Personal Narrative: The Suckle Of Life

The Suckle of Life The first time I saw someone breastfeeding in public I was twelve years old. My family had traveled to Billings to spend the day at the Montana State Fair and meet up with my aunt and her family. My aunt had recently had a baby, so around lunch time we all sat down to eat, and naturally my aunt started feeding her new son. I couldn’t help but stare because she had this innocent person hidden under a blanket. At the time the temperature had risen into the upper nineties, so I could barely wrap my mind around the thought of having to eat and breathe under a stifling blanket. I just couldn’t make sense of the situation. My aunt noticed my staring and explained that she didn’t want to make anyone at the fair uncomfortable. For years women have been covering themselves up or scurrying off to the bathroom to feed …show more content…
“There are countless newspaper reports of women being shunned, harassed and even ejected from public places for nursing a hungry baby” (Matherne). Mothers should not be harassed for feeding their babies when they are hungry. They shouldn’t be made to feel as though what they are doing is wrong in any way. It is sad to think that “The social stigma against breastfeeding in public prevents many women from even attempting to breastfeed their children” (Matherne). Breastfeeding has been proven to be the best way for mothers to feed their children, but many shy away from it because of the way society reacts because of the stigmatization of breastfeeding in public. Even in private mothers choose not to breastfeed because society views it as wrong and this view makes mothers anxious to feed their babies the best way possible. “Anxiety about breastfeeding in public certainly shouldn’t be a barrier to breastfeeding in general...as a society we need to help new mothers feel comfortable in feeding their babies wherever and whenever they need to” (New