How to Breastfeed in Public
When I had my daughter I knew I would be traveling to the Philippines 7 months later and breastfeeding would be the easiest way to travel with her. So in those first few months I had to become proficient at breastfeeding in public places, because I didn’t know where I would be when I had to nurse Annabelle.
I am an incredibly modest person and I didn’t necessarily want to nurse in front of other men on a mission trip, but I had to learn how to nurse modestly. After the research I had done, I was surprised to find breastfeeding really common in the Philippines and some women would nurse while sitting in the church sanctuary. I wasn’t quite that brave.
Here is what I learned about nursing in public in the 14 months I nursed my daughter.
1. Be Confident. If you aren’t ashamed, then every one else will pick up on that vibe and they won’t be weirded out either. Besides, there is nothing to be ashamed about anyway! I never made a big deal about it and I tried to be as discreet as possible.
2. Wear the right clothes. I never wanted to show my tummy gleaming with silvery lines on my stomach, so I would strategically wear clothes that I wouldn’t have to pull up my shirt. I would often wear a nursing bra or a nursing camisole under a shirt I could button down or had a large V-neck. Or I would wear a nursing camisole under a t-shirt and I could lift up the t-shirt without exposing my belly.
3. Use a nursing cover. I don’t think I ever nursed in public without one. I always felt confident that I was covered up and if my boob was out no one could see it. I used a cover that had a wire on top that bent to create a u-shape that I could look down into and make sure that my baby was doing alright. I bought mine here, but you can also buy some beautiful ones at Tot-to-Go.
4. Find a chair in a nursing room, restroom, or a changing room while traveling around town. I would sometimes plan my outings around Babies R Us, because they have a comfortable nursing room with a rocking chair. No one ever noticed that I wouldn’t buy anything. I would also scope out and make mental notes of restrooms that had a chair or couch in the ladies room. Sometimes I would just find an out of the way bench or nursed in the car. I think the more I nursed the more bold I became about where I nursed.
5. Practice! It took me a few times to practice holding my baby, putting the nursing cover on, and getting my boob out of my clothes. I would practice at parties or at homes with men around, so I could become more comfortable with it. I remember practicing at Ikea and it was one of the first times I had used my cover and I flashed my boob to Ikea somehow in the process. I don’t think anyone cared.
Here is a very blurry photo of me nursing on a Jeepney…
…with about 20 other people on board. I think this is the weirdest place I ever nursed.
Need more information? Check out this awesome video by Susanne Carvin. I watched it when I first started nursing and I found it really helpful!
Did you (do you) nurse in public? Are you shy about it or was it not a big deal? Where is the weirdest place you ever nursed?
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I nursed both my kids and never enjoyed nursing in public. If I was out and about, I would nurse in the car or use a store dressing room. I like to be completely private, so even having a blanket or nursing cover still made me very uncomfortable. Even though people weren’t able to see anything, just the idea of them knowing what I was doing made me uncomfortable.
I’d have to echo Heidi’s remarks.
Bottom line, I’m a two handed breastfeeder. I’m sure this is TMI, but I don’t really care. I have envied moms with smaller breasts because they can make nursing in public look so easy. Not me. I’m like a bull in a china shop. I have to literally hold my breast up with one hand and use the other to do all of those other things you described, Amanda. It creates a really lovely picture in everyone’s mind, no?
So put all that awkwardness into a public situation, and yeah, you’ve got me running someplace with a door I can close. Though sometimes I haven’t a lot of options; I have nursed in airport bathrooms (on the floor, yes, sometimes you just have no choice), on the plane (yikes!), in our parked car, on the floor of the Atlanta Convention Center while being looked at by a zillion convention delegates… the list goes on. Funny thing, I just got back from another convention and they set up a nursing mom’s area for privacy this year. Either moms were smart and asked them for one in advance, or I just weirded enough folks out last year that they complained about it. Rest assured, though, I am certainly not the only nursing mom who goes to those things. And I don’t nurse anymore so it didn’t apply to me this year.
If you are a tiny boobed nursing mom, be grateful! Nursing camisoles & such – they fit you! For all you other fuller figured moms, be encouraged: you’re not the only one.
Amen about the big breasted thing Dawn! I have the same problem. I always felt a little more conspicuous while nursing because I had to hold my breast with my other hand.
Depending on where I am, I sometimes feel uncomfortable–only because I am worried about flashing people but I don’t find a more private place until the baby is old enough to turn his head from distractions of other people and expose my breast. When the baby would rather look around rather than get down to the business of nursing then I find somewhere more private where I don’t care if my boob is flashed. When they get to that point nursing takes so much longer and it gets on my nerves.
I nurse everywhere–church included.
The only other time I would excuse myself was when Graham would make this “growling mmmmm–mmmm” sound while he nursed. It sounded a little erotic and I didn’t want to weird people out. He did that for several months and I would leave a quiet area (like church during the sermon) and seek out another place. It was embarassing but totally endearing! I miss that!
I never used a nursing cover–occasionally a blanket but usually I get to the point where I just use the nursing tanks under my shirts to keep the belly from being exposed and use my shirt to conceal the rest of my boob. Even a regular tank top can be used if you pull it down from the top or cut holes in it to help access your boobs.
I didn’t nurse for very long, but nursing in public was only ever uncomfortable because I was worried about other people judging me. I have never been uncomfortable by a mother nursing in public. My husband isn’t uncomfortable by public bf’ing either. We both have siblings who are way younger than us though and were around our nursing brothers and sisters in our teens, so maybe that’s why it’s not a big deal to either my husband or I. I wish that other people didn’t make women feel uncomfortable about nursing in public. Breastfeeding can be very difficult and I think we should support moms who choose to bf as much as we can!!!
I don’t have “weirdest places I’ve ever nursed” but I have some fun breast pumping stories!! There’s really no way to modestly double pump your breasts other than behind closed doors…
Honestly, I didn’t really like nursing in public with my first one, not even when he was really little. I distinctly remember having my breast pump in the car and PUMPING on the way to church so I could give him his bottle during the service! I did, however, bf on our flight to Jordan when he was 4 months old, because I really didn’t have a choice
Pumping in those little-bitty ucky bathrooms was not even an option.
Baby #2 was easier, and I got really good at knowing when she was about to pop off and, uh, expose me to the world. She also made loud groaning noises like Graham did, Amelia, so I would often have to take her someplace a little more private to nurse her.
[...] wasn’t cheap. I didn’t need it, my baby was always with me and I got very proficient at nursing in public with my nursing [...]