Hellobee Boards

Awesome! I love seeing women who are bold enough to nurse in public without a cover. I am way too shy, but good for her!

Kudos to her for not feeling like she should be ashamed of feeding her child. I nursed LO during mass all the time, always with a cover because she tolerated it. I used a cover in public at all time because she let me, but if she hadn't I would have nursed her without.

@mrsmenow: babies are all different, and if you are nursing on deman, feeding before may not work. Also, my LO was a bottle refuser so that wasn't an option for us. Nursing for us wasn't always about food anyway, more often than not, it was about comfort.

@mrsmenow: I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offend you. I was just pointing out that lots of people need to nurse their babies for reasons other than food so it may not be feasible to look at nursing before or altering the times they attend mass per your suggestions.

go mama! i was actually nursing my six week old during his christening. it was either nurse or have him scream. the priest didn't mind at all - in fact he told me that i was a great mother!

@cmomma17: I was going to respond with the exact same thing! Amen!

Many moms breastfeed at our church, they usually use a cover though, or sit in the back. Personally I dont think its an issue of people judging per se but it might distract people, Yes it is 100% natural to feed your baby but your breast is still a part of your body that you wouldnt normally expose to people so I think theres a fine line to straddle.
I was never brave enough to breast feed at church I always pumped

Mmm, I'm not.sure. I support nursing in public, and it totally doesn't bother me to see women nurse without a cover almost anywhere,but I'm not sure about the front of church during Mass. I love families at Mass, and I hate saying babies should have to be confined to the cry room, but I'm just not sure about that one. Maybe that makes me a hypocrite, I'm not sure. But if you're asking for my honest opinion, there it is.

Eta: maybe this will change when I have a fussy baby in church. Probably so. But this is where I am right now.

I really don't mean to offend anyone, though.

I remember being mightily impressed at my friend (mother of 3) who was able to breastfeed during a church service, holding the baby with one hand while she followed her next youngest around the church during the middle of a service one week - and managed the entire thing without mishap/flashing! Kudos to that mama - doing what God designed her for while Worshipping Him; surely that's just awesome

Not sure I will be *quite* so brave myself come September when our LO arrives though...

we have an awesome nursing room at our church -- it's pretty big, softly lit with couches and rocking chairs, and it's attached to the main sanctuary by a giant one sided mirror i love being in the service but able to eat my lunch/chat with the moms/AND nurse/change diapers all at once!

that said, lots of moms just nurse in the service too, so they don't have to get up and come to the room

i personally like using a cover for us because sometimes i don't wear very nursing friendly clothing to church, and also because me and LO were super clumsy breastfeeders haha.... popping off all the time! hehe

I'm pretty conservative so I would be bothered by it. But I would never say anything or get involved, I would just never do it myself.

@Arden: totally agree! I sometimes use the nursing room at the mall bc it makes me more comfy.

I breastfeed everywhere so I'm pretty liberal about the whole thing and I applaud the mom. And while I'm not religious, I love the idea that that baby is literally drinking in the love, both of his mama and his community's faith. Talk about feeding body and soul!

Good for her!

I don't think to necessarily awesome, and I don't think it's bad. It's just feeding..

The only way that this would really be a distraction to me is if she made a big scene of it. In church I would expect nursing to be discreet. Not needing a cover, just quietly done. I'd expect the same from an ff mom giving a bottle.

That's awesome! I would be thrilled to see a mom nursing during Mass.

I wish nursing in public was more accepted. There's nothing sexual about using breasts for their biological function and nothing to be ashamed of. I think breastfeeding is hard enough on its own, without all the worries of judgement for when and where you find yourself needing to feed your child.

I read a pro-breastfeeding blog about nursing in public and someone had commented that it was disgusting and she didn't want her husband and sons to see that. I hope my son is fortunate enough to learn that breasts are for nourishing babies and to have respect for women, that they're not sexual objects.

Gosh rarely do I find myself in the total minority here on the Bee but I would not have done this. I know everyone's choices are there own - but I guess I just keep thinking "would I eat in church" - like pull out a sandwich and have a meal...and the answer is a definite no. To me it has nothing to do with the cover or not (although - being honest I doubt I'll have the guts to nurse no cover in public and I doubt DH will be comfortable with me doing that either) - I guess it just seems inappropriate to eat in the middle of a church service.

Having said that - I agree with others who have said they'd rather the baby get fed than be fussy. I guess if I was her I would have left to the nursery and nursed her in there or in the restroom - our church has amazing womens restrooms. It was a couple (if I remember correctly) so the partner could have stayed with the other two boys.