For modest women, breastfeeding in public can sometimes be a challenge. If you are new at nursing and worried about stares, exposing yourself, or someone saying something to you about nursing in public, then doing so can be difficult. Here are a few tips that can help you overcome fears about breastfeeding in public.
Cover Up
Nursing covers are a great way to cover up when breastfeeding in public. Most nursing covers cover all of your chest area as well as baby’s head. Most are also made with a large neck opening so you can see your baby while being covered up. With a nursing cover no part of your chest is openly exposed and most people probably won’t even be able to tell what you are doing. Nursing covers come in all kinds of stylish prints and colors and have a wide price range as well. You can even check out Pinterest for some do-it-yourself nursing covers!
Find Somewhere Private
When you have to nurse your baby in public try to find a quiet room or another section of the building that is not as crowded. This may help calm your nerves about nursing your baby out in public. If you are alone and nobody can see you then it’s almost just like nursing at home. You have the privacy you need to feed your baby and go on with the day.
Find Support
If you can, talk with other nursing moms and see how they overcome their fears of nursing in public. Get tips and advice from them. Talk to them about your fears. Most will probably tell you it was hard at first but got easier with time and practice. Go somewhere with them and see how they nurse in public. Seeing another mom nurse their baby in public may help give you the confidence you need to also nurse your baby in public – and don’t be afraid to thank her for boosting your confidence!
Remember Why You Are Doing It
When you get nervous about breastfeeding in public, try to remember the reasons why you are breastfeeding your baby. You are doing what’s best for you baby and providing him or her with great nutrition and love. You’re not nursing in public to expose yourself, make someone mad, or get stares. You are doing it to nourish your baby. That’s all there is to it. Just try to remember that when it’s time to nurse your baby out in public. It will help you focus on your baby and not why you are nervous about being in public.
It’s normal to be a little bit shy when it comes to breastfeeding in public. Many moms probably feel that way, especially in the beginning. Society has made breastfeeding more than it really is, and that is just feeding and nourishing a baby. It’s ok to have these feelings, but with these tips and some support from family and friends, you should be on your way to feeling confident about breastfeeding in public.
I’d like to point out that there is a difference between being shy and being modest. While the picture says “shy,” the title and the post repeatedly use the word modest.While I appreciate the sentiment of the post- helping women who may be apprehensive be more comfortable- to equate discomfort with nursing in public with being modest implies that a lack of discomfort or reservation equals being immodest. It seems obvious that if “modest women” need these tips, then women who don’t are somehow immodest. The definition of immodest is “lacking humility or decency.” Is that the message you want to send about or to women who nurse comfortably in public, even without a cover? That they are being indecent? I would assume that is not your intent, but it is never the less the result. There are many more ways to convey the intended message, using words like shy, apprehensive, private, concerned, uncomfortable, fearful, inexperienced, etc to describe a mother who is struggling with nursing in public, none of which imply negative labels about moms who are comfortable nursing in public, with or without a cover or in a corner. I think especially in a community supporting women who are breastfeeding, we have to be careful of the language we use can send unintended negative messages, so that we can ensure we are supporting all nursing mothers.