An ad campaign in Mexico meant to increase a low level of breast feeding by Mexican mothers has drawn protests and claims it is "guilt-tripping" mothers rather than helping them.
The ads in Mexico City, featuring topless Mexican female celebrities with only a banner covering their chests reading "No le des la espalda, dale pecho" (Don't give them your back, give them your breast) are also being criticized for using the topless, toned actresses in provocative stances.
"I don't know what these mothers reflect, or who they were supposed to attract," Regina Tames, head of Mexico's Group for Informed Reproductive Choice, said.
"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," she said.
Poverty and poor nutrition are among the reasons Mexico has some of the poorest breast-feeding rates in Latin America, along with more women entering the workforce where long hours make breast feeding during the day difficult if not impossible.
Mothers usually only get 12 weeks of maternity leave, as well.
Just 14 percent of Mexican mothers have managed to accommodate the World Health Organization recommendation that new mothers breastfeed their infants exclusively during the first 6 months.
An employee in Mexico City's health department, who asked not to be named, said the campaign would be re-worked to feature different types of women and will use alternate language.
The ad slogan of "turning your back" would be replaced and the next phase of the campaign may include images of more average-looking, everyday mothers instead of the light-skinned slender actresses and celebrities in the original ads, the employee said.
The original ads have reportedly been taken down from the city's website.
It's not that campaign's to increase breast feeding haven't worked; in Brazil and Colombia dramatic declines in breast feeding have been reversed with public health ads promoting the nutritional benefits of the practice and by restricting advertising of commercial infant formulas.
Mexico, in contrast, has been unwilling to regulate companies who heavily market baby formula, and the country still hasn't joined with others following World Health Organization standards restricting hospitals from distributing free baby formula and participating in marketing it to new mothers.
