Nursing

For quite a while now, I have been working on a nursing shawl that would enable the mom to nurse in public and yet be able to see what her infant was doing while nursing. As I was working on the design, I started recalling all the debates over nursing in public; even the debates about how long to nurse.

I remember with my first child trying to find private spaces to nurse. When a baby is hungry, what are you to do? Deny the child food because the public may view the act of nursing as inappropriate to be done in private only? Stay home for the duration of your nursing time...that could be months to years! I remember rushing into restrooms with a screaming baby because there wasn't a chair in the grocery store for me to sit on. Just imagine sitting on a toilet (with santitary sheets on it of course), but trying to get your body to decide what part of you was to have a "let down" - your bowels or your breasts! For mom's who haven't nursed yet, a "let down" is when your body/mind tells your breasts to release milk down the milk ducts for the infant to drink. I remember thinking to myself how degrading this was [ie. nursing in a bathroom].

With baby number 2, I got a little bolder. In the grocery store, I would find a corner to sit down in... in the aisle if necessary; or I would nurse in my car; or anywhere I could sit. I started realizing that the act of nursing wasn't the act of "exposing" myself. It was the act of nourishing and bonding with my child. I kept my head down because several of the stares I had received while gazing about brought my milk production to a dead halt!

With baby number 3, well I not only got bolder, but could have cared less where I nursed - as long as I was comfortable and if I had forgotten my blanket to "cover" myself... "oh well, look if you want, but you're not going to find much of interest to see!"

And finally, baby number 4, I could nurse sitting, standing, walking, dancing, doing a head stand if I wanted to. And if you thought I could have cared less with baby number 3, you would have been shocked by baby number 4. I came to realize that it was not my insecurities about my body and the beauty of nursing that was the problem - it was people's perception of the act of nursing. The view that nursing in some way was sexual or obscene or some sort of exposure that I needed to impose on the public was no longer my burden to bear!

First, I would never want to expose myself for the public to view; I have too much respect for myself and my body. Second, the act of nursing is natural; it has been part of mankind and "animal-kind" since the inception of both. It is time to re-evalute our priorities and to me our priorities in a child's life begin at birth. It is true that nursing is not always easy and it is often tiresome, but its benefits are felt for a lifetime between not just the mother, but the infant. Whether, you nurse for a minute or a year, the benefits are immeasurable.

Having said all this and now as I turn back to the shawl I am designing, I am thinking... am I being hypocritical for designing such a thing? On one hand, I feel the answer would be yes; why cover oneself and one's infant in an act that God had intended for us to pursue and endeavor in. On the other hand, we are in a society that is not evolving as quickly in its perception of nursing as I would hope. So, I guess I have to weigh two options - scrap the project or continue it because it may ensure the mom's sense of comfort and hence, ensure their desire to continue nursing - even in public.