The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog

The winning nursing story.

Here's the winning entry for Motherwear's recent nursing story/tip contest, submitted by Ginger Carney:

When I was nursing my first child, Caroline, I had an encounter with my young nephew, just 3 years old at the time. I had sat down to relax and breastfeed her when my nephew wandered over to me and looked curiously at his little cousin at the breast. Since I don't believe he had ever seen a baby nursing (he was not breastfed), he asked "WHAT is she doing??!!" Quietly and matter-of-factly I said, "She's eating."Immediately his eyes became wide with surprise as he replied loudly, "She eats PEOPLE??!!"  

You can read other great stories and tips.  I'll pull together my favorites into a post soon.

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June Carnival of Breastfeeding - Get kicked off a bus for nursing in public? Here's how to respond.

Welcome to the June Carnival of Breastfeeding!  Be sure to check out the other bloggers' posts below.

I live in an area that is, in general, very supportive of nursing in public.  But an incident last week shows that even in such a community, there are times when it's critical to have the law - and the advocacy of other mothers - on your side.

Last week a mother in our community was asked to leave a public bus because she was nursing her child.  In response, our local chapter of Moms Rising (the political arm of another mothers' organization, Motherwoman), used a process we'd previously designed for these situations:

1) Sending a letter to the business (with the mother's permission) describing the incident, and requesting a meeting between the owner/supervisor, the woman whose civil rights were violated, and a lactation consultant and breastfeeding advocate.  At these meetings, the owner is educated about the breastfeeding rights law in Massachusetts, and is advised on how s/he can make their business a welcoming place for breastfeeding mothers.

2) Educating the mother about her rights and how to file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

3) Following up with the business and the mother as nehttp://www.hobomama.com/2009/06/easy-discreet-way-to-breastfeed-toddler.html eded.

In this case, the mother was asked to leave the bus just as a mothers group run by Motherwoman was getting out, so there was a group mothers who immediately mobilized to call the bus agency.  The Moms Rising coordinator waited with the mother until the bus came back around on its loop, and they engaged the bus driver in a discussion about the incident.  Moms Rising will be requesting that each bus post a 'breastfeeding welcome here' sticker.

Want to know how it turned out?  Watch the video below.

Check out these other bloggers' posts on nursing in public (updated throughout the day):

• Lucy and Ethel Have a Baby: Nursing in Public - Boobs out and Proud
• PhD in Parenting:  Would you, could you, nurse in public?
• Dirty Diaper Laundry:  Breastfeeding in Public - Talents - I Haz It
• Kim Through the Looking Glass: Here, at the Restaurant?
• Grudgemom: Nursing in a room full of people you know
• Mum Unplugged: Awww, is he sleeping?
• Massachusetts Friends of Midwives: Nursing in Public - Chinatown, the Subway, the Vatican, and more
• Mother Mary's Soapbox: Breastfeeding Oriana
• Tiny Grass: Nursing in Public as an Immigrant
• Mommy News and Views: Breastfeeding in Public
• Breastfeeding 1-2-3: To Cover or Not to Cover
• Stork Stories:  Little Old Men...and Nursing in Public
• Chronicles of a Nursing Mom: Why worry about NIP?
• Warm Hearts Happy Family: Breastfeeding and the Summertime
• Blacktating:  Thank you for Nursing in Public
• Mama Knows Breast: Products that can Help you Nurse in Public
• Baby Ready:  A Wee NIP in the Park
• Tales of Life with a Girl on the Go:  Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - We've breastfed in them all
• Breastfeeding Moms Unite: Nursing in Public - A Fresh Perspective on Nurse-ins
• Never a Dull Moment:  Breastfeeding Hats? Yes! Nursing Covers? Uh...not so much
• Breastfeeding Mums: Nursing in Public - What's a Breastfeeding Mother to do?
• Hobo Mama: Easy, Discreet way to Nurse a Toddler in Public

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Join the next Carnival of Breastfeeding: Nursing in Public

Our next Carnival of Breastfeeding will be on the topic of nursing in public.  Here's your chance to join in!

Please send your submissions by June 15th.  The Carnival will be on June 22nd. As always, we are looking for posts that are:

- Well-written and grammatically correct
- Thoughtful and directly on point for the carnival subject
- Submitted by blogs that pertain to subjects of interest to our readers (breastfeeding, parenting, etc.)

If your post is selected for inclusion, you will be asked on the day of the carnival to edit your post to link back to each of the other participants in the carnival. Examples of past carnivals can be found here.

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Normal.

In the last week or so there have been some great examples of what it would mean if breastfeeding were considered normal behavior in our culture.  They all happen to come from the U.K., but there have been similar stories here.

If breastfeeding were considered normal:

1)  A picture of a toddler nursing her doll (on a poster meant to 'normalize' breastfeeding, no less) would be considered cute, not obscene.

2)  A mother nursing her child at the pool wouldn't be ejected for violating the 'no food or drink' policy.

3)  Breastmilk would seem at least as normal as cow's milk, and a story of a cancer patient drinking it wouldn't make national freak-show news. (By the way, if you watch the video, listen to Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, who is on the AAP Section on Breastfeeding, not the Good Morning America 'expert,' who doesn't appear to know much about this topic.)

Just this week several mothers told me that they're worried about getting harassed for nursing in public.  Again, if breastfeeding were considered normal behavior, there wouldn't be any worry about that.

So, how do we get some of that normal?

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Our breastfeeding coalition in the news.

Our breastfeeding coalition, which meets at Motherwear, has been making the local news a lot recently.  Here are some articles that showcase things we're doing:

Going Baby Friendly, Valley Advocate

A Victory for Nursing Moms and Babies, Valley Advocate

Breastfeeding Welcome, Pioneer Valley Parent

Milk Bank supplies 'the perfect food:' Breastfeeding task force brings critical resource to Pioneer Vallley, Valley Kids

There was also a great news segment about the breast cancer research project I'm working on.

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Miss any of these podcasts?

A couple of years ago, when Motherwear asked me to create podcasts for the blog, I almost said no.  I felt nervous about doing recordings, and wasn't sure what people would want to hear.

The president of Motherwear had me meet with the owners of a big yarn store in our area, who do a weekly radio show about knitting.  Their show is produced as a podcast and is very popular.  I went with them to the radio station to watch them record it.  It actually looked like fun, and I committed to giving it a try. 

The funny thing is that I really enjoy the process of putting these podcasts together.  I like reading the books, coming up with questions, and talking with authors.  I've had a chance to talk with people I might never have contacted.

Can you guess which one is the most frequently downloaded from the iTunes store?  A breastfeeding welcome here sticker goes to the first person to guess correctly (leave your guess as a comment).  And if you're feeling friendly, please go to our iTunes store and write a review! 

• Breastfeeding and early sexual abuse, with Penny Simkin
• African American moms and breastfeeding, with Kathi Barber
• How do other mammals do it? With Dia Michels
• What's the problem with those formula company bags? With Alison Stuebe
• Starting solid foods, with Ellyn Satter
• Breastfeeding in the movies, with Sarah Rubenstein Gillis
• Low milk supply: Could it be your hormones? With Lisa Marasco
• So, you want to work in breastfeeding support (just me)
  
• Nursing in public and the law, with Jake Marcus
• Making more milk, with Diana West
• Hathor the Cow Goddess, with Heather Cushman-Dowdee
• Postpartum depression and breastfeeding, with Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
• MilkShare, with Kelly Faulkner
• The Milk Memos, with Cate Colburn-Smith

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Another great breastfeeding ad.

To see the add, (opens in player) click here.

And there are radio ads, too.

This ad is from the National Health Service in the UK.  I like how comfortable the mom on the right is nursing in the park, how skeptical the mom on the left is initially, and how the whole conversation seems like it could actually happen.

Mom to mom encouragement and support is so important, and this ad really showcases that.

I wish we were as good as Scotland, Australia, and the U.K. when it comes to breastfeeding ads.

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Nurse-ins at Denny's planned.

Protests are planned at a Denny's restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina and in other locations after a mother was asked to cover up or move because she was nursing her one-year old son.  North Carolina law protects mothers' rights to nurse in public.

The restaurant management called the police when the mother refused to comply, reportedly in order determine whether the mother had a right to nurse in the restaurant.  The mother was told that she would have to leave or be charged with trespassing.  

In response, a protest is planned for Sunday, February 22nd at that Denny's restaurant and at other locations.  For more information, join this Yahoo group.  Thanks to Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 for collecting this information.

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Are you a card carrying mom?

I've been working to distribute our breastfeeding coalition's business cards with the new nursing in public law.* You can download a pdf of the card we made, or download it as an MS Publisher file to get your own printed.

These cards are sometimes affectionately called "licenses to breastfeed," and while you certainly do not need a license to breastfeed in public, the cards can come in handy if you're ever confronted about it.

I thought I'd list some other states' "licenses" here. 

• Texas' card, in English and Spanish (pdf)
• California's card - in English and Spanish
• Missouri's card - two sided! (pdf)
• Florida's card (pdf)
• South Carolina's card
• Massachusetts card  (pdf)
• Baby Talk's license to breastfeed covering many states (pdf). May be a little out of date.

And here are a few other fun ones:

• Thank you for breastfeeding (pdf) cards from Militant Breastfeeding Cult.
• "Oops, you caught me breastfeeding" (pdf) cards from Mommy Guide 

Have I missed your state or organization's card?  Post a comment with a link, or email me and I'll put it up.  *If you live in my area and want some cards, email me.

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I love this idea!

The Marin Breastfeeding Coalition (CA) has launched a campaign to make nursing in public more accepted by placing life-sized cardboard cut outs of nursing mothers in public places.

NBC Bay Area reports:

The life like cutouts of the“women and their babies will make their debut this week at The Village shopping center in Corte Madera, near a children’s play area.

The campaign is being launched by the Marin Breastfeeding Coalition, a local advocacy group working to increase breastfeeding awareness and support.

During a recent test run in San Rafael, the cutouts drew dozens of gawking eyes and confused second looks.  Each cut-out figure is holding a card which reads, “When breastfeeding is accepted, it won’t be noticed.”

The Marin Breastfeeding Coalition said it would love for everyone to notice the campaign and to question why they were even paying so much attention to a breastfeeding mother in the first place. 

The group wants the public to know that breastfeeding in public is perfectly acceptable and that it is actually protected by law. 

I think that this campaign is so clever, and I love its use of humor!

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