 |
| He's wearing a blanket because he was just born, and babies get cold. |
I'm not going to address that here, however.
Instead I thought I'd share some positive stories about breastfeeding, seeing as I've recently seen so many posts about women being asked to "do that in the restroom" (would YOU eat on the toilet?) or "use a blanket" (come on, it's August!).*
- I'm going to say that I've breastfed my baby in all kinds of public places -- from restaurants to parks to the mall to airplanes to public benches -- and not once has anyone given me the evil eye or asked me to cover up.
- Multiple times, while feeding my boy, a stranger has brought me a glass of water (even one time when I was on a public bench outside of a coffee shop), knowing just how thirsty a nursing mother gets.
- Most people will continue to carry on a conversation, and even ask questions about the baby and his feedings, rather than shy away away from me while I am nursing.
- I've been on at least 10 plane rides with the boy. Flight attendants have always been kind and supportive, as have the people seated by us.
- I am lucky to have a really supportive family, and none of them has ever left the room when I unbuttoned to feed the boy.
Do I give off a "don't mess with me" kind of vibe? Or have I just been really fortunate? I'm not saying this kind of discrimination doesn't occur. It obviously does, and it is completely disgusting. But in light of Breastfeeding Awareness Month, I just thought I'd be Pollyanna.
Also, for about half a second I thought maybe I shouldn't post a picture of me breastfeeding. Then I realized that it's completely normal, that you can't see anything, and that there are a lot more revealing photos of me out there on the interwebs.
*In the United Kingdom, it is illegal to ask a breastfeeding woman to leave a public place -- subject to up a £2500 fine.
5 comments
THere is a dead link near the end of this post.
ReplyDeleteAye! Thanks. It only works if you are Facebook friends or friends of friends with the woman whose page it is. It's not actually too revealing anyway -- just me in a low-cut dress:)
DeleteI've had a few people come up to me when I've bf-ed in public to thank me for doing what I'm doing. Now that is a good feeling :) xx
ReplyDeleteOther than the nosy tourists I traumatuzed on the Champs Elysees Xmas eve (small child was discretely nursing in the carrier, and all you could see was the Santa hat, but a bunch of folks went in to check out the wearer of said hat and got a view of boobies being chowed down), I have only had positive experiences as well. Most French are fascinated I am still bfing and ccommend my efforts. :-)
ReplyDeleteOther than the nosy tourists I traumatuzed on the Champs Elysees Xmas eve (small child was discretely nursing in the carrier, and all you could see was the Santa hat, but a bunch of folks went in to check out the wearer of said hat and got a view of boobies being chowed down), I have only had positive experiences as well. Most French are fascinated I am still bfing and ccommend my efforts. :-)
ReplyDelete