BREASTFEEDING IN PUBLIC AND NOT FEELING JUDGED
A R700 BABY CITY GIFT VOUCHER GOES TO THE BEST LETTER EACH MONTH. SO SHARE YOUR VIEWS ON PARENTING, AND YOUR STORY COULD MAKE YOU A WINNER!
I am a breastfeeding mommy who strongly believes that women should be able to breastfeed in public without feeling judged. I had an experience which took breastfeeding in public to a whole new level and I did not feel judged, so I thought I would share it with you.
My 10-week-old baby, who is exclusively breastfed, was being baptised in church recently. She had slept soundly throughout the hour-long service. However, when it was time for the actual baptism ceremony, she decided to wake up.
She was hungry and made sure she was going to let everyone in church know she was up and hungry!
The priest turned to me and suggested giving her a dummy or bottle, to which I replied, she is only breastfed. I had considered expressing a bottle just in case, but decided that it wasn’t necessary as I would be with her all day.
The priest then told me to feed her and suggested I go into a room at the side of the altar if I wanted privacy. I said I would happily feed her where I was if he was comfortable with that and he could continue with the ceremony.
The priest didn’t have a problem with that and continued with the service. Unfortunately, she was very hungry, so a quick feed wasn’t an option. This meant that I ended up standing on the altar in front of about 150 people – family, friends and strangers (there were three other babies being baptised) – and continued to feed her under a blanket, while the ceremony continued. I must admit, I felt overwhelmed at first, but knew that no one could see anything and at least it kept her quiet. The priest joked about it throughout the ceremony, putting me at ease as well, and the baptism turned out to be a lovely celebration.
I hope that I had not offended anyone in church and am grateful to everyone who was there for the support and understanding.
My wish and hope is that with time breastfeeding becomes more acceptable in our society, as it really can be done anywhere with very little notice.
NICOLE LAY, JOHANNESBURG