You might think that contaminated milk product threatening the lives of infants would be enough to change more than a few people's positions in the whole breastfeeding vs. bottle debate.

But in France, culturally freighted notions about the purpose of a woman's breasts — and who has priority over the enjoyment of them — are difficult to change quickly, if ever.

More than 30 children in France and elsewhere were sickened after consuming Lactalis formula. ( AP: David Vincent, File )

So even the most ardent advocates of mother's milk are not holding their breath that the recent salmonella contamination and recall at Lactalis, a French-based dairy conglomerate and major producer of infant formula, will bring about a significant shift in breastfeeding practice.

Although France is in some ways a cradle of homey ideas about motherhood — Dr Fernand Lamaze developed his natural childbirth method at a Paris hospital in the 1950s — French mothers have long lagged behind their European Union counterparts in the amount of time they breastfeed.

The OECD estimates that while about 60 per cent of French mothers breastfeed at some point, they tend to stop after 17 weeks — data that places France near the bottom of European Union statistics and runs counter to World Health Organisation guidance that infants ideally should be breast-fed for six months.

Barriers to breastfeeding in France

The reasons for the gap are many, and some are structural.

France's 16 weeks of paid maternity leave (for the first child — 26 weeks for subsequent births) are generous by Anglo-Saxon standards, but they trail the year-plus leave at other EU members like Denmark and Sweden — leaving new French mothers with relatively less time at home to establish a nursing routine.

By the time they return to work, French mothers are more or less expected to have their babies on bottles that can be given by staff at home or in creches.

Even though France has had a law on the books since 1917 that requires employers to set aside an hour a day for working mothers to nurse, the provision is neither sufficient nor widely enforced, according to breastfeeding advocates.

Even nonworking French mothers feel a certain societal pressure to return as soon as practical to their adult life — including sexual life. ( AGNSW: Max Dupain )

Breastfeeding 'a degradation of femininity'

But even nonworking French mothers feel a certain societal pressure to return as soon as practical to their adult life — code for weaning their babies and resuming relations with their partners, who might not appreciate lactation interrupting a romantic dinner out or the sex that follows.

More than one new mother in France has heard, even in the maternity clinic, that "breasts are for your husband, not your babies".

Many millennial French women point to their own mothers as the prime discouraging agents of breastfeeding. ( Reuters: Benoit Tessier, file photo )

Many millennial French women point to their own mothers as the prime discouraging agents of breastfeeding.

Alexandra Guitelmann, an event manager who writes for the French feminist website Les Lolos, described her mother as a '60s-era rebel who initially had trouble accepting that her daughter wanted to breastfeed her children.

"Like many feminists, she marched for abortion rights and believes women can and should have absolute autonomy of their bodies," Ms Guitelmann wrote recently.

"She saw breastfeeding as a degradation of my femininity."

Whatever they choose, though, mothers in France today regard the decision to give the breast or reach for a tin of formula as just that: a decision, and not part of a larger movement.

"It's seen as a personal choice, not a social mandate," Hadley Seward, an American mother working in Paris, wrote in Les Lolos — whose name, ironically, is French slang for "breasts".

Plenty of alternatives on the shelf

If a woman feels a Lactalis product is less safe, but there are many other products to choose from. ( flickr: Jason-Morrison )

Lactalis is still reeling from the aftermath of the scandal, which forced it in December to recall more than 70,000 tons of infant formula and other products produced at a contaminated plant in Craon, 300 kilometres southwest of Paris.

More than 30 children in France and elsewhere were sickened. All have recovered, though about half were admitted to hospital for treatment.

While the global market for infant formula is dominated by a few major multinational companies, including Nestle, Danone and Heinz, the French market supports many players and brands.

A Lactalis brand that was recalled, Milumel, was the fourth-largest seller of formula for newborns to 12 months in 2016, with just 160,000 customers, according to data compiled by Statista, a market research firm.

"There may be more hesitation to move from breast to bottle because of this," said Claude Didierjean-Jouveau, spokesperson for La Leche League France, a nonprofit group that supports breastfeeding.

"Or, a woman may think that a Lactalis product is less safe. But then she can just choose another product — there are so many.

"If a woman does not want to breastfeed," she added, "it is not easy to persuade her."

Anne Bagamery is a France-based journalist and writer.