Table 2.

Gender inequality negatively affects BF.

Subcategories	Quotes from the Midwives
The negative influence of male chauvinism on upbringing and BF. Midwives perceive the negative influence of male chauvinism on upbringing and BF. Socially, there are many cases in which sexualisation of women occurs where women are valued more for their physical appearance than for other qualities or capacities. This generates an increased pressure and anxiety for them to continue staying “pretty or beautiful” in the same way as before.	“...on a social level women are valued above all for their physical appearance, so we are immediately concerned with being as we were before, beauty and consumption are the things that are valued and it is not valued that a woman breastfeeds for three years, these women are referred to as hippies or weirdos…” (E8)
The gender inequality in the couple relationship. The informants perceive that this gender inequality also occurs in the couple relationship, becoming compromised when they become parents. The woman focuses on caring for the child and the partner feels neglected, receiving less attention than before.	“…There are many couples who separate in the postpartum period. The couple is tested, in the change from a couple relationship to parents of a baby”. “And many times, they do not support them in breastfeeding, on the contrary, they complain that they do not have time for them.” (E4)
The simplistic conception of the woman’s breast. As another negative factor for BF in relation to the chauvinist society, the midwives point out the simplistic conception of the woman’s breast as an element without biological function, by not respecting BF in public. Socially, the breast of the woman in its breastfeeding function is not as accepted, despite the fact that BF in other mammals is more normalized.	“...censuring a woman who is breastfeeding, because she′s showing her tit. Many women breastfeeding in public get bad looks, there are even people who tell them to cover themselves…” (E2)