Breastfeeding Uncovered: Meet Shaine

Shaine is a proud member of the Pueblo of Acoma tribe in New Mexico. When she gave birth to her first child, Elena, she was living in another state hours away and petrified by the prospect of raising her daughter without the generations of family support that she grew up with. Shaine and her partner made the decision to move back to her native reservation to get the support she needed and to give their child a Native upbringing. Shaine was also having challenges with breastfeeding, at one point supplementing for two weeks before resuming exclusive nursing, and hoped being back at home with family would help. Instead, what she found when she returned to her reservation was a reminder of the intense cultural taboos around breastfeeding and modesty, the impact of historical trauma from forced separation of Native mothers and babies by the U.S. government, and even tactical challenges of breastfeeding while wearing the layers of traditional regalia required for frequent ceremonies. Shaine sees the challenges of balancing breastfeeding and work along with cultural nuances as part of a powerful reclamation story and a way to remind other Native women of the traditional way.