Breastfeeding in Public

(Newswire.net — December 20, 2017) Cheyenne, Wyoming — You couldn’t tell that the law is on a nursing mom’s side by the way most people react to a mother breastfeeding in public. Popping open a few buttons on your top would normally be considered crude unless it was to feed a baby. At least one should think this would be an acceptable reason.

“Breastfeeding in public is completely legal in the United States and protected by federal law,” reports What To Expect, an online guide for soon-to-be moms and all parenthood entails. “In addition, 49 states have specific laws on the books that protect nursing moms (Idaho is the one exception), and 29 states exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws.” 

Hopefully Idaho will reconsider its stance very soon and follow suit with progressive thinking. In any case, every other state facilitates the natural order of breastfeeding yet many citizens of America have not received the memo. There remains a constant need to educate and defend breastfeeding to the world, and highlighting the beauty of it is a good place to start. 

“The judgment and awkward stares against breastfeeding need to end. Nurturing your child from your body is something so special. It’s not as easy as everyone thinks. Mothers who breastfeed should be applauded not judged nor stared at. Breastfeeding is pure, beautiful and natural,” reads the caption of a Facebook album series by Nicki Kaylor Photography. “I got together nine beautiful East Tennessee mamas for a ‘Latched with Love’ event. These nursing mamas are fierce and determined through many catty remarks. They still stand proudly nursing. If you see a mother nursing her child in public, please do not approach her with rude words. Smile and continue on your way or tell her how awesome she is!”

It’s an issue that hit home hard for most women which have nursed or currently are nursing in modern day America. The shamming, ridicule and sexualized skew many try to assign to breastfeeding is just dreadful and disrespectful to the practical function that breasts are designed primarily for.

“As a young mother I was shunned in a restaurant and asked to leave because I was making the other diners uncomfortable. One lady said she was disgusted by me and couldn’t possibly try to eat after seeing that – I was humiliated,” comments a mom, Misty Wilson, on Facebook in response to Nicki Kaylor’s images. “Eventually I stopped trying to make everyone else happy and focused on my baby’s happiness. Now, if I see a mother breastfeeding, I walk up to her, tell her she is doing great, to ignore the naysayers and do what feels comfortable for her and the baby. 

We shouldn’t need to be empowering women to do the job nature assigned them, but alas it’s welcoming to regain community support even if it has to be by way of policy and legal channels. Nursing is not the easiest task so the collective support of society would be much appreciated. From the physical restrictions, a type of diet nursing moms need to maintain, it really is a hard work but worth every moment of it. One such dietary concern is that great moderation has to be exercised when deciding to consume alcoholic drinks and planning ahead the time as well, which includes using a breast milk test kit such as the HealthyWiser™ PureMilk™ alcohol detecting stripes. This awareness is well-needed to ensure that nursing moms and the act of breastfeeding, both in the public and private domain, are given the respect they deserve and the baby’s health is secured.