Embrace, The Movement for Mothers: Recent Episodes
Embrace
We’re a social movement that values and celebrates motherhood and mothers, and the critical role they have to play socially, economically and politically in South Africa.We believe that every mother and mother-supporter can join us, and together, we can be inspired, mobilised and connected to effect change.
**Here is our final Friday playlist from the Embrace let down line.
Almost a month ago, we launched the Letdown Line, a dedicated WhatsApp line that mothers could use to share their breastfeeding experiences.**
You’ve heard true testimonies from mothers who’ve shared their experiences on the Let-Down Line. If you’re ever tempted to harshly criticise a mother for her feeding choices and the many difficult trade-offs she has had to make and will continue to make along her motherhood journey; remember this: it’s complicated and mothers are most likely than not doing the best they can with what they have at their disposal. We need to give serious consideration to what it means to give mothers comprehensive breastfeeding support that offers them a sense of safety, security, acceptance, understanding and sensitivity, and that transcends the frequently espoused, overly simplified epithet “breast is best”.
More than 60% of South African mothers who start out breastfeeding and intend to do so exclusively for the six months, stop breastfeeding for a number of reasons. This month, we’ve explored the realities of breastfeeding in SA with zero judgement.
If we operate from the assumption that mothers want the best for their children, and that mothers know their own situations and realities better than we ever could, we will be best placed to offer compassionate, consistent, accessible support that will really make the difference we’re all seeking.
#worldbreastfeedingweek2022 #stepupformothers #stepupforbreastfeeding #movementformothers #womensmonth #letdownline
It’s Friday, and you know what that means?
**Here are the best of this week’s #letdownline responses: Share with your friends and family, and let’s get real about #breastfeeding. Congratulations to Zibele for her winning voice note!
You’ve won a prize from Hannah Grace, South Africa's leading #1 online mom and baby clothing store. Enjoy your prize!
worldbreastfeedingweek2022 #stepupformothers #stepupforbreastfeeding #WABA #SDGs #educateandsupport #womensmonth**
WordlBreastfeedingWeek2022 might be over but we are still listening to your breastfeeding stories. The best place to start creating a truly pro-breastfeeding society is listening to mothers!
worldbreastfeedingweek2022 #stepupformothers #stepupforbreastfeeding #WABA #SDGs #educateandsupport #womensmoth #embraceletdownline
At Embrace, we see breastfeeding as a central part of a relationship between two people: a postpartum parent and an infant. It is the furthest thing from the disembodied or mechanical process we often hear about in messaging around breastfeeding. According to a recent WHO report, up to 98% of pregnant women surveyed indicated that they intended to breastfeed their babies. That is in stark contrast to the 31.6% of mothers in South Africa who actually exclusively breastfeed. Mothers want to do what is best for their babies, but there are insurmountable barriers restricting their freedom to do so.
There has historically been very little for space for mothers to share their lived experiences of those barriers. In fact, a lot of the realities of breastfeeding go unsaid, unacknowledged and misunderstood because we fail to take into account the lived experiences of breastfeeders. As a movement for mothers, we firmly believe that we need to hear how the 98% drops down to 31.6%: if we don't, we run the risk of never adequately addressing low breastfeeding rates.
So, in the lead-up to World Breastfeeding Week, we launched The Let-down Line. This is a dedicated WhatsApp line mothers can use to share their anonymous breastfeeding confessions and reflections. Mothers are encouraged to share their stories – the good, the bad, the ugly, the hilarious, the shameful – no holds barred. And we are listening – with no judgement.