A new mum took to Reddit to share how her aunt told her to stop ‘flashing’ and that she has no shame when breastfeeding in public.
The upset mum, who has an 11-month daughter as well as a son, said that she always exclusively breastfed and felt the comments were unfair given that she’d had a rough journey with breastfeeding so far.
‘I’m very proud, considering with my son I was only able to breastfeed for about three months because of lack of supply and poor latching.’
But while out and about at a family picnic her aunt who was visiting wasted no time in giving her personal views on breastfeeding.
‘My baby’s dad brought my daughter over saying she wants to nurse. I unclipped my right side of my nursing tank (the side away from my aunt) and my daughter latched on.’
‘My aunt asked if I wanted something to cover up and I said no thank you.’
The peeved mum initially thought there was no problem as she was just feeding and not much of her breast was exposed. But her aunt did not feel the same.
‘She made a joke about me having no shame which I laughed off, then told me even though I’m comfortable feeding her without a cover maybe she or the rest of my family isn’t.’
She noted her daughter didn’t like using a cover and added, ‘I told her I was more interested in me and my daughter being comfortable for the 10 minutes she would eat and if it bothered her she was welcome to move.’
‘She then scoffed at me but didn’t move, making a weird look at me then going into her phone and halting our conversation.’
‘I heard her complaining to my cousins shortly after and they told me I shouldn’t feel so comfortable “flashing” my family.’
She notes that while she has no shame breastfeeding in public she swore at her aunt and told her where to go. She then asked others if they think she handled it in the best way?
One Reddit user said, ‘People who are offended by the fact that babies eat can shut their eyes or walk away. Babies. Eat. Breasts may be involved. Get over it.’
This was followed by another user noting, ‘Your daughter being fed and having her needs met is much more important than your aunt being comfortable. you didn’t do anything inappropriate. “I’m glad you didn’t back down. ‘
But one Reddit commenter explained that they in turn have reservations about sharing saying,
‘Listen, I’m kind of a prude. I feel uncomfortable seeing other people’s breasts – I was not raised in a body-positive environment, it’s just something I’m very not used to seeing even though intellectually I know boobs are perfectly natural.’
‘You know what I do when a woman has to expose a breast to feed her child around me? I simply LOOK AWAY. Bam, problem solved.’
Breastfeeding in public is legal in the UK and legislation of the Equality Act means that anybody providing a service, and their employees, cannot ask a mum to stop breastfeeding or to leave their premises.
Mum Lea Henry was shamed at the GP surgery for breastfeeding her newborn and was called ‘unhygenic’ by a stranger.
Although initially upset, she says this made her take a different course of action, to breastfeed purposely in public to encourage other new mums who may be worried.
‘As I started to become more aware of mothers feeling the need to hide for fear of judgement and as I experienced myself, I found myself really saddened by the fact that we weren’t being empowered to feed our babies,’ she shares.
‘There may be a fear of it not being a ‘smooth’ feed – for example if the baby is struggling to latch, which adds to the stress.
‘So I began making a point of breastfeeding in public and forcing myself to not make a big deal about it in the hopes that it would help empower at least one other woman to do the same.
‘I have had mummy friends asking me, “Do you think it’s OK to breastfeed here?” and I am always the first to say “Absolutely!”’
NCT also shares some tips for breastfeeding in public including wearing a stretchy top, using a sling and breast pads to feel more comfortable.
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