World Breastfeeding Week: Your Body, Your Baby, Your Rules

Every August, World Breastfeeding Week shines a spotlight on something powerful — the act of nourishing a baby from your own body.
It’s a celebration of biology, bonding, public health, and tradition. And for many women, it’s deeply beautiful.

But if we’re going to talk about breastfeeding, let’s talk about everything it brings with it: the physical toll, the mental load, the family dynamics, the work-life juggle — and the fact that, for some women, breastfeeding just doesn’t work out.
Not for lack of trying. Not for lack of love. Just… because life is complicated.

So this year, we’re marking World Breastfeeding Week by opening the circle a little wider — to honour all feeding journeys. Boob, bottle, or both.

What is World Breastfeeding Week?

Led by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), WHO and UNICEF, this global campaign champions breastfeeding as a foundation for lifelong health — for babies and mothers. The 2025 theme? “Invest in breastfeeding, invest in the future.”
Sounds great, right? But the part we don’t talk about enough is: investing in breastfeeding also means investing in women — their mental health, workplace rights, recovery time, sleep, boundaries and choices.

But here’s the thing: investing in breastfeeding starts with investing in women.
Not just promoting it, but supporting it. Not just praising it, but understanding it.

Source: WHO – World Breastfeeding Week 2025

Breastfeeding is natural — but it’s not easy

Yes, breastfeeding can be amazing. It supports bonding, lowers risks of illness, and releases oxytocin (aka the love hormone).
But it can also hurt like hell, mess with your sleep, limit your freedom, and make you feel like a human milk machine.

Let’s normalise the mental and physical toll:

• Painful latching, bleeding nipples, mastitis

• The relentless schedule — especially when you’re the only one who can feed

• The constant question: “Am I doing this right?”

• The loneliness of it all — especially in those early weeks

Breastfeeding isn’t “free.” It costs time, energy, rest, comfort — and that’s before you factor in pumps, bras, pads, leaks, cluster feeds, and sleep deprivation.

Source: NHS | Breastfeeding Problems

And then there’s the cultural pressure...

In South Asian families, feeding choices often come with a side of everyone’s opinion.
Grandmothers might push one way. Aunties whisper another. Privacy and modesty might make public feeding hard. And let’s not even start on the gendered expectations of being the “good daughter-in-law.”

Here’s what research shows:

• South Asian mums in the UK often start breastfeeding, but stop earlier — sometimes because of work, family roles, modesty norms, or conflicting advice.

• Mixed feeding is common — and often practical — but not always talked about openly.

• Some mums switch to formula early just to get a full night’s sleep, share the load, or take back control. That doesn’t make them selfish. It makes them human.

It’s complex. It’s cultural. And it’s no one else’s business but yours.

Source: MDPI Journal – South Asian Women & Breastfeeding in High-Income Settings

What matters most: that your baby is fed, and you feel supported

Breastfeeding is one way to nourish a baby. It’s a brilliant one.
But it’s not the only way.

Some women formula feed from day one.
Some do a mix.
Some express milk because latching didn’t work out.
Some switch to bottles so they can sleep, heal, return to work, or simply reclaim their body.

All of that is okay. All of that is worthy of support.

Because no matter how you feed your baby, you deserve the same thing: care, dignity, and community.

And to the working mums and first-timers: we see you

The workplace wasn’t built with breastfeeding in mind.
But here you are: asking for time to pump. Searching for somewhere private. Managing feeds between meetings. And wondering if it’s too much to ask for a clean fridge.

And if you’re a first-time mum? You might be dealing with cluster feeds, supply panic, social media pressure and still trying to figure out how to burp a baby.

You’re not doing it wrong. It’s just hard. And that deserves more than one week of awareness.

Source: BMC Women's Health – Barriers at Work

This Week and Beyond

So, what are we really saying this World Breastfeeding Week?

We’re saying that breastfeeding deserves awareness. But so does formula feeding.
We’re saying that your feeding story is yours — and however it unfolds, you are not alone.
We’re saying: choice, support, community, and rest are the real investments in the future.

💬 Join the Conversation

Have you felt empowered in your feeding journey — or pressured? What do you wish someone had told you earlier?
Tag us or drop a comment below. Your voice might be the one another woman needs to hear today.