There are many issues affecting modern women, with political and cultural issues often making headlines.
Far from a political issue, though, one would think that God’s purpose for women in nurturing their children would be unquestionably free from scorn or judgment from others.
But an issue so much a part of motherhood has time and time again brought embarrassment and shame to innocent women who are doing the most normal and natural thing on Earth.
Breastfeeding is the way God intended mothers to feed their children in the months after birth. It is nature’s perfect food, naturally produced by a mother to help her child thrive. It even helps protect against illness and gives nursing infants important proteins and antibodies.
So why on Earth would anyone find fault with a mother feeding her child in this manner?
Several women in recent years have shared their outrage and anger at being asked to leave a public place while they were feeding their babies.
Many women do cover up out of modesty when nursing in public, but people still seem to experience a distorted form of discomfort at the idea.
Nearly every state in the U.S. has laws on the books that allow women to legally breastfeed in any public place – covered or not.
But this doesn’t stop private business owners from discriminating against them, citing the “comfort” of other patrons who may be watching.
In 2010, new mom Natalie Hegedus was brought to tears in a courtroom while appearing on a minor traffic violation. Her 5-month-old baby was sick with an ear infection and not permitted to go to daycare. She had no one else to watch her son – and we all know we cannot miss a court hearing.
Despite the law being on her side and the fact that she was sitting in the back of the room and using a nursing blanket, she was told by the presiding judge, “It’s my court, it’s my decision, and I do find it inappropriate,” according to WSAV TV. She was humiliated and at a complete loss for the reason why feeding her child was so distasteful to others.
That same year, a Florida mom was called to the principal’s office at her daughter’s school for nursing her infant during her child’s speech therapy session. The principal told her it was inappropriate to breastfeed in front of the children and asked her to either nurse in the restroom or reschedule the therapy session, according to Babble.
According to Mommyish, the site’s blogger was kicked out of an American Girl store in New York City for nursing in a public sitting area. She went to a fitting room to complete her baby’s feeding, where she overheard employees discussing her “audacity” at nursing in public. She brought attention to the incident on her website, calling out a store who is supposed to represent the dreams of little girls – little girls who will one day be moms themselves.
And over a decade ago, a lawsuit was filed against Starbucks by Kristina Pearson. She was out with her newborn and had never breastfed in public before. She even asked the permission of a barista to nurse in the store. The manger then came up and told her she could not continue nursing unless she went into the restroom – otherwise, she would be asked to leave. She was heartbroken, furious and embarrassed and decided to become an advocate for other moms by bringing forth the lawsuit and started a blog called “Nurse At Starbucks.”
Perhaps most alarming, mom Nirvana Jennette was nursing her infant in the back of a church she was visiting for the first time. She thought the church seemed casual and comforting and that she would be welcomed there.
She could not have been more shocked when she was referred to as a “stripper” by parishioners and asked by the pastor to go into the restroom or leave in a story originally reported by the Huffington Post.
The stories are endless – woman after woman being harassed and treated like a criminal for breastfeeding in a public place.
Mommy Underground has reported several times on the discrimination breastfeeding mothers often face while nursing in public,in a call to action to end the embarrassment that new moms feel when they are publicly scorned simply for feeding their children.
Why in an age when nudity is all over television and in magazines, when women walk down the street in revealing clothing are women still stigmatized for nursing in public?
Well, our culture has been so corrupted by immoral behavior, the destruction of families, and the sexualization of women that the idea of showing a portion of their breasts when nursing has become taboo – disgusting, in fact, to some.
It truly is hard to comprehend.
All over the world today, the left’s “anything goes” agenda promotes the idea that there is nothing at all wrong with women baring their cleavage in swimsuits or on Hollywood’s red carpet, but if they dare to use their breasts in public for the purpose they were intended, they are sent away in shame.
It is time to end this absurd assault on our nation’s mothers. Mothers should not have to cover themselves in shame in order to feed their children.
It is not always possible to go into another room to breastfeed, nor should mothers be forced to do so.
New moms already face the struggle of adjusting to the fact that they are responsible for a helpless little life. They are tired, scared, and overwhelmed – and the last thing they need is a stranger’s judgment and scorn when they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do.
We must support our mothers who nurse in public. We must advocate for acceptance of this natural act, and we must fight back against the discriminatory policies of businesses who will sink to the low of kicking out a customer for feeding their child.
What do you think of these disturbing instances of breastfeeding discrimination? Have you ever had a negative experience nursing your infant in public? Leave us your thoughts.