Nursing in Public

Group of mothers protest by breastfeeding in public - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee (video and news article, and although they are nursing I promise you don't see any boobs)

It's Only Natural. Commercial Appeal Article

The comments attached to this photo are the reason I feel compelled to write this post.

The story: 
I am a part of the facebook group called Alternamama's of Memphis and I love it! It is a very active and very helpful group. One of the mamas in this group was waiting in the waiting area at a Social Security office here in Memphis last week when her little one needed to nurse/eat. She discreetly began feeding him and the security guard told her she couldn't do that and needed to go to the restroom. (really, who eats in a public bathroom?!) She calmly told her of her rights under the law and that she would continue nursing. The security guard got the manager who told her the same thing. So this mama told the other alternamas about it and asked for us to participate in a nurse in on the day she took her letter of complaint. Five mamas and babies peacefully protested by discreetly and respectfully nursing their babies outside of the building. I think this is awesome! Memphis needs some major PR about breastfeeding. People need to know that we are protected by the law to breastfeed in public and it is NOT considered indecent exposure. For the record, she did get a letter of apology and nursed her baby there again on this past Friday and had no problems.


My experiences with nursing in public: Unfortunately very few. Baby Girl had really bad acid reflux when she was a newborn and would cry during and after almost every nursing session. She would also unlatch frequently and I would have to struggle to get her back on. I usually nursed in women's lounges or dressing rooms because a screaming baby would have drawn too much attention for my liking. One time I tried to nurse her at Panera and she started crying a lot so I resigned myself to nurse in the bathroom. Ugh! Usually I would nurse her in the car before or after going into a restaurant. If she were a quiet nurser without acid reflux I think I would have nursed her in public way more often. When she was a little older and getting over her acid reflux I was able to nurse her in public a few times. One of my favorite memories with her is nursing her at The Journey in St. Louis during praise and worship. There is nothing sweeter than nursing your baby while participating in corporate worship. She actually fell asleep nursing that day and nursed and slept through most of the service. I didn't have a cover on but I was very discreet and showed no breast at all. Somehow being in St. Louis made me feel more comfortable to breastfeed in church. I don't know, I just feel like it is more common and accepted there. Memphis is not very breastfeeding friendly in general. When Baby Girl got a little older it was really difficult to nurse in public because she would get way too distracted and just want to people watch instead of nurse. Also, we are on a nurse, sleep, nurse, awake schedule so since she is nursing so often she rarely needs to nurse when we are out. 

All that to say that I haven't been able to experience too many nursing in public sessions, but I support it wholeheartedly. It makes me smile when I see a mama nursing in public. And actually, covers sometimes bring more attention to the fact that someone is nursing than otherwise. To the untrained eye, most of the time it just looks like the mama is holding a sleeping baby. Only another nursing mom can tell that they are in fact nursing. I have NEVER seen a nursing mom in public that was exposing unnecessary amounts of breast. No one is trying to give anyone a peep show, we are just trying to feed our babies. New moms need not feel trapped inside their home for fear of offending someone should they happen to need to feed their baby in public. This is how depression and post partum can set in, by mothers feeling trapped. A mother should feel confident to nurse her baby in any location where a mother would feel confident to give her baby a bottle.

About covers: most older infants will just pull it off or play with it, and it is really hot too. And like I said a cover can draw more attention to the fact that you are nursing than if you weren't using one. If a mom wants to use a cover, great! If she doesn't, great! It is possible to be discreet and modest even when not using a cover. You can wear nursing tanks under your shirt and by doing that basically no boob, back, or stomach shows at all. You see more skin when someone is wearing a bikini, or just a low cut top.

For the record, I am very pro-nursing in public, and at the same time very pro-modesty. Actually, to read what I think about modesty and swimsuits you can read this post. I don't even feel comfortable putting bare belly pictures on the internet from my pregnancy. I also go to great lengths to try to make sure I don't show cleavage (not that I have much) whenever I go out in public, and I also do not feel comfortable in two piece bathing suits. I think modesty is beautiful and that our apparel should draw attention to our faces and not our boobs or butt.

Women that nurse in public are NOT flaunting their breasts or being skanks (as some of the commenters said on the news story). They/We are feeding our babies! It is the most natural way to feed a baby. It is the way that God designed for babies to be fed. If people are uncomfortable with it they should look away. No mother should be told to feed her baby in a bathroom or made to feel that she should feed her baby in a bathroom. I have never seen a mom giving her baby a bottle in the bathroom or seen an adult eating a meal in a public restroom. Boobs have been so sexualized in our culture that mothers can't even use them to do what God intended for them to be used for without facing ridicule. This should not be! I hope everyone reading this will take time to think about whatever stereotypes they have placed on moms nursing in public and replace this with truth and facts.

Disclaimer: I have several friends that would love to nurse (and nurse in public) but for one reason or another have been unable to breastfeed. This post is not an attack on you or an insult to you for formula feeding. It really saddens me when my friends are unable to nurse because I know it deeply saddens them. Regardless, just as someone who is struggling with infertility may get sad when they see children, they wouldn't expect us to not write blogs about our children or post pictures. Same with nursing. Although it may sadden some moms when they see posts about breastfeeding because they aren't able to, it is still a topic that needs to be discussed.