Why don't celebrities talk about breast feeding?

Question

I know many do it but we never hear about it. If so many people actually listen to what they say and do what they do why don't they speak up about this issue? I'm not saying that they have to put down formula feeders but just speak up and lend their image as an example. After all, these are working mothers. Sure, they can afford to have help around the house and with their kids but it is still a great example. C'mon, if Christie Brinkley wasn't worried about sagging breasts, why should any of us?

PaleCheekedAngel - Thank you for the compliment.

momma2minbu, thanks for those links. A simple PSA such as the photo of Lucy Lawless can go a long way (but on television).

For thos ewho are saying that it is none of our business; well, so are many of their other opinions and choices but they still support them. And when I say talk about them - I know they do on shows like Oprah but not everybody is watching them. What about PSAs. We breastfeeders get to watch Enfamil commercials, why can't someone get in the camera and talk about how wonderful breastfeeding is?

LIl- I have no problem letting the world know that I breastfeed but I'm just me and very few care. The fact is, people pay attention to what celebrities do so they may as well use that to promote this as they do other things.

LIl- I have no problem letting the world know that I breastfeed but I'm just me and very few care. The fact is, people pay attention to what celebrities do so they may as well use that to promote this as they do everything else.

Come on people! I'm not talking about plugging breastfeeding during the red carpet interviews. I'm talking about actively promoting it like doing PSAs for LLL or something like that.

Answer 1

Good point...

Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing! I think every mother (if able) should experience it.

Personally, I think celebrities should stick to what they are paid to do... entertain. In general I wish they would stop trying to be the mouthpiece for every cause & political issue out there.

However, if they are going to get on their soap boxes, why not let it be for something that has healthy and positive benefits... and isn't so controversial. Maybe breastfeeding is not a worthy enough cause to some celebrities. I believe the majority of celebrities (not all) choose to speak out about topics that get them noticed... just another promotional scheme.

Maybe with the outbreak of celebrity moms we will see more that are willing to share their experiences with the public, and be an encouragement to us not-so-famous moms... and dads! ;)

Can you picture Angelina Jolie with Shiloh on a full-page ad in Parent magazine promoting breastfeeding? Or what about Julia Roberts and her twins? Wouldn't that make a statement!?!

Answer 2

Though some celebrities are not willing to risk their sex appeal or public appeal by taking a stand on such controversial topic as breastfeeding, other celebrities embrace it such as Lucy Lawless. Furthermore, there are a few ways to breast feed; working mothers nowadays can bottle their own breast milk and feed their children at their own convenience. Breastfeeding benefits the mother child relationship on more than just bonding, but also builds up the babies immune system from the antibodies in the milk. The reason that it's a taboo to breastfeed nowadays is due, in part, to the baby formula corporation instilling generations after generations that formula is less embarrassing, more convenient, and overall more acceptable. Due to the health risk to today's children being more susceptible to allergies, among other conditions, governments have began promoting breastfeeding again.

Answer 3

The personal side of motherhood for a celebrity can often be outside the 'information highway' for us 'regular' folks. I'll bet that one of the main reasons there are so few celebrities promoting breastfeeding is simple - they don't do it. Those females who are sincere and adamant about their careers probably cannot subject themselves to the rigourous and demanding schedules that breastfeeding demands. They are anxious to get back to work and movie scripts/films don't wait. Like music and the limited window of opportunity and success one can achieve here, acting is the same way. Breast feeding can 'tie you down' and many celebs can't afford that UNLESS they have already established a successful career and can afford the time away. It's also possible that many of them don't see this as an 'issue' that needs to be supported since, it is definitely 'personal' and causes no outright harm or endangerment to the community or world - in other words, this is not something they can "sink their teeth into". Personal issues don't like this, don't always call for the "bandwagon" approach for a celebrity to persue.

Answer 4

Plenty do - here is a small list:
Tori Amos
Pamela Anderson
Erykah Badu
Christie Brinkley
Katie Couric
Cindy Crawford
Celine Dion
Jodie Foster
Jennie Garth
Tipper Gore
Faith Hill
Madonna
Joan Lunden
Andie McDowell
Elle McPherson
Demi Moore
Julianne Moore
Sarah Jessica Parker
Tracy Pollan
Jane Seymour
Patricia Richardson
Holly Robinson Peete
Kelly Preston
Jada Pinkett Smith
Meryl Streep
Cheryl Swoopes
Uma Thurman
Cynthia Watros
Rita Wilson
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Few Hollywood moms nursed their babies publicly, but there are some particularly notable exceptions. For example, Keely Shaye-Smith, wife of James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. She appeared on the cover of Redbook magazine nursing their baby. And model Jerry Hall once appeared in the pages of Vanity Fair breastfeeding her son with Mick Jagger, Gabriel.

Answer 5

Because they'd rather talk about plastic surgery and injecting poison into their faces than a natural part of life. Breastfeeding gives your babies immunities and makes them smarter, but I guess they figure that saggy boobies aren't worth the gift you can give your babies. Well, some earth-mother types might admit to it, but only if you ask them--and why don't they ask them? If Isaac Mizrahi is asking women about their undergarments, why aren't these new celebrity mommies being asked about breastfeeding? That's what breasts are for! But Hollywood types don't always like the natural functions of their bodies. And if they can't breastfeed, why don't they pump and give their babies breastmilk in bottles instead of formula?

Give baby a titty. It's fresh, just the right temperature, nutritionally complete, and comes with a mommy attached--no bottle can compare.

Answer 6

Since when are celebrities expected to share every detail of their lives and how they raise their children??? If they want to speak about it or endorse an organization promoting it, great, but they aren't there to be examples of how to lead a normal life. I'm sure even they would appreciate some sense of privacy in caring for their children.

Women should be looking to their doctors, midwives, friends, mothers, etc. for advice and support, not celebrities. It's a really sad commentary on society when women base child care decisions on what the actress or model of the moment is doing rather than advice of health care professionals!

I don't have kids and don't have any interest in having them, although I strongly support the best possible care of children by those who do. With the publicity about the legal issues surrounding rights of women who breastfeed in public in my state and others I certainly hear enough about breastfeeding to know the benefits without making any effort to learn.

La Leche Nazi...I love it!! Yes, babies have to eat and I eat in public, so no big deal, but is it so much to ask women to use a light blanket to cover up with??

Answer 7

I understand what you're saying...I think; You feel that because they're celebrities that we, as the general public, should have access to the positive as well as negative things they do and that perhaps, by more celebrity moms being open about their breastfeeding, it will hopefully openly promote breastfeeding so average people, like us, will be more open to doing it; You're probably right, but most celebrities are annoyed at all the attention they receive now; can you imagine what would happen if they allowed their kids to be promoted in a way that they never asked for? It's a personal, private choice....let it be left as such.

Answer 8

I agree with you 100%

Breastfeeding should be actively promoted and publicly encouraged!

There is an awesome book called "Milk Money Madness;The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding" that I am sure you will enjoy.
Suggestions:

Do whatever YOU can to promote breastfeeding!
Help other nursing mothers!

Boycott Nestle!
"(Formula) Marketing practices that undermine breastfeeding are potentially hazardous wherever they are pursued: in the developing world, WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed. These facts are not in dispute."- UNICEF

Thank you for such an important question!

Answer 9

They don't talk about breastfeeding because many of them don't do it and then to make matters worst it's the nanny that has them for the most part of their lives...A couple of weeks after they deliver they are too busy on a strict diet/spending time with a personal trainer to get their bodies down to normal. So they can get back to doing what they do best working...

Answer 10

It because most celebrities are prudes and hypocrites. They only promote things that they think that they have an influence on and can "change the world" attitude.

Over the last several centuries we as humans have become something that seems to be very unnatural and breastfeeding is one of them.

Breastfeeding is something that G-d has given to us as women and to be able to provide something good for our children. Yet today's society have become so prudish that we have become ashamed of our own bodies and what they can do.

We were first created by G-d we had no clothing or anything else to speak of and look at us now. Too damn worried about what the next person is wearing and who designed it.

Answer 11

A. Out society has been convinced that breastfeeding is "unnatural" when it is the most natural way to feed a baby.

B. There is not a product to sell, so there is not a big budget to promote it.


I'm so sick of the "closest to breastmilk" tripe that some formulas advertise with. Milk has thousands of unique chemicals and we don't know what they all do. How do we know your formula is closest just because you add three or four chemicals found in breastmilk?


There is a link between Americans failure to breastfeed/failure to breastfeed long enough and the obesity that is sweeping the nation. Formula babies are fatter adults.