Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Journal of Human Lactation
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Labbok, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Labbok, M.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
Medline Plus Health Information
*Breast Feeding
*Infant and Newborn Care
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Exploration of Guilt Among Mothers Who Do Not Breastfeed: The Physician's Role

Miriam Labbok, MD, MPH

Center for Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care in the Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, labbok{at}unc.edu.

Physicians commonly state the concern that, if they promote breastfeeding, they may "impose guilt upon those who do not breastfeed." This article explores the genesis of this fear, who may benefit from this construct, and the terminology of guilt, shame, and loss. The article also explores the responsibility for both lactation failure and associated shame, considering the roles and responsibilities of physicians, the media, and society as a whole. An alternative construct for the guilt is offered, based on the consideration that the woman experiences lack of breastfeeding as a loss at some level, conscious or subconscious, and whether the choice to not breastfeed is her decision or imposed. Proposed approaches for acting to prevent and to treat shame and guilt are presented. J Hum Lact. 24(1):80-84.

Key Words: guilt • breastfeeding • shame • loss • marketing • rights • prevention • treatment • physician

Journal of Human Lactation, Vol. 24, No. 1, 80-84 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0890334407312002
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?