Sociology & Anthropology at Fordham University: 2012

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dr. Orit Avishai Calls Breastfeeding Out on What It Really Is—Difficult.


This summer, Orit Avishai addresses the challenges of breastfeeding on CNN Opinion. In “Breastfeeding is intuitive and easy? No!” she points out the pressure mothers face with the decision to breastfeed their children. The literature on breastfeeding paints this act as natural, easy and cheap. However, the realities of contemporary society contradict these claims, as does the research and personal experience of Dr. Avishai who establishes that successful breastfeeding requires planning, money, resources, and perhaps the same drive that propels women through PhD programs. Breastfeeding is not something that every woman can accomplish and those that do make large sacrifices in order to do so.