My Positive Experience Breastfeeding in Public
There have been so many negative stories recently about women’s experiences breastfeeding in public. Mommas are being asked to leave stores that have full size photos of women in revealing bras on their walls, and are being berated by male customers at Target (although way to go Target for setting a great standard of writing a policy so women can breastfeed freely in your stores). And who the hell is this guy Kevin??? It is appalling that there is such a stigma and shame that many people try to put on the most natural thing a momma can do for her child. We are a nation who sees nothing wrong with a Victoria’s Secret add of a half naked woman towering over Time Square, yet a woman breastfeeding her baby is labeled as obscene and inappropriate.
In response to all of this, I want to share a positive experience I recently had when breastfeeding in public. I had an eye doctor’s appointment at Visionworks last week. I brought my little lamb with me and crossed my fingers that she would cooperate during the exam. Side note: Does anyone else feel like they’ve failed a huge test every time they go to the eye doctors and are asked to read the smallest line??? While I was waiting to be called back I nursed my little lamb briefly in the waiting room, and no one batted an eye (employee or customer). But, the real testament to the awesome folks who work at Visionworks was during the exam itself. My little lamb was not having being stuck in her stroller during my exam, so the doctor gave the okay for me to hold her on my lap. Midway through failing miserably at reading the letters on each line, it was obvious that my squirmy wormy one year old was not going to play ball and sit still. I cannot blame her, there were way to many new and interesting things to look at and try to touch. So, I asked the doctor if she would mind if I nursed her through the exam. Without skipping a beat, she gave me the okay and told me I would not be the first patient to nurse a little one during an exam. This was such a great moment! We were able to wrap my eye exam up, my little lamb was content, and there were nothing but positive vibes wrapped around the whole situation.
We have such a long way to go to normalize breastfeeding across the world, but it is moments like this that give me hope. For every negative encounter that a woman has with breastfeeding in public, wouldn’t it be refreshing and reaffirming to have us share our positive stories as well? Stay strong mommas, and never feel shamed into putting someone else’s comfort ahead of you and your little ones. Nurse on!
Love, Laughter, & Light,
Julia
