Mark Your Calendars: August 15 is Public Display of Breastfeeding Day!
Photo: Veer / The Bump
Join the boob-olution!
On August 15th, moms everywhere will breastfeed in public to celebrate Public Display of Breastfeeding (PDB) Day. Why make a big deal out of breastfeeding in public? To empower moms and show the world that if a mom chooses to breastfeed, it’s her right to feed her baby whenever and wherever she needs to. The more people who see moms nursing in public, the less of a big deal it’ll be – and that’s the goal.
You can show your support of breastfeeding by doing your own PDB on August 15. Visit www.thebump.com/pdb to take the pledge and tweet us @thebump #PDB to tell us where you are feeding baby!
Not a mom yet? You can still join the boob-olution by pledging to breastfeed when baby arrives.
Plus, more from The Bump
Should Moms Breastfeed in Uniform?
Top 10 Breastfeeding Tips from Real Mamas
Connect with Other Breastfeeding Moms
The Knot Blog
The Nest Blog
I am all for breast feeding, I think it’s the best thing in the world for baby! But I really don’t understand why we can’t keep it discreet, what’s so hard about throwing a blanket over your shoulder. Why do we have to be whipping our boobs out for all to see.
you half right and half wrong in the first sentence. Yes it’s the best thing in the world for the baby but clearly if you are bringing up a cover issue, you clearly are not ALL FOR BREAST FEEDING.
Have you tried to keep a blanket ofver a breastfeeding baby? Not easy…and since there is no point because it is my right to nourish my child in public, I don’t bother with it. Plus hot would it be to sit with a blanket over you in the summer! Yuck!
From one Emily to another: I TOTALLY agree with you! We can be all for breastfeeding, do the best thing in the world to nourish our babies, and be discreet about it at the same time. My breasts belong to me, my husband and my baby–no one else needs to see my breasts, and I don’t want to see other women’s breasts, either! It is an intimate bond between me and my baby–I don’t need to share with others.
Woo hooo!!! Some babies don’t like to be covered Emily… I thought the same way before my baby was born but my daughter has freaked out since she was a newborn if I put a blanket over her! It was so hard going out I had to make sure there was a dressing room or had to go out to much car! It still cover up as much as I can but my daughters comfort comes first
Hilarious. Men everywhere are loving this and women think they’re “empowering” themselves. It’s like the bra burning of the 70′s…all you’re doing is feeding into our already over sexed, perverse culture. There IS something to be said for modesty….we have gone too far the other way.
@ Jenny: It’s not about showing your breasts. It’s about being able to feed your baby comfortably when you need to. I’m terrified to do it myself because of people like you. Shame on you. If a man is getting a kick out of MAYBE getting a glimpse of a breast for a moment while the baby latches on and then seeing a baby eat in the way nature intended, then he probably has bigger issues. My baby won’t let me cover her. I’m really trying to come up with creative ways to feed her in public without having to go hide in a bathroom or a dressing room. You shouldn’t have to go hide to feed your baby.
love it angela!
@Jenny, I think something is wrong with anyone male or female who finds feeding at the breast to be sexual. I have proudly breastfed two children in public. I cover up with a blanket or nursing cover when I have one with me but if my child is hungry or needs comfort and I don’t have a cover I will, as discreetly as possible allow baby to latch on. Most of the time while babies are at the breast you see much less skin than many of the current fashions allow to be seen. We were brought into the world naked and intended to be naked until the original sin. We were also intended to breastfeed, so why is it so many people make it such a big deal? I am a modest women, but if it weren’t for others discomfort I would gladly always breastfeed without a cover.
Agreed. Thank you for speaking up for the modesty and discretion that our culture so severely lacks!
I have to agree with Emily. None of my kids liked being covered, but you know what? They learned that that’s how it was. Eventually they came to associate the cover with nursing and would even bring it to me when they were hungry. And even if you don’t use a cover, there are ways to be modest and not expose yourself.
Exposing ourselves in public is not empowering, it just makes us think that at the expense of others. Should we be able to nurse in public? Most definitely yes! Should we go out of our way to make others uncomfortable? No. My children and husband can understand that this is how a baby eats without seeing another woman’s breasts every time we go out. There are ways to be discreet.
I do not use a cover- I refuse to. But when I do breastfeed, his head and my shirt basically covers everything. So anyone that is offended or “sees” something, is staring way to hard. They have every right to turn their head, walk away, our put a blanket over THEIR head!
No one is saying that you have to “expose” yourself when breastfeeding in this article! They are just promoting “Public Breastfeeding Day”-not pop out your boobies to show the world day! Breastfeeding is the way nature intended us to feed our children. What is shameful about that? NOTHING! My son hates to be covered, but we do in public because of the looks/stares, and general reaction of the public. Why is breastfeeding considered so unnatural in public, but women can whip a bottle out and no one bats an eye? This day is intended to help shed the light that breastfeeding is normal, natural way to feed your child and you shouldn’t have to feel ashamed/embarrased, etc. about doing so! I will proudly be breastfeeding in public on August 15th! And my son is 21 mos. old!
It’s unfortunate that we as a society have sexualized the breast to such an extreme. In many European cultures, seeing an exposed breast, whether during breastfeeding or otherwise, is not a big deal. But in our extremist culture, there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground for the utilitarian purpose of feeding an infant. I think it’s fantastic to continue to raise awareness and promote breastfeeding, but understanding our culture for what it is, it’s finding that compromise that will ultimately do more for the cause than, as Willowprincess states, making others uncomfortable. I am still nursing my 11 month-old son, and have never had any qualms about doing so in public, but I have always covered up. It is my personal choice, though I support those who choose to do otherwise as well. When we were out at a restaurant, for example, I would wear a scarf (during the winter) and nurse my son. Everyone was aware of what I was doing, but I didn’t make a big deal out of it, and neither did they. I think I would have received many uncomfortable stares had I not made an effort on my part. I never felt I needed to ‘make a statement’ about my way of feeding my child, it is just our normal. Yes, it would be nice to not have our culture so uptight when it comes to seeing a breast, maybe someday we will get there. But until then, baby steps! It is wonderful that so many women are getting the support they need to breastfeed, hopefully that support will only grow.
I think that this is fantastic. I have been afraid to feed my daughter in public because she hates being covered. She’ll pull anything off that I put over her. I have learned that, at least where I live, most people don’t pay any attention. I try to keep myself covered, but I avoid covering her. Who cares if you can tell I’m feeding my baby? Is it WRONG for her to eat? If it makes you uncomfortable to know that she’s eating, you’re nuts and you don’t have to look. The thought of my nipple being in her mouth shuld be no more disturbing than knowing that everyone has them and that they’re inside of a bra or shirt or swimsuit. Men show their nipples with nothing said. I think that if your look at i like breast feeding is gross, you’re the one with the problem. Women shouldn’t be ashamed to feed their babies. People who don’t support breastfeeding should be ashamed for being such a bunch of synthetic loving yuppies.
i have very large breasts and i can see why someone wouldn’t want to see me whipping it out, but at the same time it is INCREDIBLY hard for me to whip it out under a blanket, i have to literally cover my entire head to make sure not one are we covered, but that lil Lux gets a good latch. my family thinks its pretty funny, but it is just annoying. in one instance i do not want to expose myself, but in another it is way too much work just to throw my little girl on my breast. and i agree with samantha, Lux doesn’t like her upper body to be covered while feeding. so its kinda a problem if i wanted to cover up. at my doctor’s office and my dental office all the employees were very nice and let me have a room to myself. it isn’t that i don’t want to breast feed in public, i just like a nice quiet spot to have some one on one time with my precious little girl.
i think i should be able to breastfeed where ever i like, but i also think that the people who don’t want to see it, have the right to not see it. that is why i like to do it in a secluded spot, just me and lux.
i think the ideal of all moms breastfeeding in public is great, and i feel that the stigma is what keeps a lot of moms from breastfeeding. and we all know that breast milk is wonderful for the developing baby!
i will support breastfeeding in public, and hopefully i will remember to show my support!
I see the United States as the only country so behind on breats feeding. I have been to Mexico, Europe, and other Latin American countries, and I ‘ve seen moms breast feeding everywhere. It’s so normal over there. Even my Asian friends tell me the same thing. I can’t believe it’s 2012 and breast feeding is still being promoted as a new discovery, and that mom’s have to get together a certain day so we can make public breast feeding be accepted as a normal practice. That’s crazy! I don’t understand our culture. Celebrities wear dresses that show a lot. We see cleavage – boobs on TV all the time. Most movies show nudity. Oh and don’t forget Spring Break or ball games where is ok to flash. Also there is nothing wrong with wearing a really small swimsuit and surgical breats implants are like so cool. But OMG, breast feeding in public is such a crime or viewed as so wrong, nasty, and gross. Really? give me a break. What is wrong with some American people… Sigh -__-
I’ve said the same thing before. I don’t understand it either, America needs to grow up and get over it. No Breastfeeding mother is trying to hit on your man or arouse anyone, they just want to share the most natural gift God or evolution( which ever way you see it) gave them to their baby. And I don’t understand how hospitals are gunna push Breastfeeding and lock away formula when you still have small minded people in America. More education is what women need. It makes me sad when females are the ones the most offended by seeing a boob, heaven forbid!
Honestly, to me this sounds more like a cry for revenge than empowering women. Just because you may be asked to be a little discret or modest doesnt mean a day of public exposure is warranted. I am an exclusive pumper, and sometimes I get dirty looks when I go to the restroom to pump; and we all KNOW ppl wouldnt appreciate me pumping at a restuarant dinner table… But you dont see me crying about it. Personally, seeing someone breastfeeding on the bench, outside, at the mall makes me uncomfortable. It’s awkward. I guess i just dont understand what’s so horrible about being discret or modest? I dont support breastfeeding, i support breastMILK. It’s the milk that matters, not the method.
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Um, I live in Florida. Thank heavens you can’t force me to put a blanket over my poor baby’s head.