Women's Experiences with Breastfeeding Support: Conflicting Practices and Discourses

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dc.contributor.advisorArmstrong, Pat
dc.creatorElliott, Gillian Audrey
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-27T12:28:15Z
dc.date.available2017-07-27T12:28:15Z
dc.date.copyright2016-09-13
dc.date.issued2017-07-27
dc.date.updated2017-07-27T12:28:15Z
dc.degree.disciplineSociology
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMA - Master of Arts
dc.description.abstractDrawing on insights from critical scholarship on medicalization and professionalization, this thesis explores women's experiences with breastfeeding support in the context of medical, institutional, health policy and professional forces in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on 10 qualitative, semi-structured interviews and 41 in-depth surveys completed by women who initiated breastfeeding; the results provide insight into how hospital practices, the lactation consultant profession and pharmaceuticals to support breastfeeding can shape breastfeeding support and in turn, impact womens breastfeeding experiences. The findings demonstrate that the women relied heavily on professional breastfeeding support both in hospital and in the community and experienced a disparity between their expectations and the reality of breastfeeding. This research finds that often the conflicting practices and discourses of medicalized and professionalized breastfeeding support recreates breastfeeding as a technically challenging process that requires medical and expert intervention, rather than a natural and easy process as it is often portrayed and promoted.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/33386
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectSociology
dc.subject.keywordsBreastfeeding
dc.subject.keywordsBreastfeeding Support
dc.subject.keywordsMedicalization
dc.subject.keywordsProfessionalization
dc.subject.keywordsMixed Methods
dc.subject.keywordsCanada
dc.titleWomen's Experiences with Breastfeeding Support: Conflicting Practices and Discourses
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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