THE ESSENTIAL
- The average duration of breastfeeding in France is 17 weeks, or approximately 4 months.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of babies.
A new survey produced by Lansinoh provides more information on how French mothers live or have lived breastfeeding their babies.
Not “supported enough”
First interesting figure: 88% of mothers chose to breastfeed because they thought it was beneficial for their child’s health (which has been scientifically demonstrated many times, editor’s note). Nevertheless, 69% of the mothers questioned confided that they did not feel sufficiently supported by society in this restrictive process, and 55% believe that they were not supported at their workplace.
And while 68% of breastfeeding women think it is natural to breastfeed their child in public, 15% find the situation embarrassing and 17% say they have been “openly criticized” ou “victims of prejudice”. On the other hand, 61% of the women surveyed did not feel well prepared to breastfeed, and 39% judged their experience “more difficult than expected”.
“A certain discomfort”
Finally, 49% of mothers say they have benefited from the support of health professionals at the start of their breastfeeding. This numbers “testify to a certain malaise of society vis-à-vis breastfeeding”, conclude the authors of the survey.
