Breastfeeding hockey mom deserves applause

Breastfeeding is not new, but the debate about women doing it in public is getting old. Seriously, folks? It’s 2018 and the world is a mess – why are we losing our minds over what women’s bodies were naturally designed to do?

I’m referring to the photo circulating online of Serah Small, an Alberta hockey player nursing her newborn in the locker-room between periods.

Clad in striped socks, black pants, and laced-up skates, a bare-chested Small is looking down at her baby.

Small shared the photo on her personal Facebook page and with her lactation consultant, who then posted it to the Milky Way Lactation Services page. From there, the poignant pic swept social media, churning the water in what ought to be calm seas.

For the most part, the photo has been well received.

What could be more Canadian than hockey and caring for our kids?

What a beautiful thing, that this young mom is already sharing something she loves—her sport—with her daughter.

What an awesome thing that Small, a teacher from Grand Prairie, is already out playing hockey at just eight weeks postpartum. Not all new moms can return to vigorous activity that soon, but Small told media outlets after being sidelined during pregnancy, she was eager to get back to the sport she’s played since preschool.

High five for putting on those two skates.

Pursuing her passion, Small is staying healthy and fit, connecting with her teammates, ensuring she doesn’t get socially isolated during a vulnerable postpartum period, and nourishing her newborn in the healthiest way possible.

It was Small’s own mother who snapped the photo, saying she’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life.

While people living in the dark ages keep complaining breastfeeding should not occur in the light of public places, most of the pushback seems to stem from those accusing Small of attention-seeking.

It was oversharing by a young woman who was underdressed. Some even said it was voyeurism.

Yes, she posted it on social media, but there is a lovely innocence to the moment that was apparently lost on the depraved.

Small explained to multiple media outlets she forgot her breast pump and thus whipped off her chest pads to take care of her baby. She only shared the photo to model how natural nursing is, and to encourage other new moms to do the same. She didn’t expect it to go viral.

Lisa Ford, creator of the Kelowna Breastfeeding Café, a support group for moms and mamas-to-be, also shared the photo online.

With a certificate in breastfeeding counselling from Douglas College, Ford encourages a relaxed, non-judgmental and informative approach to breastfeeding.

“It’s an inspiring photo,” she says. “It normalizes breastfeeding and motherhood, which is what we need to do. When you become a mom, you don’t lose yourself entirely, and you can do that with breastfeeding.

“A lot of the work we do is with first-time moms and in the beginning, it isn’t so easy and convenient, but it gets that way.”

Ford says most Okanagan moms seem to feel comfortable breastfeeding, particularly in baby-friendly buildings that ensure women are not shamed or asked to leave.

While perception has come a long way since Ford established the café six years ago, she says there’s room for improvement. “I love the photo; I just wish we weren’t in a place where it’s a hot story.”

Back when I nursed my newborns, I sought privacy, even if that meant sitting on a closed toilet seat in a bathroom stall or rushing out to my locked car, huddled beneath a blanket.

I might not post a public photo, but I celebrate Small’s courage in setting an example for young moms to nurse wherever and whenever they want.

No one should have a problem with that— least of all men.

One man posted on the Milky Way Facebook thread, “It looks to me that her teammates would like to be invisible.”

In fact, Small’s teammates, seated on either side of her on the bench, are not the least bit distracted by the baby at her breast. Bent to lace skates, they are going about their business, getting ready to get back on the ice, just as Small is going about hers, feeding her child. No big deal.

The fact he reads discomfort in their faces is only indicative of his own.

Small says she felt empowered sharing her photo and I say that’s awesome. Baring her breast for her baby, she made a statement to the world: Teacher, hockey player, mom—women can do it all.