Local Landscapes of Breastfeeding: A comparison of breastfeeding amongst mothers in low- and high-income neighborhoods in Bristol, UK

Isherwood, Josie; Boyer, Kate; Dowling, Sally

Abstract

© 2019 This paper compares experiences of breastfeeding outside the home for women living in low-income and high-income neighborhoods of the same city. Our findings are based on an analysis of 22 interviews with breastfeeding mothers (11 in each of two study areas) undertaken in Bristol, UK in 2017. We extend existing scholarship by showing how experiences of breastfeeding vary not only at the regional level but between local areas of the same city, and outline how our findings can inform policy. We advance literature on maternal bodies by exploring how local “landscapes” of breastfeeding emerge as mothers encounter and negotiate different socio-material landscapes and locally-differentiated norms about “appropriate” maternal embodiment. We argue that these variegated interactions can lead to different orientations to space and forms of spatial practice on the part of breastfeeding mothers, as well as different kinds of maternal identities.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 3, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Aug 7, 2019
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: May 8, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 8, 2021
• Journal: Health and Place
• Print ISSN: 1353-8292
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 59
• Article Number: 102125
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.003
• Keywords: breastfeeding, experiences, neighbourhoods, high and low income
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/847338
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.05.003
• Contract Date: May 8, 2019