Lived Experiences of Breastfeeding in Jogjakarta, Indonesia: Forms of Authority Beyond the Law

Abstract

In 2009, the Indonesian government passed a breastfeeding law to address the problem of malnutrition, infant mortality and mortality of children under five years old. The law mandated mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months of their lives and continue for two years, except in cases where medical problems prevent mothers from breastfeeding. I aim to tease out women’s experience of breastfeeding in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, five years after the law was passed. Ultimately, I am interested in understanding how do women's breastfeeding experiences embody different forms of authority. I drew upon data from ethnographic fieldwork that was carried out from June 2013 until October 2014. I argue that the breastfeeding law is remote and distant from the everyday breastfeeding practices and experiences of the women and their families. The women who take part in the study neither draw on the law nor public health as forms of authority to shape their breastfeeding experiences. Rather the women draw on their Islamic faith, families, personal experiences, finance, work and media to shape their breastfeeding experience