Using Social Media for Breastfeeding Communication in Indonesia

ABSTRACT : Breastfeeding is known to positively affect maternal and child health. Despite the many benefits of breastfeeding, Indonesia‘s breastfeeding rate is still below target. Social media can be a useful communication for development tool to promote breastfeeding in Indonesia. Understanding how social media is used in communicating and promoting breastfeeding can help in tailoring programs to increase the breastfeeding rate. This paper aims to analyze the potential and challenges of social media in breastfeeding communication by examining the functions of social media in breastfeeding communication. The results are social media in breastfeeding communication can be classified into two major functions, namely for informational and social purposes. Informational refers to resource and curation functions, whereas social refers to community, social support and social activism. The social function, especially social support seemed to be the most widely reported function of social media, due to the networked nature of social media. Although challenged with the issue of digital divide and other external factors that affect breastfeeding, social media may be an effective tool in breastfeeding promotion and communication.

KEYWORDS: breastfeeding, development, health communication, social media