Feeding your child comes first
FOR mother of two Rehnaaz Bodhanya breastfeeding in public is not an issue.
“I do get the looks and stares,” said the 25-year-old of Isipingo.
She added that when she was asked to cover up, her response was: “I am feeding my baby, would you like to?”
Bodhanya said she covered up or tried to sometimes, but it was difficult to focus on that while trying to feed a screaming infant.
“Ella is my number one priority, so of course her needs would come before mine.”
She said she had recently gone shopping and 4-month-old Ella started crying for milk.
“I tried to cover up, feed her and shop at the same time but it got difficult, so I sat in the milk aisle while she fed.”
Bodhanya, who also breastfed her eldest daughter Hailey, said she chose to do so as it was more nutritious for children.
“They always say the child’s first milk is the best vaccine. My children have barely been sick, and if they do get sick, my body gives them whatever they need to recover quickly. Hailey, who is now 2, has been breastfed exclusively.
“However, with my youngest, I had to put her on formula as I had to return to work and placed her in a crèche. I tried expressing milk, but it was not enough. However, at night, and when we are out together, I make she gets breast milk.”
First-time mother Natasha Panday agreed with Bodhanya that women should not be ashamed to breastfeed in public – provided they cover up.
“From the day we left the hospital, my baby has been breastfed. I also have a breast pump, in the event that I need to leave her with my mother to run an errand. Sometimes when I am in public she gets hungry, and I feed her, but I have a sling, which I wear to cover up.”
She said she had not noticed others watching her. “I assume it’s because I cover up. But then again, we go to child-friendly places where other parents understand.”
While Panday has been told to switch to formula, she said she planned to breastfeed until her daughter Sonali was 6 months old.
“I am fortunate enough to be on six months maternity leave.”
She said breast milk was best.