How Nursing in Public Has Changed

Welcome to the July 2010 Carnival of Nursing in Public

This post was written for inclusion in the Carnival of Nursing in Public hosted by Dionna and Paige at NursingFreedom.org. All week, July 5-9, we will be featuring articles and posts about nursing in public (“NIP”). See the bottom of this post for more information.

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My first baby is about to go off to college.  It’s true what they say about the eighteen years flying by at a rapid pace, even though a few months, weeks and loooong nights seemed to be an eternity.  When she was first born, I was to be the first successful breastfeeding mom in my family since my great-grandma.  I actually just put it together in those terms as I’m writing this post, though I knew no one else had really done it.

I had some sore nipples.  I had some bleeding and cracking.  I had no one to turn to for help.  But I also had some perseverance and determination.  This is one of those times that a hard head helped, despite a lack of good (breastfeeding) education on my part.

My first experience with nursing in public came when my daughter was about two weeks old.  I was still wearing maternity clothes and it was December.  I was in a Mall.  Recipe for disaster?  No, I actually pulled it off, which now amazes me.  I simply went to a less traveled area of the Mall and sat on a bench, pulled my baby to me and nursed her.  For about a half a second I felt self conscious until I realized I was doing it!  I even remember feeling like a couple of teen boys who glanced my way were thinking about it, most likely not.

Today, women are given to worry and over thinking nursing in public.  I probably would have been one of them.  My cousin good naturally asked me after seeing me with my four week old first born, “Do you cover her eyes?”  I had no idea what he was talking about.  “You know, do you cover her eye when you nurse her so she won’t see your breasts?”  This was more about my modesty and a joke than anything else.  I still get a chuckle over having been that girl/woman.  (No, I didn’t.)  Breastfeeding taught me to love and respect my body.

Today, breastfeeding a child in public is something that I don’t think twice about.  I breastfeed every where I am.  I’ve helped to pass breastfeeding legislation in my state.  And I can’t believe anyone really cares about nursing in public.

I see way more moms nursing in public now than I did eighteen years ago.  And my most important contribution to normalizing breastfeeding?  Nursing in front of my family and showing them that breastfeeding is appropriate anywhere I am when my baby is hungry or needs me.

Welcome to the Carnival of Nursing in Public

Please join us all week, July 5-9, as we celebrate and support breastfeeding mothers. And visit NursingFreedom.org any time to connect with other breastfeeding supporters, learn more about your legal right to nurse in public, and read (and contribute!) articles about breastfeeding and N.I.P.

Do you support breastfeeding in public? Grab this badge for your blog or website to show your support and encourage others to educate themselves about the benefits of breastfeeding and the rights of breastfeeding mothers and children.

This post is just one of many being featured as part of the Carnival of Nursing in Public. Please visit our other writers each day of the Carnival. Click on the links below to see each day’s posts – new articles will be posted on the following days:
July 5 – Making Breastfeeding the Norm: Creating a Culture of Breastfeeding in a Hyper-Sexualized World
July 6 – Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers: the New, the Experienced, and the Mothers of More Than One Nursing Child
July 7 – Creating a Supportive Network: Your Stories and Celebrations of N.I.P.
July 8 – Breastfeeding: International and Religious Perspectives
July 9 – Your Legal Right to Nurse in Public, and How to Respond to Anyone Who Questions It