Stop hiding boobs

Why are we still shaming babies who breastfeed?

You’ll forgive me if I’m a little late to this game, but I haven’t travelled much between 2019 and… well, just this last month. But I’ll make up for it by being really incensed.

The picture above was taken at the Atlanta airport. I could have taken the same one in Toronto, or Nashville — both airports that I’ve had the privilege of visiting (and spending more time than planned in, thanks for weather delays) in the past few weeks.

It’s a nursing pod.

And I want to scream.

What the hell are we doing, for the love of holy nipples?

Newsflash. Everybody eats. Including babies. Some babies, not all babies, eat straight from the boob. Which babies get to eat from a boob is none of my business. And neither is their feeding schedule. If memory is any guide, babies feed roughly 36 hours a day, and usually when it’s the least convenient.

Let me ask you a question: How would you feel if we made you go hide into a freaking pod every time you were hungry?

Do I need to add anything else?

I nursed all three of mine, and did not hide. I get that not everyone feels the same way. Breastfeeding parents who wish to be discrete have the option of finding a seat somewhere slightly out of the way and turning away from the departure gate. They can also carry a wrap, or nursing tent, as many do. I am not asking anyone to bare their nipples if they are not comfortable doing so.

What I demand is for the rest of the world to accept that nipples will be on display anywhere there are breastfeeding babies. And to normalize that, not shame them into hiding.

That is all.