A mum has been left horrified after her own family shamed her for breastfeeding her newborn baby while they were visiting – but most people are firmly on her side
Breastfeeding is a natural part of motherhood – but it’s still taboo to some.
The topic of breastfeeding in public has been bubbling for years. Some believe it should be completely fine, as it’s a natural part of motherhood, and new mums shouldn’t feel ashamed about needing to feed their children. Others, however, don’t agree with that stance. But what about breastfeeding in your own home?
One mum was left gobsmacked after she was accused of “showing herself” and being “distracting” for trying to feed her baby in her own home just because her husband’s family were visiting at the time. The mum explained her in-laws “don’t like” her nursing “around them or near them”, and in the past she’s taken her baby upstairs to nurse simply to avoid a “fuss”.
However, she said she was tired of constantly going upstairs whenever her baby wanted to feed, so she decided to start nursing downstairs while her husband and his parents were outside in the garden. But when they came back in, they shamed her for her actions – and her father-in-law even suggested it was the same as him exposing himself.
In a post on Reddit, she recounted: “They were all busy outside, and I was in the living room alone. I pulled my top down a little and started nursing my baby, but then my father-in-law came back into the room after coming back in the house and looked right at me and huffed a little.
“My husband and mother-in-law followed him into the room, and she said ‘You don’t have to do that here, do you?’ to which I didn’t really know how to respond. My father-in-law, who moved more into the room in front of me and was looking right at my chest, muttered under his breath, ‘I’ll just start walking around with my junk out, huh?’
“My mother-in-law told me to take it to my room so her husband didn’t have to ‘see it all hanging out’ and she motioned to her chest. I was just looking back at them, not knowing what to say. I kind of froze and just continued breastfeeding my son, and they just stood there watching like they were expecting me to move, and I just felt exposed and shy, wishing I had just done it in my room.”
The mum said her husband stepped in to try and calm his parents down and, eventually, they left the room so that she could breastfeed in peace. But she said this isn’t the first time they’ve said something to her about feeding her child.
Commenters on the post were firmly on her side, insisting it was “creepy” of her father-in-law to associate breastfeeding with exposing himself. Others said the mum should be able to feed her child wherever she wants in her own home, and it should be up to her in-laws to leave if they don’t like it.
One person said: “I would tell them if they are uncomfortable in MY home, then they are free to leave and not return.”
Another added: “Get your husband to tell them you may nurse your son in your own home whenever and wherever you choose. If that makes them uncomfortable, they are welcome to spend time with your son once he has fully weaned.”
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