I'm not talking about catNIP with my post title here. I'm talking about the dreaded topic of "nursing in public". Oh the horror! It seems it's still a bit of a hot button issue even though breastfeeding is becoming more of the norm again. One of my friends shared this hilarious video on Facebook the other day. It is not really work appropriate, so watch at your own risk, but it's really quite funny and I thought would be a good point to open the dialogue on this topic.
If you didn't watch it, I'll just tell you that it's a couple of women singing about how people think new mothers are exhibitionists and are looking for any opportunity to pull out their breasts to more or less "ruin your day with the more vulgar word for breast" if you get my drift.
I have had a few occasions so far where I have needed to nurse Oliver in public. And I have gotten some "looks" - the judgement eyes, the disgusted eyes, the shock eyes. Now, I take very careful care to make sure that no part of me is exposed to anyone that doesn't want to see it. I have a very nice nursing cover (though Ollie doesn't really like it when I cover him up to eat!) and it makes the process very easy. But like I said, I still get some looks when we are out and about - mostly this has been when we've been at the mall and it also happened once in a bookstore. It's those people that make me want to act like the women in that video and just bare all to them - give me a break here, it's a natural thing and again - I am making sure you don't have to actually SEE it.
Some of our malls here have very nice mother's rooms and if I'm at that mall, you bet I'll seek out the designated place. But others are not doing so well on that front, so I do what I have to do to feed my kid.
The Pope recently said that women should feel free to breastfeed in public and I commend him for making that statement. I actually saw a woman nursing her baby in church a couple of weeks ago - nicely tucked under his wrap and I smiled at her. I wanted her to know I get it. I understand.
Maybe it's the over-sexualization of women in media these days that make people uncomfortable with anything pertaining to boobs. I don't know. But what I do know is, I will feed my kid when I need to feed my kid and those who give me the "look" I'll just give the "look" right back.
honestly, people need to get over themselves. when henry was born, i hadn't heard of the cool covers yet. i just used a blanket...but i always felt self conscious. i know part of that was my own insecurites, but a lot was other people looking at me disapprovingly!
ReplyDeleteI HATE PEOPLE. WTF. If it makes you uncomfortable, then YOU leave. Ugh. I totally support women breast feeding in public. If we can walk through the mall and see Victoria's secret models half-nude on display than we can deal with a mother breast-feeding.
ReplyDeleteLike Sara, it pisses me off that this is controversial. What controversy -- feeding a baby? Moms should be encouraged to nurse everywhere and we should all smile at the sight.
ReplyDeleteGo Beth!
ReplyDeleteWhen my daughter (now 26) was a newborn I went to a meeting with my husband. Nervously I fed under a shawl. Afterward an older woman (the age I am now, 53) approached me and told me not to worry because if someone knew me they wouldn't care and if I didn't know them I shouldn't care. She had been in the beginning of activism on this issue because she said that in the early 70's she and her husband were kicked out of a restaurant when she modestly nursed her baby on a banquette.They sued and won for her right to breastfeed but never went back. But ignore those looks. . .It's bizarre anyway that people would complain what with the amount of skin they show in all the ads.
ReplyDeleteI don't nurse in public because I don't go anywhere and when I have, I ended up going to the car to nurse because I was almost done. But I'm also not so comfortable doing it but if others do it that's fine. I can only think of 1 occasion where I saw someone nursing and she was next in line to get blood work and she let me go instead of her because she would have had to disrupt the feeding. I didn't even realize about the nursing until she said for me to go. We were the only 2 there.
ReplyDelete