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No hiding, no shame: Why breastfeeding in public should be no big deal
Posted by Claire Hewitt, on August 19, 2022.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s)
Back in June this year, a young mum was shamed for doing one of the most natural things in life. If you didn’t catch this story at the time, here’s how the sorry episode played out…
When her 4-week old baby had “a meltdown” in her local Sainsbury’s, 25-year old Beth Coles took her out of the store to feed her in their car. Already self-conscious about the situation, Beth covered herself with a cloth while she breastfed her little girl. Although she was in the privacy of her own car, and well within her legal right to breastfeed her baby in public, a female Sainsbury’s staff member marched over and told her that what she was doing was “inappropriate”. The incident left Beth shaken and ashamed, and came at a time when she was already struggling with motherhood in those early weeks.
If that story hasn’t made your blood boil, then there are plenty of other incidents where women have been pointed at, stared at, photographed (yes, really), and asked to cover up by total strangers all for daring to feed their hungry babies when other human beings were around. You may even have your own similar story to tell – perhaps you genuinely don’t care what others say or do, perhaps you defiantly challenged their behaviour, but even so, it can still leave a sour taste in the mouth during what is already a crazy period full of highs and lows.
We’re focusing on breastfeeding because earlier this month was World Breastfeeding Week: a global initiative to encourage breastfeeding and highlight its health benefits. But it also reminded us that some sections of Western society still view breastfeeding as something that should only happen behind closed doors, it seemingly mixed in with prudishness and the sexualisation of women’s bodies. Hey-ho, who knew we’d still be here in the 21st Century?
For those that need reminding, and indeed any of you who need reassurance with the facts, in the UK it is your legal right to breastfeed in public. Breastfeeding in a public place – which can include parks, public transport, restaurants, shops, cinemas and more – is protected under the Equality Act 2010.
The Act says that it is sex discrimination to treat a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding – for instance, a café owner can’t request that you stop feeding your baby or even refuse to serve you. The owner of a business also has an obligation to ensure other customers don’t discriminate – if a fellow diner in a restaurant asks you to “cover up”, you can report this to the manager who should deal with the situation appropriately.
So if you’re a nursing mother, please don’t hide in a cupboard for fear of your baby getting hungry while you’re out shopping – the law is on your side!
At Royce Lingerie…
At Royce Lingerie, making life easier for pregnant and nursing mums is something never far from our minds. In fact, the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) was our first customer so we have over 30 years of experience in designing and making maternity bras. We road-test new designs with pregnant and nursing women to ensure all bra features are meeting real-world needs.
And this month we’re excited to launch two new colours in one of our most popular maternity bras: Maisie Nursing is now available in classic black and ivory.
Maisie Nursing – Ivory
This smooth, T-shirt maternity bra features a satin trim, ultra-comfy cotton lining, moulded foam cups and easy-to-use nursing clips.
Maisie Nursing – Black
Retainer straps enable one-handed unclipping and reclipping of the cups when breastfeeding. Maisie is perfect all the way through pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Indie Nusing – Lilac
Do you love our nursing bra Indie? The petrol blue version is now joined by brand new colour, lilac. Indie features lace trim detailing and easy-to-use clips with retainer straps which offer more skin-to-skin contact when nursing.
Bra Extenders – 3 hook
Perfect for when you need a little extra room in your band or if your weight is fluctuating during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Bra extenders – 2 hook
Pack of 3 extenders. The packs contain 1 x white, 1 x beige and 1 x black extender.
Pop in breast pads
Pop-in breast pads are ideal for nursing Mums. Reusable and machine washable, they are incredibly slim with a hidden waterproofing layer and added protection against leaks and are now twice as absorbent too.
