The year in review: Big breastfeeding moments
A baby’s gotta eat.
So why is there still so much red tape around the breast, pump, or bottle?
Generations of breastfeeding parents and families have and continue to exist globally, and yet, we’re still here — debating, policing, and considering the act, commitment, and practice of breastfeeding. As we close out the year, we’re looking back at the past twelve months to see what we’ve learned about what breastfeeding parents experienced and what they still need. (After all, we know that we’ll only arrive at a more equitable, supportive future for breastfeeding parents when we learn from the past.)
Read on for a collection of the headlines, policies, controversies, and viral conversations that moved the needle in the lactation space in 2024.
The current state of breastfeeding access, rights, and attitudes
Before we get to the good stuff, let’s ground ourselves in the current moment. Where are we right now when it comes to our cultural attitudes toward breastfeeding and breastfeeding people?
At the dawn of the new year, attitudes toward breastfeeding were still complex. Parents continue to want to breastfeed, but find it challenging and wish they could get more help to become proficient. Parents search for that help but find it cost-prohibitive, and often must rely on support from partners, friends, and community members, not the clinical experts they deserve to consult. There’s still a gap between the care parents need to breastfeed successfully, and the accessibility of that care across the country.
In short, we’ve made strides, but there’s work to do.
We’re not starting from ground zero, though. Breastfeeding laws have ensured parents in the U.S. have protected rights. No matter where you happen to breastfeed — on either coast or anywhere in between, you have the right to breastfeed in public and in private wherever you are in the United States of America. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), all 50 states, Washington D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico protect a parent’s ability to breastfeed in any public or private location they are lawfully allowed to be in. That means it is illegal for someone to ask you to leave a public area to breastfeed. The NCSL also outlines that in 31 states, breastfeeding laws exempt nursing parents from public indecency laws, meaning no one can claim it is inappropriate or immodest for you to breastfeed without a cover in public places. Breastfeeding laws mean breastfeeding rights, and that’s a great place to build upon. (Psst: If you or someone you love didn’t know about these protections, now’s a great time to send them this link!)
Major laws, rights, and cultural moments in the breastfeeding community in 2024
So, what were the moments that moved this conversation (and eventually, breastfeeding access and cultural support) forward in 2024? There were a few standouts we’re memorializing as we close out the year:
A breast on a billboard: Swehl’s lactation cookies in Times Square
In May, Molly Baz (then pregnant cookbook author), was featured as part of a campaign for Swehl in New York City’s Midtown while pregnant and covered — mostly — by lactation cookies. Mere days later, the billboard’s provider, Clear Channel pulled the ad… “reviving an old debate about why America is OK exposing pretty much every type of breast except a lactating one.” The ad’s removal sparked a fiercer debate than the contents of the 45-foot ad itself, with proponents wondering why the policing of pregnant and breastfeeding bodies continues — and others miffed about whether lactation cookies are even a thing. The campaign kerfuffle appears to have resulted with Swehl garnering a nearly 500% increase in traffic to their site — proving lactating bodies are still a cultural hot topic.
Restaurant refusal: An Indianapolis restaurant bans breastfeeding mothers and children under 5
The vegan restaurant Plantastic Indy sparked controversy nationwide after creating a policy to refuse to welcome parents and children to maintain sanitary standards.” This restaurant isn’t the only one. Parents all over social media claim they are shunned, dismissed, and treated with hostility by restaurateurs and patrons while trying to breastfeed in eateries — the irony of which is not lost on many. “A vegan spot opposing a baby’s most natural and ethical food source is astonishing… The disconnect is astounding,” a commenter said.
Writing IBCLCs into federal law
Mere hours before 2024 began, The Lactation Network secured a bipartisan amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that underscores the importance of lactation care expertise while providing funding for military spouses seeking their IBCLC certifications.
It took Sarah Kellogg Neff, TLN CEO and her colleagues:
- 19 months,
- Dozens of Zoom calls,
- Countless professionally pushy calls and emails from a great lobbying firm,
- A few thousand dollars in well-placed campaign contributions,
- Three trips to Washington, D.C.,
- 40+ hours on Capitol Hill, and
- 50+ House, Senate, and gubernatorial offices…
But history was made. So, what does this mean for the future of breastfeeding families who are serving the country?
A professional pathway and earning potential for military spouses. These partners often sacrifice their own jobs to support active-duty service members as they move. Today, this law serves the spouses of active-duty service members by offering access to IBCLC careers that can be practiced anywhere.
A vote of confidence in IBCLC expertise. With a bipartisan, bicameral coalition’s support, we’re continuing to support breastfeeding laws and drive meaningful access to lactation care on military bases and beyond.
A way to recreate communities in the face of transience. Military parents are often far from their own families and support during their breastfeeding journeys. Our amendment acknowledges the role IBCLCs play in supporting whole families at vulnerable times and is an incredible toehold as we continue to advocate for fair TRICARE reimbursements for all IBCLCs.
An Olympic-sized win for breastfeeding parents
Allyson Felix, an avid maternal health advocate, a TLN 2024 Summit keynote speaker, and the most decorated track and field athlete ever, helped establish the first-ever nursery in the Olympic Village at the 2024 Paris Olympics. As a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission, she partnered with Pampers to bring a private breastfeeding space, daycare area, playroom, and more to the Athletes’ Village Plaza. It’s hard to believe that athletes competed on the world stage for decades without access to spaces to be with their growing families at such a critical time in their development, but the nursery is, undoubtedly, a historic addition for mothers and parents at each Games going forward.
One of the first times breastfeeding was shown in all of its glory in a brand spot
Breastfeeding. It’s real, it’s raw, it’s messy, it’s hard work. It takes milk, sweat, and sometimes, tears. And no one knows that better than The Lactation Network and all of the parents who intimately know what breastfeeding is like. The summer of 2024 brought breastfeeding to screens everywhere, with an all-female production crew. The spot broke barriers for its unflinching look at what breastfeeding is and can be with support (especially the at-home, insurance-covered kind.)
The future of breastfeeding: Empowering the breastfeeding community
Hot take: The future of breastfeeding will likely look more and more like the past — a return to the acknowledgement of the biological imperative of shame-free feeding and intercultural support within communities that understand the wisdom of generations of breastfeeding parents. It’s up to our collective communities to apply modern solutions to a beautiful, ancient practice, so parents have the support they need to keep investing in future generations.
Positive change will move the needle — but it starts with multiple layers of action. Companies like Frida are posting uncensored reproductive education content to reduce shame and ignorance around normal bodily functions. Black IBCLCs and birth clinicians are reducing systemic barriers to historically oppressed communities, in large part to address low breastfeeding rates and poor Black maternal health outcomes (Black people experience both the highest maternal mortality rate and the highest infant mortality rate.) And working parents on multiple social platforms are pushing for conversations around workplace flexibility, support, and normalization of postpartum experiences.
With each passing year, we must acknowledge barriers in the lactation care and maternal health space, remove them where we can, and create safe, mutually encouraging spaces for parents. Here’s hoping next year’s headlines will continue to push for equity for parents, babies, and our communities.
We’re here for you, every step of the way. We work with your insurance to provide in-home, in-office, or telehealth visits with an IBCLC.
