DADADEL
Breastfeeding, despite being completely natural, is still a subject of debate. Some people believe that when breastfeeding in public, the baby’s head needs to be covered at all times.
The amount of coverage for a breastfeeding baby can be affected by various factors, including weather. One mother, Melanie Gibson Dudley, defies the norm.
During her Cabo San Lucas vacation with her family, including her infant, Dudley faced an unexpected encounter with a member of her group.
While dining with her group, Dudley’s baby needed to be fed. Despite the hot weather, the Texan mother breastfed as she normally does, with a blanket covering her child.
She said for GMA: “It was 95 degrees, humid and my back was toward the restaurant. I was feeding my baby — covered — and it was extremely hot and sticky. I said to myself, ‘forget this, I’m taking this thing off.’ A man within our party said I needed to cover up because they did not want to see my exposed breast. I was speechless and told my husband to hand me my cover and I put it over my head as a sarcastic gesture.”
Dudley’s mother-in-law’s friend found the mom’s funny photo amusing and shared it on Facebook. Within no time, the photo went viral, receiving thousands of praises from other mothers.
The woman wrote in her post: “A friend’s daughter-in-law was told to ‘cover up’ while feeding her baby, so she did! I’ve never met her, but I think she’s AWESOME!!! (Please share! With permission, I’ve made this post public — I’m SO over people shaming women for nursing!!! [PS: To reduce speculation: it was a man who asked her to cover up, it was 90 degrees and extremely humid, and, no, she wasn’t in a Muslim country disrespecting traditions.”
The post has been shared over 223,000 times!
Dudley believes the post received extensive attention since “it’s a subject that strikes a chord with many women, and they’re exhausted of it being a topic of debate,” she told GMA.
She said to encourage other moms: “Keep doing what you believe is best for you and your baby. I believe the larger message is to support nursing mothers, whether they choose to cover or not.”
What are your thoughts on the public breastfeeding debate? Share your opinions in the comments below.
