Social media has become a powerful tool for sharing experiences, shaping opinions, and accessing health-related information. For new mothers, platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok are often go-to sources for advice, support, and community around parenting, including infant feeding choices.

In this discussion, we will explore how social media influences new mothers’ perceptions of breastfeeding, from promoting breastfeeding as the “gold standard,” to spreading misinformation, to creating pressure or unrealistic expectations. We’ll also consider how online communities and influencers may impact a mother's decision to breastfeed, formula-feed, or do a combination of both.

To get started, reflect on the following:

• What types of breastfeeding content have you seen on social media?

• How might social media positively or negatively affect a mother's breastfeeding journey?

• Do you think social media can be a helpful educational tool, or does it present more risks than benefits?

Instructions:

• Initial Post: Submit your original response (minimum 250 words) on or before Friday 9/26, during your regularly scheduled class time. Your post must include at least one tagged or linked video from a social media platform (e.g., Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube) that relates to breastfeeding content. Briefly explain why you chose it and how it supports your points.

• Peer Response: Reply to at least one classmate with a supportive, thoughtful comment (minimum 150 words) by Sunday, 9/28 at midnight.

Use respectful, professional language and draw connections to course content when possible. Let your responses demonstrate critical thinking and engagement with the topic and your peers. 

I chose a video by SciSchow comparing Breast Milk versus Formula because I trust this channel and they seem to use credible sources. The video mentions many of the things covered in our textbook. It talks about the positive increase in breastfeeding rates since the creation of BFHI and the health benefits found from breastfeeding. 

But it does go on to mention some points that aren’t directly said in our textbook. It explains many studies, specifically one that compared siblings who are exposed to the same environmental conditions, but one is breastfed and another is formula fed. The study found that the future outcomes in life did not differ much between each pair of siblings. So the big picture of the video points out that although breastfeeding does have good bacteria and immune proteins not found in formula, there is no reason to fear formula if really needed. As long as you properly prepare the formula, it’s a fine second option.

If new mothers go on social media and find videos and information backed by science like this one, I think it would greatly help them feel more confident. This video would positively help a mother know the benefits of breastfeeding while also assuring them that if they can’t produce milk for however long, they can always supplement formula without hurting their baby. I think that other social media videos made by less educated people may hurt mothers, so it’s important to look for good sources and channels when browsing.

In the media, I have seen many videos similar to the one I have included above. It is mothers who breastfeed, assuring mothers that doing so in public is not inappropriate, while remaining respectful to others. I have also seen mothers just sharing their experiences in the form of "story-times," which again, are reinforcing a message of normalcy or setting expectations when it comes to breastfeeding. All that said, I have also seen videos where mothers share their struggles with breastfeeding, and how not being able to produce their own milk can be an emotional time. Furthermore, I have also seen videos where mothers express how they did not want to breastfeed and preferred the use of formulas.

Above I have listed some of the content I have seen relating to the topic of breastfeeding, which contains lots of variety. Due to the variety, I think that depending on the mother's experience who is viewing the content, it could either positively or negatively impact her. If she struggles with breastfeeding and she watches the video I included in this post, she could feel like she is doing something wrong or other negative emotions because she does not have the same experience. Contrastingly, if she is able to breastfeed, she might watch the above video and feel assurance or gratitude because she can relate to the content.

I think that social media can be a helpful tool and be risky. That said, I would lean towards it being more of a tool. I say this because, I think, there are a greater number of people just trying to help when they post on platforms, compared to people trying to harm others with posts. Content might not always be perceived as help, and to avoid feeling negatively about breastfeeding, mothers who are struggling can take a step away from social media and focus on themselves with family, friends, and their own healthcare professionals for guidance and support. Having the ability to step away makes social media less of a risk to me. For the most part, I think people can relate or learn from others.

Above all, when it comes to breastfeeding and social media, it depends on the mother and her experience with breastfeeding with how she responds to the content. Ultimately, she is the only one who can determine what she learns from social media or if she wants to turn it off.

2. On the other hand, social media can also be a breeding ground for misinformation and myths. Because anyone can post content, not all the information shared is evidence-based or medically accurate. Sometimes advice is based purely on personal experience rather than scientific research, which can lead to confusion or unrealistic expectations. This is why it is so important for mothers to critically evaluate what they see online and to verify information with healthcare providers or trusted, reputable sources. 

3. Overall, I believe social media can be a helpful tool for breastfeeding mothers when used thoughtfully and carefully. It can offer community, encouragement, and shared knowledge, but it should not replace professional medical guidance. If a new mother feels unsure about something she reads online, I would strongly suggest speaking with a healthcare provider, lactation consultant, or another qualified professional. Combining supportive online communities with reliable medical advice can help ensure both confidence and safety during the breastfeeding journey. 

1. I beleive breast feeding is shared amongst social media so new mothers can be informed on what to expect versus what not to expect. Platforms such as Tik tok, Instagram, Facebook, etc. allow breast feeding information to be posted. There is always a risk of misinformation being spread causing opinions to be made against breast feeding that may not be true. Although, there is a joy in being able to share tips and information new mothers may not be aware of allowing a sense of community and comfort to them.

1. I beleive social media such as Tik Tok, Instagram, and other sorts of platforms can be mostly an educational tool for new mothers looking for advice and help on breast feeding. Weather this be relatable content, or helpful tips, the information will be helpful one way or another. Aside from this, mothers should not completely rely on social media for their information. Although, posting content can help connect postpartum mothers with one another which may help with relatability and feeling like they are not alone. This video in particular gives a sense of realness to the community of mothers.

Social media can also be used to spread misinformation bad advice. If a new mother doesn't take what they hear with a grain of salt and don't verify what they hear then the baby may end up not developing properly which can lead to more issues down the line. It's very easy to spread harmful myths and rumors on the internet and even though they may sound right and believable it is important to get all the facts before unknowingly running with and spreading potentially dangerous information.

I believe that on the whole social media has the capacity to do more good than harm and that as long as new mothers do their due diligence and keep an eye out for misinformation while using social media and not taking everything at face value then they can learn far more than they may have went in wanting to know and come out better for it. I chose my video because it provides a good starting point for learning about breastfeeding while being trustworthy and honest with it's advice from a trustworthy source.

The video I found is apart of a renowned group on YouTube, videos from a channel we view in class, and they talk about formula vs. breastmilk. The overall argument and tone of the video is to inform people formula is a good healthy viable option for all parents. Even mothers who don't have complications with breastfeeding. With every passing decade, improvements in baby formula nutrition and science continue to get better not worse. It's easy to compare formula from the 80's or 90's to breastfeeding, but we're in the 2020's and stigma can linger for awhile and pass down generations. They talk about various studies that have been conducted over the past 30 years, which are hard to conduct ethically since infants and mothers are involved. Most of the findings find formula to have very little drop-off in infant short and long-term health compared to breastfeeding. Most of the issue, when it comes to infant health, is related to socioeconomic status, income, educational attainment, and conditions of the mother prior to pregnancy and many others.

Social media influencers play a strong role in shaping how new mothers think about breastfeeding, and this connects directly to what we learned in class. In the video, the speakers present breastfeeding as beneficial but also emphasize flexibility and maternal well-being, which reflects our Milk Matters assignment on providing evidence-based, client appropriate education. In class we learned that colostrum is highly concentrated and perfectly meets newborn needs despite its small volume, which matters because social media can show unrealistic feeding experiences that may make mothers worry they are not producing enough milk. If influencers fail to explain that early milk production is naturally low in volume but rich in immune factors, new mothers may lose confidence and supplement unnecessarily. We also learned that colostrum and mature milk serve complementary roles, with colostrum providing immune protection and mature milk supporting growth and hydration. When influencers oversimplify the message to “breast is best” without context, they may contribute to the “mom guilt” mentioned in the video. Personally, I have not seen much breastfeeding content on my own social media feeds, but I can see how it could influence mothers both positively and negatively. Social media can support mothers when it shares accurate, evidence-based guidance and normalizes different feeding experiences, but it can also create pressure or confusion when messaging is based more on opinion than science. I think social media can be a helpful educational tool, but it becomes risky if mothers rely on a single video or influencer instead of considering the full body of evidence and guidance from healthcare professionals. Overall, balanced, science-based messaging can empower mothers, while unrealistic messaging may increase anxiety and negatively affect feeding decisions.

This video makes it seem like professionals are not trustworthy making woman rely on social media for information. This reliance can lead to more questions because anyone can share anything on social media. This stress could cause a woman to not trust lactation consultants, which could make them make strange breastfeeding choices.

This video explains that apparently woman in hunter gatherer times breastfed every 13 minutes for 2 minutes and that it had lots of health benefits. However, the reliability of the information in this video is questionable. I am not sure how she would know these statistics stated since that time period was thousands of years ago. Her information may be based on real populations nowadays, but instead she generalizes it to hunter gathers. This label of hunter gatherers would believable make someone think all humans used to do it this way, making the claim seem to have more validity than it does. It would have been better if she had shared her sources along with her video.

She does help spread the information that frequent breastfeeding helps gain milk, which is true, however the idea of breastfeeding every 13 minutes for 2 minutes may put the baby at risk of only getting foremilk and no hindmilk. It’s possible that since it was every 13 minutes they would get hindmilk, but I think it would depend on how fast the woman produced milk.

However, the video can also affect new mothers’ confidence. When influencers share mainly their success it can come out as the only “right” option, it may make some mothers feel guilty if they struggle or choose formula. New mothers may compare themselves to what they see online and feel pressure to match that experience.

Overall, this video shows how influencers can both support and pressure new mothers at the same time by shaping expectations about breastfeeding and influencing how confident women feel about their own feeding choices.