Breastfeeding In Public

You don’t have to be a hippy or a genius to know breast is best it pops up on the news now and again, that some study in the UK has proven if you don’t breastfeed your children they will grow a third nipple, or some Professor in the USA has announced if you don’t breastfeed until they are 3 they will have a lower IQ than a jelly fish! I get it, breastfeeding is best and hey I am all for it, I totally agree. What I don’t understand is why it is frowned upon, never seen on TV, never seen out and about, it’s like this hidden unicorn, does it really exists, do people really breast feed? Yes, yes they do and so they should. It should be everywhere, it should be common, there should be women in shops sitting quietly feeding their beautiful squishy newborns, not in some cubicle in the family toilet hidden away. There should be a character on Home and Away who breastfeeds, there should be posters around the place of healthy Mums and bubs feeding, there should even be a Breastfeeding Barbie I say!

Above is Little Miss 4 (3 at the time) around the time I brought her baby brother home, guess what I had been doing all day everyday in the lead up to this photo. How are we meant to have a clue how to breastfeed when it just isn’t a part of our lives, we don’t see it growing up, we don’t see it as adults, to be honest it is a bit of a foreign concept, milk comes out of them, really wow! The part that bites is boobs are all over Home and Away, all over the front window of Bras and Things, in fact all over the shopping centre, these things sell products, they also sustain life to  newborn human babies.

The other day I was in a local shopping centre and I have to admit I did nearly fall over when a family walked past and the mother was carrying her say 6 month old baby across her chest with her entire breast out of her top feeding her baby as she walked. The looks on peoples faces as they passed her was pure horror, I could hear comments like “that’s just feral”. Her baby needed to be fed, she was feeding it, maybe just maybe she could have covered herself somewhat (as in her entire boob was hanging out with a baby attached like some African documentary but she was a white woman not in a tribe but walking through a very busy shopping centre).

I just think we aren’t exposed to breastfeeding enough to know that it is ok and it’s not dirty, it doesn’t need to be hidden, it needs to be role modelled to our children and Mums need to be ok with the concept. One minute your boobs belong to you and you perk them up in your favourite bra, next minute some crying baby wants to suck on them all hours of the day and night! If you are breastfeeding, don’t be shy, don’t hide it, don’t go home from a family function as the baby needs to be fed, don’t go in to a room. Be proud, you are doing a great job, you are being a great role model to other young women and our daughters but don’t abuse it. Don’t take us all 5 steps backwards by walking around with your entire giant tit out scaring the shit out of people, they just aren’t ready for that and it just makes it harder for every other breastfeeding mumma bear out there. If you have boobs don’t be afraid to use them girls!

Renee

If you have just found my blog be sure to ‘Like’ my blogs Facebook page so you get all my tips on organising, DIY, parenting, meals, gardening, party planning, just anything to do with channelling your inner Supermum! Feel free to share any links with your other yummy mummy friends to help them too!