Discourses and critiques of breastfeeding and their implications for midwives and health professionals.

This article is a discussion of the recently emerging critique of pro-breastfeeding discourses in academic literature, and what this means for midwives and other professionals who find themselves promoting breastfeeding because of professional expectations or indeed workplace policies. Various strands in the debate are explored, starting with dominant and familiar 'evidence' and descriptions of breastfeeding and breastmilk that are carried through to international policies that advocate breast over formula feeding. We then consider evidence predominantly from social science literature that has found some women's experiences of infant feeding to be at variance with the dominant pro-breastfeeding ideology. We argue that midwives and others delivering maternity care are the means to deliver the policy aspirations contained in the World Health Organization (WHO, 2018) Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative document that makes selective positive claims about breastfeeding without adequately considering its potential drawbacks. We conclude that although the benefits of breastfeeding tend to be exaggerated in promotional material, on balance the weight of evidence still favours breast over formula feeding. We challenge the charge that breastfeeding jeopardises women's financial position by arguing that it is not breastfeeding per se that impacts negatively on women's economic prospects, but rather the way in which society is socially organised.

Abortion in modern health care: Considering the issues for health-care professionals.

This paper explores the challenging and contentious issue of abortion and its ethical, legal and political significance regarding public health. It is intended as an educational guide for health-care professionals. A comprehensive search strategy of international health, law and political source materials was undertaken in order to benchmark from international approaches to abortion. Test cases illustrate the application of legislation, ethical, political and cultural issues surrounding abortion. Abortion is a complex contemporary issue where balancing the well-being of both the mother and the unborn has prompted considerable international discourse. The right to life of the woman and the unborn continues to lie in tension. Ambiguity surrounds the concept of personhood, and the inception of human life prevails across many International jurisdictions. Health-care professionals must be well informed in order to respond safely and appropriately to a diverse range of clinical scenarios in which decisions regarding abortion are required. Research and evidence of test cases will better inform how abortion issues evolve and are managed. Ultimately, the abortion debate requires a balance between legislation and clinical governance.