S'pore's stand on breastfeeding has been consistent, judging by 1980s campaign

Breast milk is the best milk.

Tanya Ong | June 13, 2017, 02:38 PM

Formula milk prices have been all the rage in Singapore as it has been discovered lately that their prices have been increasing the last few years.

This has resulted in the government stepping in by saying that they would take measures to make more formula milk options available in the market.

They have also reiterated that breastfeeding is strongly encouraged, a view that the Health Promotion Board and various international organisations share.

Breastfeeding is regarded as the best way to meet the nutritional needs of infants. It also has many added benefits for both mother and child.

 

And it would not be the first time the government has encouraged breastfeeding.

In the 1980s, the Ministry of Health ran a campaign on it. Here are some of the campaign posters:

Photo from NAS

Breast milk was seen as “nature’s balanced food” to nourish the baby.

Photo from NAS

We've also created a comparison of posters on breastfeeding then and now:

Photos from NAS and ABAS

The campaign posters from the 80s showed a mother breastfeeding her child without any nursing cover -- a touchy topic these days in Singapore.

However, we can only imagine how people would react to seeing these posters today, especially if they were placed in public and with the advent of social media.

The government's stance on breastfeeding then is similar to the government's stand today.

Surrounding the issue of breastfeeding is also the issue of public breastfeeding. It became a talking point recently when a woman was photographed breastfeeding on the train.

Some defended public breastfeeding, while others thought that it would be courteous for the mother to breastfeed discreetly using a nursing cover.

 

More importantly, these current events open up the space for conversation.

Today reported that "inadequate support from the workplace and communities, and embarrassment at breastfeeding in public spaces" are contributing factors to mothers choosing not to breastfeed.

Discussing breastfeeding-related issues is important because it involves conversations on how mothers can get more support for maternity services. It also raises awareness on the need to eliminate workplace discrimination, and encourages employers to be supportive when working mothers need to express milk.

 

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Top photo from NAS

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