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

Nursing in Public Blog Carnival

We’re going to be participating in the Nursing in Public Blog Carnival – so exciting! But I wanted to let you know about it too so that you, my dear Birth Activists, might join…

Handling Breastfeeding in Public

Breastfeeding in public is something heavy on my mind. ?I was reading my blogs today and an entry from Elita at The Blacktating Blog came up about nursing in public. ?She talks about how breastfeeding in public helps normalize breastfeeding, how it serves as a reminder to people that not everyone choose formula. ?How true is that statement?

I remember my very first?attempt?at nursing in public, it was in December 1991. ?I was in a shopping mall and I decided to go down one of the wings of the mall that had less traffic and sit on a bench. ?As I sat there discreetly nursing, some teen aged boys walked by and were laughing. ?I can’t tell you now if they were actually laughing and pointing at me, but that’s how my mind wrote the story, and that’s what matters. ?Now, 17 years and 8 babies later, I still think twice about nursing in public, not because I’m shy or because I fear what others think about me, but more because I’m afraid I’m going to mess it up for someone else. ?Will my baby pull my shirt up and expose too much skin for someone’s taste? ?Will I make a mom feel like she can’t nurse because she’s not comfortable nursing in public? ?It’s a heavy weight to bear. ?

It’s the same dilemma I have when I see a nursing mom. ?Part of me wants to run over and give her a high five for normalizing something women have done since the dawn of time. ?But then I stop to think maybe she thinks no one can tell what she’s doing and by going up to her I’d discourage her. Elita pointed out some “Thank you for nursing in public”?cards by Amanda over at Kind Over Matter. ?It’s a great idea! ?What would you do with these cards?