Breastfeeding
magdusia
member
Breastfeeding in uniform drama..
magdusia
member
Since the TIME magazine, others are showing their support for breastfeeding, including women in uniform and of course there are a ton of negative comments and how it's a disgrase to the uniform.
the actual blog - https://breastfeedingincombatboots.com/
Kudos to the breastfeeding military moms.
and kudos to the bottle feeding military moms!
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Re: Breastfeeding in uniform drama..
Ugh. How is feeding a hungry child ever considered controversial?! I'm so over the ignorance. Of course women should be "allowed" to feed their children. Children don't understand politics. And if bottle-feeding in uniform is allowed, well then that's discrimination, plain and simple.
Hmm. I'm not sure how I feel about this, to be honest. I'm military myself, and I EBF, but I don't think I'd ever do it in uniform. The instances where I have to BF my daughter while in uniform are very, very, very rare - I think it only happened once so far, and then I nursed in the car.
The only time I'm in uniform is when I'm in a work environment - so a professional, military environment. If you were at the office with your baby, you wouldn't just sit down and whip out a boob, would you?
Yes, I would nurse my son if he needed to, regardless of where I was. In fact, in the past when I have traveled for work my DH and DS have come with me so that I could continue to BF. This means that I have often nursed him within close to proximity to colleagues, and other individuals in my field of study.
Also, I'm not sure about the other ladies on this board, but I rarely "whip out a boob". It is very easy to nurse while being discrete, even without a cover.
i probably would, but i would use a hooder hider, just like i do now. BUT -i think just like with TIME, this was just to make a point, and i doubt these women actually do every feeding in uniform outside. Again -just to make a point. But what bothers me are the comments made on her blog about it. All the negative towards breastfeeding in general.
I think all types of working women feed while in uniform - whether it is the business suit, scrubs or military uniform. Rarely do they have their photo taken for a blog / magazine. I think that this was just to create buzz and generate support for breastfeeding moms. I think the military uniform is challenging, because I know there are certain regulations about what can or cannot be done in uniform, and some of it is as basic as chew gum! I do not think that breastfeeding in military uniform should be considered disrespecting the uniform, just saying that I understand where some of the negative reactions are coming from. Keep in mind, I'm not military, so I have no idea what all the rules and regulations are.
Regardless, I do think it is great that these moms are showing that women of all kinds can breastfeed.
I don't see how anyone who is not in the military gets to comment negatively on what military personnel do. You may not agree with the politics or policies but if you don't have anything good to say then don't say it. In general if you say anything to a person in the military it should be 'Thank you.'
Didn't we just celebrate memorial day? To these moms it should be 'Thank you for spending time away from your families to keep us safe.'
I tend to agree with you. It's not professional for me to bring my baby to work and, if I did, I would nurse in my office. Not in a meeting, even with a hooter hider. But, coming to/from work while I'm dressed for work ... I'd do it in a heart beat.
DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
Actually, I did. For a year my DS1 came with me to work, and I nursed him at work. I always used a cover, but I even talked with clients while nursing, and nursed once when I was tutoring an adult student too!
I asked H if he found the photo offensive (he's Army) and he said that while the photo isn't offensive to him, he finds it unprofessional. We talked a bit more about it and agreed that its too much to ask to require a BFing mom to change out of her uniform to feed her child...but taking that photograph (with partial breast exposed) sort of crossed the line. It IS meant to catch attention, as are the photos of same-sex servicemembers engaged in heavy PDS at a homecoming, but that sort of attention-grabbing material is in fact unprofessional and unnecessary.
Andplusalso, whoever thinks that BFing in uniform is equivalent to pulling down your pants and taking a dump in the middle of the road needs to smack themselves in the forehead...many, many times.