Okay, I'm going to take a few minutes to get on one of my soapboxes here. I figure if I can't do it here, where can I? I've recently seen a couple of editorials written in online newspapers about breast feeding in public. These were written by women who claimed to have breastfed their own children--although one said for only a couple of weeks. Both of these women were vehemently against nursing in public. One even started her column with how much she absolutely "hated" when women breastfed their children in public. She stated how it made everyone around them feel self-conscience and not know what else to do besides stare. Really? When you don't know what to do, you stare? One lady agreed with the manager of a furniture store who tried to throw a lady and her three children out of his store for nursing there. Thankfully, she knew her rights to be able to do this and stated them as so. But the writer of the article thought it would have been better for her to take her three small children out to the car (up north where it was freezing cold) and nurse her baby there, then come back to the store to finish her shopping--all so that it wouldn't make others feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry, but I just have to say that it's their problem if they feel uncomfortable. The baby is hungry. He needs to eat. Would you like to eat your lunch in the bathroom or in the freezing cold? I didn't think so. Not every outing can be scheduled around babies' feeding times--especially when you have more than one child.
I think this is the mindset that causes women to stop nursing earlier than they or their baby would like. It's inconvenient. When women are made to feel uncomfortable about nursing in public, they often stop before they would if it were "easier" to do. Not all women are as confident about it and willing to stand up for their rights as someone like say.... me. I've never had anyone confront me about it. Oh, I've wanted them to. I've waited for someone to ask me to leave or make a snide remark so that I could make a quick comeback. And that was a wrong attitude of me!! I have since mellowed some. Maybe I'm getting older. Maybe God's working on my heart a little more. Maybe both. I'm still very confident to nurse in public and would defy anyone who tried to take the right to eat away from my baby. But I would do it in a much nicer way these days. I also try to find an out of the way spot if I can, but that's not always possible with five other kids around.
In actuality, all I've ever gotten were nice comments when I've nursed my babies. I've had several older women tell me that they were so glad to see that women had the right to nurse in public these days. They always were made to feel like they had to hide--they could never have a social life when their babies were young because they had to be home to nurse. Wow! What commitment those women made to their babies. Talk about sacrifice! I even had a man in his 80's at church when Cedar was very young tell me that he never took a medication in his life until last year, and he knew that was because his mother breastfed him! :) I don't know if that's true, but that's what he believed. He said, "You know, it went out of style there for awhile, and I'm so glad to see you young moms doing it again. It's the best thing you can do for your babies." I loved it! He was so encouraging and supportive. I was sitting right there in the back of the church in the narthex nursing my baby. He could have been embarrassed or outraged that I was doing that AT CHURCH!! But he thought it was wonderful.
So I would encourage anyone who is feeling nervous or scared about nursing in public to do what you need to do for your baby! Make sure you feel comfortable with nursing at all first. Sometimes that relationship is hard to establish, and you need to work on that at home. But once you feel like the two of you have got it--go for it! Make sure you are confident in your decision and know your rights just in case you are confronted. Every state has laws that allow for breast feeding your baby in public. If you feel more comfortable covering up, there are great nursing cover-ups made specifically for that. I have many friends who use them. I cover up sometimes, depending on where I am. I used to never--but that goes back to my mellowing as well!! When I don't cover up, it has nothing to do with "wanting to expose myself" in order to make a point (which is what so many seem to think.) I can promise you, you see nothing when I nurse, and more than one person has thought that I was only holding my sleeping baby.
So now I'll step down off my soapbox.... and go nurse my baby!
No comments:
Post a Comment