Women across the world have different opinions when it comes to nursing in public. Their opinion mostly refers to their comfort level. Some of them are shy and rather avoid public breastfeeding at all costs. However, there is another group of women that are completely feeling comfortable with breastfeeding their baby anywhere at any time. No matter what is your own comfort level, at some point, you will find yourself in a situation where you must nurse your baby.
When a baby is hungry, it is always better to feed them right away, even though you do not think that it is a convenient location or time. Your baby will start crying and you will not have a choice. However, we prepared a couple of tips for you on how you can breastfeed your baby more confidentially. Primarily, if you are feeling so shy to breastfeed her in public you can always decide on an option of a breast pump procedure that will help you bring your milk in the bottle.
If this option is a life-saver for you, read more about how you should use it in this article. On the other hand, we also got you covered with some tips that will help you breastfeed your baby in public at necessary times. They will help you by making it easier and less stressful.
Deciding to Breastfeed in Public
All new moms are very concerned about breastfeeding their babies in public. However, we are here to tell you that this is a completely natural process and every mother has the complete right to nurse the baby anywhere. Therefore, do not be nervous that someone will judge you or look at you. In fact, there are special laws that are protecting public breastfeeding. You can check the laws in your country if you are interested. There are, however, a couple of things you should keep in mind while breastfeeding your baby. Primarily, you should know that this is completely your decision, not someone else’s.
You are just responding to your baby’s needs when he or she is hungry. In general, you should know that at some point every mother finds herself in a situation where she needs to feed her baby out of the house. We want to mention that there is even one good benefit of nursing your baby in public which refers to saving you a lot of time. You will not have the obligation to clean and pack bottles, store the breast milk in a cooler, warm the milk before feeding, etc. If you are, however, still struggling on deciding whether or not are comfortable doing this in public, you can always discuss it with other moms and find out more about different experiences. This will surely help you get out of your comfort zone.
You should dress comfortably
If you think that you are probably going to nurse your baby outside of the house, you should pick your clothes carefully. More precisely, you are going to need something that will allow you easier access to your bra and breasts. We suggest you select some loose and comfortable shirt over the bra or something else that you can easily pull up from the waist. There is an option to wear a button-down shirt that comes with the feature of getting easily unbuttoned.
Do not forget to wear an easy-access bra
When it comes to dressing appropriately and comfortably, you should also think about what type of bra you are going to wear. It is highly important selecting a bra that has a specific snap that will enable you a front flap in order to fold down. This feature will allow you to nurse your baby without needing to lose the entire bra or pull it up or down over the breasts.
Honestly, this will save you a lot of time and provide you to peacefully make space for your baby to start with the feeding process. A perfect bra will save you from a lot of trouble when your baby starts to cry because she is hungry because the baby will easily access your breast.
Do not forget about having supplies on hand
In general, one very important thing that you should not forget about is bringing nursing pads with you. They will help you absorb the milk that is leaking. In most cases, breast milk leakage is something that makes women feel uncomfortable, and because of this, they avoid nursing their babies in public.
Despite that, you will always have to wear a bottle of fresh water since mothers usually become thirsty while nursing. Some other essential things refer to burp cloths and nursing pillows. They will also help you complete the feeding process most effectively and more smoothly.
Find the most suitable location to breastfeed
In case you are feeling uncomfortable feeding your baby in public, you should look around you in order to find the most suitable area where you can do that with confidence. For instance, if you find yourself in the mall or some shopping center, or you see that it is near you, you should know that they are having a special quiet and secluded women’s lounge where you can be private with your baby. There is no matter what location you choose, the only thing that is important in the whole story is that you are going to feel relaxed and comfortable.
Use a blanket to cover yourself and get privacy
One more great piece of advice is that you can bring with you a blanket and cover yourself while breastfeeding the baby. This will surely provide you with a protected and comfortable feeling.
In general, this will best suit you if you can not find a proper area to nurse and your baby starts to cry a lot, so you become overwhelmed. You should use a light blanket or special nursing cover and enable yourself discreet breastfeeding that will hide everything.
This is a great option for women that do not want to expose their intimate parts in public. It would be a wise idea to practice nursing with a cover of this type at your home so you can be completely prepared to do it out of the house.