This picture fits this post perfectly!
I have been asked by a few friends, how I became the way I am, why do I openly nurse my baby in public, how do I deal with the stares or the dissenting opinions, and especially when some mom gets shunned nursing in public (and it gets broadcast all over the news) my friends seem to flock to me on my thoughts. And I have to say that I love that because it gives me another opportunity to educate.
When I hear negative comments about breastfeeding in public, most of what I hear is a lack of education, and a few self centered people that are unable to turn their heads but mostly it is a lack of education on the true system that is the breastfeeding relationship. So today I hope to enlighten, since it is not possible to contradict every statement that people make to discourage breastfeeding I will share my reasons for doing so.
1) Breast is Best- If we truly feel that Breast is best, than we have to stop creating barriers for mothers to achieve this goal. We tout water as being the best possible source of hydration for our bodies, so imagine if someone said you must drink it, but please drink it around the corner and under a blanket. I highly doubt that so many people would be drinking it. The same goes for breastfeeding, moms are isolated enough, especially stay at home moms, so if you isolate them again when they go in public, breastfeeding doesn't look so appealing if you are continually shunned. The more it becomes common place I can assure you our breastfeeding rates are going to rise.
2) I support Breastfeeding in public as long as its in a bottle or if you cover up- I hear this alot, first of all my son won't take a bottle and refuses to be covered so what do you expect him to do? When I hear the first part about a bottle I quickly realize this person is not educated about the supply and demand make up of breastfeeding. When a baby asks for milk and the mom offers a bottle instead that suppresses the hormones in the moms body, telling her body, it's not necessary to make milk. The more you give a baby a bottle instead of the breast, the more you threaten the moms milk supply. I won't even attempt to explain the inconvenience of trying to find time to pump, and then having to carry around expressed breast milk, when you have it right on tap! In regards to covering up I lead you to point #3
3) Breastfeeding is like Riding a bicycle- If you had never seen anyone ride a bicycle, it would be hard to know what to do, when you get on. The same goes for Breastfeeding, it is an art, and girls and boys (the future supportive husbands) need to see how it's done. So many Women complain about not being able to Breastfeed because they have never seen it done!
I could go on and on but for me, these are my three main motivations. Breast is best with no barriers, Don't mess with Supply & Demand and Breastfeeding is an Art that must be seen.
Breastfeeding my boys in public, has been a process for me. I have had to deal with society's thoughts on it and put that together with my thoughts on Breastfeeding and decide for myself what was right. At the end of the day, my baby is what matters and if he is hungry I will feed him, no matter what.
