Last month Gisele Bundchen (the super model) and I posted very similar pictures of ourselves on the same day.
Ha! Ok, there was only one thing in common – we we’re both breastfeeding our babies. Gisele looked glamorous and pampered. I was entertaining two toddlers while breastfeeding.
We were both multi-tasking and proud! Proud to be providing the best nutrition we possibly could to our babies. Both grateful that we are able to do so. And both unashamed to post a picture of us breastfeeding onto social media.
But I have to admit, I was shocked to see some of the negative comments on Gisele’s picture. (Thankfully I have such a small reach and respectful friends – not one negative comment on mine.) But Gisele’s picture received all sorts of comments – ranging from ‘that baby is too old to still be breastfeeding’ (She’s 12 months.) to comments calling her obnoxious and outrageous for posting this picture. Links to the photo in news articles are declared Not Safe For Work and online posts and articles discussed the heated “debate” on whether posting a breastfeeding picture is appropriate or not.
For me, it opened up my eyes to a bigger issue. Along with that picture and the controversy surrounding it, I kept seeing one message (and hashtag) over and over again – Normalize it!
The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months old, followed by breastfeeding with the addition of appropriate foods through age two. Study after study finds that breastfeeding is tied to better development and higher IQs. The health benefits are huge for baby and mom!
Yet, pictures as innocent as seeing the top of Gisele’s breast (probably less than normally seen in her modeling pictures) are deemed NSFW. Breastfeeding pictures have been consistently removed from Facebook. Mom’s are asked to stop breastfeeding in stores and in public–which is illegal to do, by the way.
The problem is that when moms are encouraged to breastfeed from 6 months to 2 years but at the same time society is telling them to be too ashamed to breastfeed in public — it’s no wonder that very few moms can successfully breastfeed as long as recommended.
Which is why “lactavists” and “nurse-in” groups are trying to encourage all of us breastfeeding moms to “Normalize It”!
If more and more breastfeeding moms wouldn’t be ashamed to breastfeed in public any time their baby needed it – we could all help encourage new moms to do the same. By posting pictures of us breastfeeding – we can help take any stigma, prejudice or misconception out of breastfeeding. We can all help normalize it!
The more often we see something natural and normal in public – the more natural and normal people will be able to feel about it. And sure, a cover-up is great if the mom feels most comfortable with it. But we all know that the older a baby gets, the less tolerant of cover-ups they become. And sometimes, especially in Texas, it’s way too hot for added blankets. Sometimes, it’s impossible to get your baby latched under a blanket.
As a breastfeeding mom, I promise I do not want anyone to see my breasts – I will do my very best to be as discreet as possible, but first and foremost I want to feed my baby without feeling ashamed or embarrassed. If we could all work to normalize something as normal as feeding our babies, then maybe I won’t have to. My hope is by the time my daughter is breastfeeding her kids — this will be a non-issue!
How did you feel about nursing in public? Do you think the stigma caused you to feel more uncomfortable?
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I couldn’t agree more–normalizing it is so important! I am relatively new to Texas and I have found that Dallas seems to be particularly conservative on this issue. I have noticed many moms choose to pump and use bottles in public rather than to breastfeed, which is not something I saw as frequently in the other cities which I have lived. Has anyone else noticed this phenomena–maybe I am imagining it!
I am currently breastfeeding my six week old and plan to keep in up regardless of the sentiment in the community 🙂
I never understood lactivists until I became a breastfeeding mother and while I truly operate under the “you do what is best for you and you alone” mindset-I really do feel like there is a fight to just be accepted and not looked at as though we are doing something *wrong* by feeding our child in public. I was blessed to never be questioned once with my daughter, I am curious to see how it goes with #2.