Breastfeeding rather than bottle-feeding is seen as the ideal of a good mother in Instagram comments Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor A study by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) analyzes Instagram discourse that associates the ideal of being a good mother with exclusive breastfeeding and fosters guilt among women who cannot or do not wish to breastfeed, often because of the difficulty of balancing it with other daily responsibilities. These discourses are gaining visibility in a context in which the phenomenon of "instamoms"—many with hundreds of thousands of followers—has increased the platform's impact on how motherhood is conceived. The study finds that the predominant discourse on breastfeeding on Instagram contrasts with the everyday reality of many women, which is conditioned by structural social and economic factors.

While the World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby's life, maternal leave in Spain is currently 19 weeks. This is one reason even women who prefer this option must stop sooner than they would like. The so-called 'mommy wars' highlight tensions between traditional, idealized visions of motherhood and many women's real experiences In this context, comments on Instagram reflect tensions between the idealized representation of motherhood and many mothers' real experiences and have become symbolic battlegrounds known as "mommy wars." On the one hand, they are spaces for mutual support among mothers, where they can access specialized advice.

On the other, they can become spaces for social judgment, where mothers who do not conform to traditional standards of a "good mother" face criticism. These controversial comments are also encouraged by Instagram's algorithms, which, as previous studies of digital platforms point out, can favor this type of content. The study, recently published in the journal Media & Jornalismo, was written by Mittzy Arciniega-Cáceres and Sílvia Escobar, from the Youth, Society and Communication research group (JOVIS) of the UPF Department of Communication.

For their research, they analyzed the content, themes and underlying values of 592 comments on 15 posts from five instamom accounts with thousands of followers: @ohmama.matrona, @mamarylactar, @yaizallinas.enf, @sleepbunny.club and @lactapp_lactancia. The influencer mothers analyzed present themselves as experts and prescribers in motherhood, parenting and breastfeeding. But, according to Arciniega-Cáceres, their role is fraught with contradictions.

"On the one hand, they present themselves as experts on motherhood, parenting or breastfeeding and give advice and support to other women. But, on the other hand, they participate in digital economy dynamics. Many of them use their Instagram accounts as a source of social reputation or even to make a profit," the UPF researcher explains.

What characterizes the discussions on Instagram generated by instamoms? The research identified four trends: - Expressions of guilt and sacrifice associated with breastfeeding: Many women express frustration at not being able to breastfeed exclusively when returning to work, while others explain how they have sacrificed themselves—to the point of physical pain—to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible.