Educational Media Reviews Online

The film’s title refers to the Greek myth of Hera’s breast milk forming the galaxy. Using this origin story as a springboard, The Milky Way seeks to normalize breastfeeding in the United States. The film takes a strong stance, as pumping is not given as a viable alternative because of the lack of mother and baby skin-to-skin contact, but milk sharing programs between mothers who have too much or too little breast milk are. This leaves the partner of the new mother out of the documentary’s discussion, as the only way to make six months of uninterrupted breastfeeding possible for working moms would be a six month maternity leave. While calling for support of breastfeeding moms, the film also imagines an overhaul of childbirth in U.S. hospitals and extended maternity leaves. The Milky Way also promotes co-sleeping.

The documentary runs long but covers a variety of topics: advertising campaigns, store and restaurant policies, maternity leave, access to midwives and lactation consultants, hospitals promoting formula, and the overall medicalization of childbirth. But the film also makes a stand against nurses thinking of newborns as their own, hospitals considering the neonatal unit a money maker, and formula being linked to health problems generations later.

The score and voiceovers make for a sleepy film, so don’t show it in a dark classroom. Despite being timely, the film looks dated and the idealization of the Madonna with child image may not resonate with viewers in their 20s and 30s. Singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, and actresses Carrie-Anne Moss and Minnie Driver also appear.

Appropriate for public and health sciences collections.

Awards

• Winner: Newport Beach Film Festival