Why I Nurse In Public →
Aside from a few quick glances, I had never seen a woman nurse a baby until I did it myself. And that’s a problem. Breastfeeding is a skill that must be learned by mother and baby. If we are never exposed to it, it is harder to learn. And seeing nursing isn’t just important for nursing mothers – when everyone sees breastfeeding, breastfeeding becomes the cultural norm – the way babies are supposed to be fed. When we see nursing mothers on TV, in movies, on billboards, in magazines – and more importantly in the places we regularly go – it sends the message that breastfeeding is normal, not weird, and not something that needs to be covered up and hidden. When children grow up seeing women breastfed, it becomes natural for them to decide to breastfed their own children or to support their partner in doing so.
