is also a dark side to breastfeeding, where many of us have found an experience far removed from that lactation Dream that they sold us.
Many mothers suffer in silence feeling depressed or thinking that they failed because they were unable to achieve successful breastfeeding. Some others even though they had a successful breastfeeding, they did not have an easy path and there were times when they felt they were losing the battle due to lack of support or feeling of loneliness and blame for not having the breastfeeding they expected.
18 mothers telling their story
The original idea of "Sincere breastfeeding"It was from Vania, doula and perinatal educator in training, and creator of the Mommy Life blog, who invited 18 mothers from four countries: Mexico, Chile, Spain and Brazil for us to participate Each had a different experience with breastfeeding: prolonged, mixed, in tandem, and they are women who felt that their lactations were successful or failed.
I asked Vania to tell us a little about the campaign and this is what he said:
Breastfeeding is a time of great union with each baby, is to keep oxytocin alive, is to give your child part of your body and give him the best he can receive, because breast milk is ideal for them. Despite all the good things breastfeeding has, there are times when it is not as easy or beautiful as it gets to paint.
It is very common to hear the problems that arise as pain and cracks, but there are also emotional problems caused by misinformation, myths or conflicts of interest, which are not talked about much.
This campaign arose from the idea of To be honest and share the lactations, the good and the bad, the sad and what is not said and above all the different types of breastfeeding that can occur. I looked for 17 bloggers who had various lactations, from those who lived as the best to those who could not, those who received support and those who cried for not having words of encouragement, all this so that the different mothers who saw the campaign could identify with any of us, since the spectrum of experiences around breastfeeding are very broad and one way to be empathic with women is to be able to reflect among ourselves.
I managed to bring together bloggers from 4 countries, with different professions, blogs, ways of being and thinking but that all coincided with the same point: Breastfeeding is the best we can give our children and it is important to continue talking about it, normalizing and supporting it, and empowering ourselves..
In the official video of the campaign we can see a little about what each one experienced during breastfeeding, including the good and bad times. Those sides are shown that we do not usually see in other campaigns that promote it, where regularly only talk about its benefits and some tips.
By having mothers who had different experiences, we can show other moms who are not alone, that breastfeeding is not always experienced as we imagine it and that if we have any problems, we should not fear or hesitate to ask for help.
In addition to the teasers and the official video that show us the different faces of breastfeeding, we can see the testimonies of each of the 18 mothers bloggers in the individual videos where they tell in more detail how was your breastfeeding, what problems they had and how they can continue to defend and protect breastfeeding.
How was your breastfeeding? It turned out to be what you expected?
