#Amamantar: Representations of Breastfeeding Targeting Hispanic/Latinx Populations

• In Event: 4263 - The Role of Culture and Organizations in Reproductive Experiences

Abstract

Breastfeeding is widely acknowledged as the optimal form of infant feeding for most infants worldwide, and is advocated by major health organizations. Globally, some countries in Latin America have the highest prevalence of breastfeeding at 12 months, whereas others have much lower rates. In the U.S., Hispanic/Latinx women share comparable breastfeeding rates to non-Hispanic white women at initiation, but tend to decline at 6 months and at 1 year. Social media has increasingly become a source of health information, impacting people’s health behaviors. This study investigates representations of breastfeeding on social media targeting Hispanic/Latin American populations through the hashtag #amamantar (exact English translation: breastfeeding) on the social media application Instagram. Data consist of 933 original posts to Instagram between May and December 2018. Results show images represented three main categories: bonding, education, and community. In the bonding category, the images showed both mother and child with emphasis on a strong emotional attachment developed through breastfeeding. In the education category, the images focused only on the child, presenting the breast as a vessel for nutrition, and contained educational information about the benefits of breastfeeding. In the community category, the images show women breastfeeding in groups, in public spaces, and at work, normalizing breastfeeding as something occurring in all facets of society. The images throughout the categories are also raced and classed: all mothers and babies represented are white and mothers are depicted in professional occupations. These images are not representative of Spanish-speaking women throughout the world. These findings expand literature on representations of breastfeeding by investigating representations that target Hispanic/Latina women and focusing on social media. They show that, although social media has been theorized as a democratic outlet with liberatory potential, the images we analyzed reproduce current power arrangements.

Authors

• Angela Vergara, University of Central Florida

• Shannon K. Carter, University of Central Florida