A mother's right to breastfeed: Removing the obstacles

Abstract

If breastfeeding is acknowledged to be the optimal way of feeding and caring for young infants and is critically important for infant development, including mental development, while also providing benefits to the mother, then the right of mothers to breastfeed their infants deserves to be accepted as a human right. This point is reinforced by existing human rights conventions, new scientific evidence on the advantages of breastfeeding, current ethical acceptance of women's rights, and the evolving human rights thinking. Any obstacles to breastfeeding, then, are infringements on human rights. Major negative influences on breastfeeding include the medicalization of infant feeding, manufacturers' promotion and marketing of breastmilk substitutes, societal failure to assist mothers to breastfeed, and lack of community support for breastfeeding. Although national legislation and actions provide a basis for protecting rights, ultimate success hinges on the actions of committed people and communities.