So, what do you think about seeing a mom nursing her baby? Is it a sight you enjoy, applaud even? Is it something you never see at all? Do you appreciate the thoughtfulness of a mother who covers herself and her baby?
Have you been nursing your baby out and about and gotten that invaluably encouraging smile from a stranger? Have you gotten the frown?
Nursing in Public is a recurring topic; every time a nursing mother is asked to leave a restaurant (!) or asked to cover up at the poolside (!!) or disembark an airplane (!!!) we hear a little blurb on the news, and the message boards and blog-world are a-buzz about the resultant nurse-in.
It's rather strange to me that it's an issue at all. I eat wherever I want. I'm allowed to take a picnic to the park and don't have to put a tent over my head to eat it! (Isn't that a great image.) But it is an issue for most, which makes it an issue for the rest of us.
What brings this up is a bill in the UK, meant to protect a mother's right to breastfeed in public, but the protection is only extended for infants up to six months. "WHAT?" you say? Yup. Check out these commentaries about the bill; the comment sections on both these posts bring up some interesting points.
What do you think?
To end on a positive note, I discovered the most wonderful websites: one about nursing in public, and one about breast perception. The latter woman has written a book, has a great page on breastfeeding in public, as well as some international feedback, but most surprising and wonderful was her photo gallery of "normal breasts." Enjoy.
And please leave a comment if you are enjoying this little blog of ours. It would be nice to hear your voice!
~S~
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4 comments:
I have had overwhelmingly positive feedback when nursing in public. I've had people ranging from little kids (walking up and asking "oh, is she having nursies? I used to do that!") to grandfathers express their support. I have not had one bad experience while nursing my daughter, and we nurse everywhere. Even now that she's over 18 months, I'll occasionally have a mom stop and compliment me for nursing her, often saying "we still nurse too... so it's nice to see someone else nursing a toddler." I really love the positive feedback, and have tried to act similarly toward other breastfeeding moms.
I breastfeed in public all the time, and have never gotten a negative comment (to my face, anyway :p). We were at IKEA a couple weeks ago, and when Elly needed to nurse I sat down and fed her. A lady came to get something from the shelf I was sitting in front of, looked at me, smiled, and said she thought what I was doing was awesome. That was nice. :D I don't really use blankets to cover up, but I do wear loose fitting tops so my whole boob doesn't show. Love your tent analogy! So true. I wish more women had the courage to NIP. It makes me sad to see women pump milk for when they're out and about. Anyway, off to check out those links.
15 years ago, when I was nursing my first baby for the first time in public, I got stared down by an old couple. I was a bit rattled.
But nothing but nice remarks or not even noticing these days. I just nursed my 2 yo at the library this afternoon. As we were un-latching (those 3 seconds where everything shows) I happened to look up and make eye contact with 2 boys that were about 12 years old. I was struck by the fact that there was no startled or surprised reaction; just a normal day at the library, I guess. That felt nice.
It's also very nice to see you both here!
I remember feeling that I needed to cover up for other people when nursing my older two kids (when they were nurslings). With Gabe however, I nurse whenever, wherever. I have only gotten "You are still nursing him?!" comments, not anything about NIP. It's amazing how practice has really helped me out. And wonderful organizations like LLL :D
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