On Nursing in Public

Nursing in public becomes a really hot topic, mostly with people that don't have kids or never breastfed. So many people will see a woman nursing in public and get really upset that she's flashing everyone. I can guarantee you, this is not her intention. She doesn't want her boob out there for everyone to see. Probably more likely, she's hoping that people will just look away and mind their own business. Either that or she is completely confident in what she is doing and does not care if people see her breast because it's more important to her that her baby gets fed.

World Breastfeeding Week just passed recently and there were many posts flying around Facebook and personal blogs about the wonders of breastfeeding. Nursing in public naturally came up in many of those places. One blog I read was from a woman who was pro-breastfeeding. She described three situations that she observed in a single day about women nursing in public. One mom bared all and tandem nursed her toddler and baby, another nursed her baby with her shirt positioned so it slid down over her if the baby unlatched, and the third mom fought the baby and the sweltering heat to cover up with a nursing cover creating a much larger scene than the other two.

Now, the way you choose to nurse in public is of course a personal choice. I can also tell you from experience that the more you do it, and the more people you know that do it, the more comfortable you will be. The first time I needed to feed the baby away from the home, I actually took him out to the car and sat in the back seat nursing him. That was the last time I did that. It was too hot and completely ridiculous for me to subject myself to that. Since then, I learned the skill of using a blanket as a nursing cover. Before long, the baby received a blanket that actually had Velcro on two corners which worked nicely as a cover as I could just attach it around my neck. That is until my baby decided that he didn't want to be covered.

In talking to many moms, there are certain things you need to know about nursing covers. First, the earlier you introduce them, the easier it is for your baby to accept nursing with something over their head. Second, almost all babies will eventually get to the point where they no longer tolerate the cover over their head. I have experienced this first hand. Often, you create more of a scene in trying to get the cover over the baby than you would if you just nursed them.

So, what's a woman to do? While I know that many moms aren't bothered by flashing the occasional stranger in the process of nursing a baby, I'm not one of them. I have nursed without much stress in my mom group, but then, since it started as a breastfeeding support group, having boobs out all of the time really becomes a non-issue. In other situations though, I've tried to find the happy medium of covering myself without too much of a scene - especially since the baby is less accepting of the cover. Nursing tops make nursing in public the easiest for access. They allow you to quickly latch on the baby without pulling up your whole shirt or practically undressing leading to less of a scene. I have found the easiest thing to do is use the baby's head to block yourself as you uncover your breast and latch the baby on. If the baby lets go, I've found that pulling the baby close to you usually will block an unsuspecting public from seeing you flash them. Again, the baby's head is blocking them from seeing anything. Occasionally I will get the baby in place and use a small cloth like a burp rag to cover up anything that may still be visible. This is usually less annoying to the nursing baby. Also, holding their free hand with your free hand is often effective for keeping the baby from pulling the cloth off. This does prevent you from continuing to eat or do whatever you were doing, but it does work.

I hope this helps you find a way to make it less visible. Remember though, it is better to accidentally flash someone than have a cranky, screaming, hungry baby. There is absolutely no reason to feel you have to excuse yourself or go hide some place that may be unhygienic, like a bathroom. One more thing, nursing in public is protected by law so never feel that you are in the wrong if you need to feed your baby. It may be awkward at first, but you'll get more and more used to it and ultimately be more comfortable. Believe me, no matter where you choose to feed your baby, you have the support of every nursing mother around you. They are all sending you a silent, "Congratulations!"