Mexico City’s new campaign for breastfeeding has been slammed by women’s groups who say it is sexist and shames mothers.
The posters feature a string of topless female Latin celebrities with banners across their bare chests reading “No le des la espalda, dale pecho” or “Don’t give them your back, give them your breast”.
Regina Tames, director of the Group for Informed Reproductive Choice and a reproductive rights advocate, told reporters she found the campaign sent negative and confusing messages to women.
“It’s not only a very terrible campaign in terms of how it looks, but it’s also the message that if you don’t breast-feed, you are a bad mother and you are the one to blame,” Tames says.
Mexico has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in Latin America. The World Health Organization recommends that new mother’s breastfeed their child exclusively for the first six months, but only 14 per cent of Mexican mothers do so.
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A lack of good nutrition, inadequate maternity leave and hostile attitudes toward breastfeeding in public discourage many Mexican mothers from the practice. Women’s groups say that none of those deterrents seem to be addressed in the posters.
“It doesn’t look like they did any diagnosis as to why women don’t breastfeed,” said Tames. “They just lighted on a banal argument that women were selfish and don’t want to mess up their bodies.”
Actress Maribel Guardia, and boxer Mariana “La Barby” Juárez featured in the campaign
All of the women used in the campaign are thin celebrities with slender bodies and flat tummies and the lack of diversity sends a confusing message to women.
“I don’t know what these mothers reflect, or who they were supposed to attract,” Tames said.
One actress photographed for the campaign, Camila Sodi has spoken out on Twitter asking “not be associated with the campaign of breastfeeding.” She continued, “I did not authorize anything, and I think it’s in bad taste.”
Sodi’s post was later removed and the Latin star later released a statement to clarify her stance insisting she supports the cause but was not approving of the final poster image.
According to America’s ABC News an official of the Mexico City health department said that the campaign is being re-worked and the ad’s slogan would be changed.
Australia’s Department of Health statistics suggests that 96 per cent of babies were initially breastfed however only 39 per cent were breastfed exclusively for the first four months and that figure dropped to 15 per cent for the first six months.
