Fantastic Friday - It's Natural, Not Embarrassing

A bit of a ‘heavy’ topic but when I saw the video that’s at the end of the post, it fired me up and I wanted to say something about breastfeeding.

A mother breastfeeding her child – personally, I think that’s a beautiful sight. If a mother chooses to breastfeed her child in public – because, let’s face it when a baby is hungry, a baby is hungry – there is absolutely no reason for the mother to feel embarrassed about doing so. It is no one’s business but her own.

The ‘hoo-haa’ that people seem to be making lately about mothers breastfeeding in public is unbelievable! I cannot fathom why anyone would attach sexual connotations to it. Really?? How anyone can compare breastfeeding to topless models in ‘top-shelf’ magazines boggles the mind! Why stare at mothers feeding – breastfeeding – their children? No one stares when babies are bottle-fed; no one stares at anyone drinking their coffee in public. Why is it such a big deal??

I breastfed Gordon for 13 months and enjoyed it so much – the closeness it fosters between mother and baby is wonderful. Liam was a fusspot when it came to feeding so that didn’t work out and I had to bottle-feed him; I missed not having the chance to breastfeed him. It’s good that we have the alternative of bottles because there are times breastfeeding doesn’t work for mother or baby. And I'm not saying that bottle-feeding doesn't foster closeness. Breast or bottle, it comes down to freedom of choice; I don't think mothers should be bullied into choosing one or the other, they should be left to choose what works best for them. However, when a mother chooses to breastfeed, it should be encouraged. In fact, it should just ‘be’, without it being an issue, one way or the other.

Holly McNish, a poet and spoken word artist, says it very plainly and eloquently, and the video itself is thought-provoking.