Breastfeeding Now Mandatory in United Arab Emirates: Does the Law Go Too Far?

While American breastfeeding activists and politicians alike are forever seeking ways to increase the number of moms who nurse, the United Arab Emirates has come up with its own unique solution: to mandate breastfeeding by law, setting off alarm bells across the Internet and in “lactivist” circles alike.

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“To hell with women’s rights,” one outraged responder writes on Twitter, with another tweeting, “Are you kidding? Obviously not thought out,” and others calling the law “absolutely ridiculous” and “absurd and unfair.”

The new legislation—a hotly contested provision of the sweeping new Child Rights Law, approved by the Federal National Council in the UAE this month—mandates breastfeeding for the first two years of a child's life, though not exclusively, reflecting timeline recommendations of both the World Health Organization and the Quran. In the United States, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months (as does the WHO), followed by at least one year of nursing along with foods.

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The provision kicked off a “marathon debate,” according to the National, an English-language daily, which also notes committee member Sultan Al Sammahi said, “This is the right of every child for two years.” He referenced studies that have established a link between nursing and child development, and noted that women who leave child-rearing to nannies would have to step up to the lactation plate. For orphans or neglected infants, he added, wet nurses would be employed. Al Sammahi acknowledged that enforcement would be difficult, compared it to other laws. 

“For instance, with the driving law, you have to have your seatbelt on, but it does not mean that every single person does. If they are caught, then they are fined. It will be the same with this,” he said. “If anything, the law will encourage breastfeeding.”

But plenty of experts and bloggers alike disagree.

“Many questions remain unanswered, but what is clear is that women are losing control over decisions related to their own bodies and their health choices,” Aditi Mitra, UAE-educated assistant professor of sociology and women’s studies at the University of Colorado, tells Yahoo Shine. “Clearly, this law will serve to make many women who are going through post-pregnancy related issues feel guilty and unworthy as ‘mothers,’ if nothing else.”

A writer for the Stir notes, “I think we share some values here, the importance of parent-baby bonding and nutrition. But taking away women's choice in the matter? That's way too intrusive. And it doesn't seem very modern, either.”

Similarly, Out of the Blues, a Dubai-based postnatal-support organization, worries that the law “could be a step too far,” particularly given the many reasons—low milk supply, babies with medical conditions, hormonal conditions and more— that new mothers may not be able to breastfeed. “The danger,” the editorial notes, “is that with the threat of punishment, these women could face additional stress at an already challenging time, risking serious repercussions and potentially contributing to postnatal depression.”

Dmitri Christakis, co-chair of the Global Breastfeeding Initiative and a pediatrician and epidemiologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Shine, “GBI focuses on encouragement, not coercion. The fact is that most women do want to breastfeed. If we remove obstacles to doing so, the vast majority will succeed.”

Interestingly, he notes, breastfeeding rates at birth in the UAE range from an impressive 80 to 95 percent, but drop to 20 percent after four months. (U.S. women, by comparison, start out with similar rates, dropping down to 49 percent at six months.) The timing of the drop coincides with when many women return to work. Also in the UAE, he says, “Breastfeeding in public is frowned upon there, frankly, like it is here.”

At the same time—even though the UAE has been criticized for not going far enough with laws to protect women (marital rape is not recognized, for example)—there is legislation allowing women to take time out of their workdays to breastfeed. And, notes an American expat in Abu Dhabi and nursing mom to a 2-and-a-half year old (who wishes to remain anonymous due to being a public figure), “There are way more ‘breastfeeding rooms’ available here than in the U.S., every mall has one, and they are often really comfortable. Suffice it to say,” she tells Yahoo Shine, “it's a breastfeeding-friendly country.”

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