'Betwixt and between': Women's experiences of breastfeeding long-term

Dowling, Sally

Abstract

This chapter draws on my research with women who breastfeed for longer than is usual in the UK, where a minority of women are still breastfeeding at six months and an unknown number breastfeed into the second year and beyone (McAndrew et al, 2012). The anthropological concept of liminality (being 'neither one thing nor another') is used to explore and understand their experiences. This chapter takes ideas about liminality and relates them to breastfeeding long-term, discussing how they might help those working in this area to support more mothers to breastfeed for longer. It briefly outlines what is known about long-term breastfeeding from previous research and explains the concept of liminality.

• Publication Date: Sep 5, 2018
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 55-70
• Book Title: Social experiences of breastfeeding: Buliding bridges between research, policy and practice
• ISBN: 9781447338505
• Keywords: breastfeeding long-term, liminality
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/861014
• Publisher URL: http://policypress.co.uk/resources/kara-creative/social-experiences-of-breastfeeding