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Brelfie Backlash: Mums Fight Against Breastfeeding Selfie Trend With 'Bressure' Campaign

Women are feeling more and more pressure to breastfeed – and admit to feeling like failures if they don’t

The breastfeeding selfie ‘brelfie’ trend has flooded the Internet in recent months, with mums worldwide uploading the intimate snapshots to share their support of the campaign.

But while we’re all lead to believe that ‘breast is best’, it’s simply not an option for all mums – and is causing bottle-feeding mothers to suffer abuse in public, shocking new stats reveal.

Celebrity 'brelfies' like this one have left mums feeling pressured [Doutzen Kroes / Instagram]
Celebrity 'brelfies' like this one have left mums feeling pressured [Doutzen Kroes / Instagram]
Alyssa Milano posted this 'multi-tasking' breastfeeding pic [Instagram/Alyssa Milano]
Alyssa Milano posted this 'multi-tasking' breastfeeding pic [Instagram/Alyssa Milano]

In a landmark new study, the judgment and cruelty that colours the breastfeeding vs. bottle-feeding debate has been well and truly exposed.

While the ‘brelfie’ campaign has done breastfeeding women a world of good, fighting for a mum’s right to nurse her child whenever and wherever she needs to, it’s left women who don’t breastfeed feeling like failures – and fighting back.

The pressure to breastfeed is now so great that mums who bottle-feed their babies are almost a third more likely to suffer abuse in public than those who nurse naturally.

The report, polling 2,075 mums and commissioned by Channel Mum, also shows that 16 per cent of bottle-feeding mums have been on the receiving end of cruel comments from other mothers they know, with one in 20 being attacked on social media.

Overall, 69 per cent of bottle-feeding mums said they had been judged negatively, with 41 per cent made to feel they have ‘failed as a mum and failed their child’ by not breastfeeding. Some 15 per cent of mums have even lied to cover up their bottle-feeding and appear to be ‘better’ mums.

The 'brelfie' trend has even sparked a breast pump selfie movement [Instagram/Kourtney Kardashian]
The 'brelfie' trend has even sparked a breast pump selfie movement [Instagram/Kourtney Kardashian]

One in 50 confess they pretended to breastfeed when they never tried, while nine per cent claimed to breastfeed for longer than they actually did. A further four per cent covered up the fact they bottle-fed or mixed fed their baby with both breast and bottle.

A huge number of women are uniting, including both those who do and don’t breastfeed, to agree that the ‘brelfie’ campaign has gone too far, with over half of mums claiming it ‘places too much stress on new mums’. The new phenomenon has been dubbed ‘bressure’ by parenting experts.

But rather than feeling ‘bressure’ from health professionals, judgement seems to come from other women. Over half of new mums said they were responsible for putting the most intense stress on themselves to try to breastfeed, followed by 37 per cent who felt pushed into breastfeeding by new mum friends they met at antenatal and baby classes.

One in 12 admitted their own mum made them the most anxious about breastfeeding along with one in 13 who suffered stress from their mother-in-law. A further 26 per cent even experienced extreme pressure on social media and from strangers, along with 32 per cent who said their health visitor demanded they breastfeed.

How does feeding your baby make you feel? [Channel Mum]
How does feeding your baby make you feel? [Channel Mum]

But the women who need help to breastfeed are struggling to find the right support, with 57 per cent claiming they couldn’t get the advice and information they were after. While half had turned to online videos and tutorials for support, 28 per cent found the films made them more stressed by presenting breastfeeding as easy.

The brelfie backlash has lead mums to post photos on social medias with a one-word slogan on how feeding their child, and the judgement surrounding it, has made them feel.

The brelfie backlash campaign is in full swing today [Channel Mum]
The brelfie backlash campaign is in full swing today [Channel Mum]

The new movement echoes recent comments made by celebrities including TV presenter Myleene Klass, singers Una Foden and Kimberley Walsh, actress Jaime King and former MP Jo Swinson who have all spoken out against judgement of mums over the baby feeding choices.

“Most mothers desperately want to breastfeed - but not all can,’ says Siobhan Freegard, founder of Channel Mum said. “Putting new mums under ‘bressure’ benefits no one and may even be causing many to fail. New mums need support not pressure to give them the best start in motherhood and babies the best start in life.

“What should be a personal choice is being turned into a political issue with mums feeling judged at every turn. Those mums who do choose to bottle feed - for whatever reason - must not be made to feel second class citizens.

“Feeding a newborn is one of the most overwhelming tasks a woman will ever face so society needs to accept mums make the choice which is best for them and their family."

Mums are taking to social media to use one word to describe how feeding their baby makes them feel [Channel Mum]
Mums are taking to social media to use one word to describe how feeding their baby makes them feel [Channel Mum]

While most mums-to-be are fully aware that they should give breastfeeding a go because of the benefits to their child’s development, some women simply can’t produce milk, get their baby to latch on or just really don’t get on with it.

However, while getting one-on-one time with your health visitor post-birth might be a struggle, there are some fantastic support forums and sites out there, such as The Breastfeeding Network.

Alternatively, you can give the National Breastfeeding Helpline a ring on 0300 100 0212 or get involved with their live web chat service.

[‘Breastfeeding My Six-Year-Old Daughter Is Normal’ Says Belly Dancing Life Coach]

[The Breast Pump Selfie Craze Continues As Another Celebrity Posts A Candid Snapshot]