Let me start off by saying that any way you chose to feed your child, is in my opinion, your choice. No one should ever tell you that it is wrong or that you cannot feed them when and where you chose.
When I heard of this story about the Iowa mom who was refused the photo printing of her breast-feeding her children by Walmart, I was shocked. In today’s society, why are we uncomfortable with a woman showing some skin to nurture another human being and how can this be making news headlines? Granted, it may have been an oversight or mistake on Walmart’s part, I don’t see how it could have escalated to media by either sides.
What is the purpose of putting this out in the media over and over again, if nothing is going to change? I feel that that the more we push in either direction, the more nothing will ever happen.
As a mother of 2 who nursed both for extended periods of time exclusively, I never truly felt at odds with the world. No one ever pointed fingers, no one ever went out of their way to make me feel uncomfortable or inferior nor did I ever flaunt or glamorize the whole process either. Now we have celebrities posting photos and people oversharing them, we have people being kicked out of public places for soothing their children and children embarrassed by their need for nourishment. When I nursed my children, it was what it was – a way of feeding my child the best way I could. Just as bottle feeding mothers do, nursing was just a part of the growth process between my child and myself.
We now have bottle feeding parents feeling the exact same things, shamed, ruled out of ‘mommy-circles’ and embarrassed. Makes me laugh because 35 years ago, my own mother tells me stories about how nursing was a big NO NO when she had children and that formula fed babies were all the rage.
People will argue that they feel degraded or shamed, and I’m sure they have reason for it. Just as the opposing sides can argue that it is wrong or unjust to nurse in public etc…blah blah blah….and don’t even start about bottle feeding today.
But you know what? If we all just drop it and accept the fact that as individuals we are all, just that – individual – then you know what, what the boob?
WHO REALLY CARES? We don’t need support, we don’t need to form cliques etc. We need to accept and move on. After-all, this is not a new issue…it is far older than the eldest people walking the planet.
Aren’t we more mature than that? Can’t we handle seeing a little skin?
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