Becoming a mother might be the most beautiful thing most women can experience, but it is also important to note that it may be the most difficult experience too. However, just because it is difficult, does not mean that women should not take on this challenge and raise their own babies.
The advantages far outweigh any other disadvantages. When you finally get to hold your baby in your arms, you forget about any other problems or trouble in your life. However, there is one problem most new mothers have to face and that is nursing.
I’m sure that you will be constantly asking yourself whether you are feeding your child enough throughout the day, whether you eat the right foods to provide him/her with the right nutrients, and so on. Many people also believe that breastfeeding is illegal in some places, but I think that is not entirely true. In fact, I think that public nursing is widely accepted and protected by law in almost every country in the world.
In the United States, you are able to nurse your child in any state you want and you won’t have to deal with any kind of legal issue. Sure, there may be some people out there that disapprove of this kind of activity, but you won’t have to worry about them. I think it is even illegal to bother women that are nursing their children.
However, if you want to know more about the laws of nursing around the world and whether you need some tips to ensure that you are doing everything correctly then you should read through this entire article.
1. It is a completely legal
I think this is the most important point that I have to focus on to help you get that weight off your chest. Nursing at home, in public, in the supermarket, in a restaurant, or even at the airport is completely legal.
You won’t ever have to worry about a police officer bothering you about this kind of activity. Your baby needs its food and you need to provide that as quickly as possible. You can’t just leave your baby hungry because you have to get home to start nursing.
Of course, sometimes you may find yourself in situations where people will disapprove of what you’re doing, but you can just ignore them.
There are also some restaurants that do not exactly accept this kind of behavior, but I don’t think that they are illegible to kick you out for feeding your child. They can’t exactly call the police on you. Even if they did, they would be the ones in trouble.
If you want to delve deeper into this subject to ensure that you will not run into any kind of legal issue, you should consider hiring or talking with a matrimonial lawyer as suggested by Qredible.
These lawyers are well-versed into the law of mothers, newborn babies, nursing, and everything else surrounding these subjects.
2. Wear easy-access clothes
If you still feel uncomfortable taking part in this kind of activity in public, even when you do know that it is completely legal, there are some things that you could do that may give you a little bit more comfort.
Assuming that you’re planning to go out with your baby to the shopping mall, to a coffee shop, or whatever it is, I wouldn’t recommend wearing anything that will make the process of nursing more difficult. You need something loose and something that will give you easy access to your breast so you can start feeding.
For example, if you were to wear a regular shirt, nursing would be almost impossible. You’d have to take off your entire clothes just to start feeding and that does not make any kind of sense.
3. Try a nursing cover
Being semi-naked in public is not always very comfortable, but in these moments, it is inevitable. Your child is crying and you need to start feeding him/her as quickly as possible. Avoiding the situation is inevitable, it doesn’t matter how much you do not like nursing in public.
Fortunately, there is a solution for people such as you that feel uncomfortable taking off clothes outside in public.
A nursing cover is exactly what you’re looking for. It makes things easier and it covers up the baby and your breast. Keep in mind, carrying it with you can be bothersome, especially in the hot summer days, but it is quite useful.
4. You might even have special privileges
When you’re out and about with your baby, walking down the shopping mall, rolling the stroller around the park, or whatever you like to do together with your loved one, there might be special accommodations that are entirely made for mothers and their children. More specifically for breastfeeding.
I don’t exactly know whether you will be able to find this kind of accommodation in your country or state, but I do know that most states in the United States do have these places.
Shopping malls usually have at least one of these where you can just sit down in a comfortable chair in a private space where no one will bother you. If you’re unsure whether the local shopping mall has such a feature, you should probably ask around and find out.
5. Avoid confrontations
Unfortunately, if you do start to nurse in public more often, there are some chances that you might run into someone that disapproves of doing such a thing in public. Like I already said, what you are doing is completely legal and is illegal for them to bother you.
However, most of those people do not know the law and if they do continue to bother you, I would just recommend avoiding confrontation. Move to some other secluded place and forget about them. If this person keeps bothering you, I would recommend calling the police because you are protected by federal laws for breastfeeding.
As you can see, nursing in public is completely legal and within the law which means you do not have to worry about this too much.
