As an Australian mom, I’m fortunate to reside in a country that recognizes my legal right to breastfeed anywhere, anytime. While most women can nurse their child without issue, as a breastfeeding mom, I’ve experienced the persistent concern that someone might object or feel uncomfortable in my presence.
Before and After Being a Breastfeeding Mom
When I was a young adult, I worked in a cafe. I’d never been around anyone who breastfed, and I knew nothing about it. I completely admit that when a customer fed her child, I felt awkward. I didn’t know how to look at her face to take her order, and I bluffed an attitude of being totally comfortable with it.
Now, with three children who have all been breastfed in plenty of cafes and other public places, I look back on that ignorance and cringe. I wonder if, perhaps, this had an impact on the issues I experienced with breastfeeding. Never having seen it, I had no idea how to do it. Maybe if I had been surrounded by it in an everyday sense, the entire process would have been less overwhelming.
I believe that the idea of normalizing breastfeeding is not about throwing breastfeeding in the public’s face. Rather, I see it as a way of letting everyone realize how incredible everyday of breastfeeding a child is.
My hope is that by showcasing images of breastfeeding mothers, feeding our children will become a natural part of everyday scenery rather than a discomforting sight. Perhaps it might also help future mothers understand a little bit more about the art of nursing a child.
So here we go. This is the first-ever photo of me breastfeeding my third child. I am sorry to say that none were ever taken of me breastfeeding my first two children because I felt too awkward.
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