Hi Everyone,
Ever since I saw this picture, I've been thinking about fashion designers, manufacturers and retailers and how they influence how we dress, eat, drink and indeed how long we breastfeed our infants....
A few years ago the picture of a standing child (toddler) breastfeeding would have been shocking, confronting and even indecent...still is to many.
There is copious medical evidence to substantiate the value of prolonged feeding to the health of our infants, and still mothers are judged by some for doing what they deem best for their child.
I personally recall sitting at a cafe discreetly feeding my eighteen month old child and having a middle aged man stare at me and pointedly move his chair to face his back to me.
Now, I'm pretty confident as a mother and within myself but I felt that touch of embarrassment, shame and anger creeping in at his obvious ignorance and intended rudeness. Fortunately I was with someone who reaffirmed with me my rights around these issues...what a blessing a good strong friend is :)
With this in mind, it's interesting to me that one retailer in a trendy European maternity boutique (above pic) has chosen to make this statement in a store window and it's flying around the internet to great acclaim. It would seem that there is a shift toward public acceptance of breastfeeding.
Maybe now that it's becoming fashionable to breastfeed, this will become the accepted norm, and our society will actively encourage mothers to nourish their children in this way, for as long as they wish.
We can but hope....
Talk Soon, Cynthia x
