Breastfeeding, a plural norm of motherhood. Social science perspectives from North America

This article presents social science research on the norm of breastfeeding in North America. These studies all show that although breastfeeding is often the subject of heated debate, this is not only due to public health considerations: it is also because what is at stake in these debates is the way in which the mother's role is socially defined. This article will present three bodies of research on the topic. The first focuses on how infant nutrition has come under the control of medicine. The second is a collection of studies that investigate the mothers' associations that have been founded around the issue of breastfeeding. The last focuses on health campaigns for breastfeeding. The article concludes by presenting the research questions raised by this literature.