I am one of those women who breast feed in public. I never got the hang of using a sling to feed my baby and quite frankly I tried putting his head under a blanket once at home…he hated it. Now that his older he may have a different opinion and believe that the blanket is fun to play peek-a-boo with.
I happen to have a healthy level of self respect and none of my family or in-laws have ever mentioned having a problem with me feeding my child around them. In fact my family encouraged me to breastfeed with them around.
If I needed to slink off into the shadows to feed my child I doubt that I would have continued breastfeeding as long as I have.
There was an interesting kerfuffle on Facebook the other day about breastfeeding in public and the main arguments were:
- breastfeeding in public is the same as having a bowel movement in public
- breastfeeding in public is the same as having sex in public
- breasts are sexual and therefore breastfeeding is sexual
- it makes some people uncomfortable and if mothers do need to breastfeed they should slink off to the bathroom and do it or use a cover
This attack on breastfeeding upset me quite badly, and Riaan gave me a beautiful perspective. He turned around and said that unless the person literally consumes all over their food and liquid either in the bathroom or with their head under a blanket they have no room to talk.
And it all fell into place for me, I breastfeed in public because I eat and drink in public and don’t see why things should be any different for my child.
Love and controversy,
Trisha