The influence of social media on your breastfeeding.

I often see it in the first few days after a birth. A mother is nursing her baby. She's well prepared, has read a lot, and has memorized a lot. And yet, it feels like her body is failing her.

The baby is restless. The feeding isn't going as expected. And her mind is buzzing with everything she saw online.

The postpartum period is proving less manageable than expected. And social media plays a bigger role in this than many parents realize.

Breastfeeding in the world of algorithms

Scroll through social media for a few minutes, and the pattern becomes apparent: perfect breastfeeding images alternate with warnings like "never do this" and "what doctors don't tell you." As uncertainty around breastfeeding grows, some parents turn away from professional guidance and toward individual experiences, while figures are shared without context.

Thousands of personal breastfeeding stories circulate online, and in that volume nuance is easily lost. Content that stirs strong emotions, fear, urgency, guilt, naturally draws attention, lingers longer, and returns more often in your feed. This is how algorithms amplify emotion.

What you rarely see is the normal, messy reality. Breastfeeding is rarely linear or completely manageable, but social media often gives the impression that it should be.

While breastfeeding is not a sum of tips, but a vulnerable interplay of body, hormones, trust and guidance.

What's less visible, but certainly plays a role, is that fear and stress are often used on social media as a profit model. Breastfeeding is then presented as something that only works if you acquire the right knowledge. But stress is not a neutral factor in breastfeeding. And that's precisely where the problem lies.

Fear as a side effect

Never before have parents had so much access to information about breastfeeding , but that information isn't always reliable or appropriate for their situation. Parents can no longer properly weigh advice, wondering "who's telling the truth?" Mistrust of healthcare providers grows, the pressure to do everything "right" grows, and doubts arise about normal baby behavior. And this has a major impact on breastfeeding.

The body responds.

Imagine you are being chased by a tiger.

Your body thinks: danger & stress.

Your body produces the stress and fear hormones cortisol and adrenaline .

This is not a time for feeding, survival comes first.

Your body retains the milk.

But as soon as you feel safe, the opposite happens.

Then your body produces oxytocin .

That is the signal for your body: it is safe, we can take care .

And then the milk can start to flow.

Luckily there are no tigers roaming around here.

But your body doesn't distinguish between physical danger, emotional insecurity, or distrust. For your nervous system, it's all the same signal: it's either safe or it isn't.

It works like this:

	Oxytocin : the love hormone	Cortisol : the stress hormone	Adrenaline : the startle hormone
Influence on breastfeeding	it is safe → milk may flow	be careful, stay alert → milk remains solid	acute stress → emergency brake on approach
Released at:	skin-to-skin contact heat peace and privacy trust in yourself and your environment supportive guidance	persistent pain fear or uncertainty performance pressure ( "it has to work out" ) sleep deprivation and exhaustion mistrust or feeling unsupported previous negative experiences with breastfeeding	sudden pain to startle a crying or upset baby time pressure feeling of being watched or judged tension around latching or pumping

When fear confirms itself.

A pattern can thus emerge:

1. You include a lot of unqualified information: Strong pronouncements and endless online advice create expectations for breastfeeding and uncertainty about whether it will work. This inhibits oxytocin production.

   
   

2. Reality turns out to be different than expected. Your baby isn't behaving like those online videos, your labor was harder than expected. Your body needs more time. You become tense. "Am I doing this right?" Cortisol rises, and milk has difficulty flowing.

   
   

3. Your baby is drinking less, becoming more restless, and crying more . Adrenaline levels are rising, and milk production seems to be stagnating. "Am I getting the right advice?" "I read something online that's different from what I'm being advised to do." "Who should I believe?"

In this way, fear and uncertainty can become a physical reality.

Know more ≠ more confidence

Ironically, the more parents read, the more they can lose trust in what they see and feel while breastfeeding asks for attunement: observing, sensing, and responding to your baby.

Breastfeeding is personalized care. One size doesn't fit all . It's a nuance that's difficult to convey on TikTok in 10 seconds.

But social media isn’t only background noise. It can also be a place of connection and support, where vulnerability is met with reassurance.

The difference is often in:

• support versus scare content

• nuance versus rules

• guidance versus opinions

  
  

When words bring connection, not fear. When stories allow space, not pressure. When information holds you instead of heightening anxiety.

That’s when social media truly becomes powerful.

Keep noticing what words do to you.Not everything needs to be taken in.What unsettles you can be let go.

Mute. Unfollow. Protect.

That, too, is care.

And sometimes good preparation is precisely in what you leave out.

Love,

Bobby