Mixed messages about the meanings of breast-feeding representations in the Australian press and popular magazines

Discourses revealed mixed messages and meanings. Breast feeding was seen as natural and the best way of feeding but also as problematic in practice. Dominant ideologies of power and persuasion were also evident. The media portrayed predominantly negative views about breast feeding. Such discourses may influence decisions to breast feed and have wider implications for midwives in their roles as supporters and educators of women and their families.