{"id":320349,"date":"2025-10-20T16:23:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/2025\/10\/breastfeeding-busting-myths-to-better-support-mums\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T16:29:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:29:29","slug":"breastfeeding-busting-myths-to-better-support-mums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monaco-tribune.com\/en\/2025\/10\/breastfeeding-busting-myths-to-better-support-mums\/","title":{"rendered":"Breastfeeding: busting myths to better support mums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To mark World Breastfeeding Week, the Entreparents network organised a workshop to inform and support parents given the many misconceptions that persist about natural feeding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Nature and learning<\/h2>\n\n

“Breastfeeding is natural, certainly, since a woman’s body is capable of carrying the pregnancy, delivering the baby and feeding it,”<\/em>\u00a0 explains Brigitte Fino, a retired midwife and IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant).\u00a0 “However, even though it’s natural, mums sometimes need a little help to be able to see their breastfeeding plans through.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n

The difference between biological ability and concrete practice is the root of the issue. For the last fifteen years, Brigitte Fino has been running workshops to support parents through the breastfeeding adventure. Despite its physiological nature, it can be fraught with cultural and social obstacles.<\/p>\n\n

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Mother’s milk is always better than industrial milk<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Misconceptions are hard to dispel<\/h2>\n\n

One of the most persistent myths is that ‘the milk isn’t nourishing enough’. “These are popular beliefs that, unfortunately, are spread by society,”<\/em>\u00a0 says the consultant. “Mother’s milk is always better than industrial milk. The milk is always nourishing. It is made specifically for the moment the baby will feed.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends breastfeeding exclusively for six months, and continued breastfeeding for up to two years with a diversified diet. Contrary to popular belief, breast milk retains its nutritional properties well beyond the age of six months.<\/p>\n\n

Another persistent misconception is that breastfeeding damages the breasts. “It’s age and pregnancy that change the body, not breastfeeding in particular,”<\/em> Brigitte Fino points out with a knowing smile – it’s a recurring question.<\/p>\n\n

A choice made under pressure<\/h2>\n\n

Mothers often find themselves torn.\u00a0 “Whether they breastfeed or not. When they do breastfeed they’re told their baby is always in their arms and always at their breast. And if they don’t breastfeed, they hear ‘But you didn’t even try to breastfeed,'”<\/em> says the midwife.<\/p>\n\n

Johanna Damar, who organised the event for\u00a0Entreparents<\/a>, stresses the initiative’s importance:\u00a0“Supporting breastfeeding is about much more than promoting the practice: it’s about preserving a bond, supporting mothers’ and children’s health, promoting freedom of choice, and encouraging a more inclusive society.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Noticeable cultural disparities<\/h2>\n\n

Monaco’s cultural diversity provides an unusual perspective on these issues.\u00a0 “The difference with Monaco is that there are a lot of foreigners, and therefore several different cultures,”<\/em>\u00a0says Brigitte Fino. Breastfeeding rates vary considerably from one country to another: around 95% in Scandinavian countries versus barely 80% in France and Monaco.<\/p>\n\n

According to the specialist, the difference is purely cultural, but it raises the importance of social context with regard to breastfeeding. “We don’t have a breastfeeding culture,<\/em>” she rues, referring in particular to the difficulties encountered by mothers who wish to breastfeed in public.<\/p>\n\n

The maternal bond, an underestimated benefit<\/h2>\n\n

In addition to the well-documented physical benefits – lower risk of infection for baby, lower risk of cancer for mum – Brigitte Fino stresses an aspect that is often overlooked: the\u00a0“quality of the bond”<\/em>\u00a0that develops between the mother and her child.\u00a0 “Breastfed babies are reassured by the closeness, a superior sense of security without a doubt,”<\/em> she explains, stressing the fundamental emotional dimension of breastfeeding.<\/p>\n\n

CHPG launches eco-responsible maternity kit for parents of newborns<\/a><\/blockquote>