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Subscribe to RSSBeyonce fed her baby! In public! This might not seem like earth-shattering news, but since the superstar was spotted breastfeeding 7-week-old Blue Ivy Carter at New York City restaurant Sant Ambroeus, she has generated praise from moms and experts alike.
"It's really important to normalize breastfeeding," says Jill Wodnick, M.A., breastfeeding educator and Community Doula Coordinator for the Hudson Perinatal Consortium in N.J., who believes that every woman should feel comfortable feeding her baby in public.
When you have a newborn, it can feel like they're constantly hungry, and that's because they are! "A baby's digestive system is considered immature; a newborn baby's stomach is the size of a marble," says Wodnick. So, if you're taking your baby out of the house -- to a restaurant or wherever -- you're going to have to feed her at some point, because she digests the small amount of nourishment she can take in at a time so quickly. Feeding an infant frequently, says Wodnick, is developmentally appropriate and critical to that baby's developing brain.
"When you follow your baby's feeding cues, you're really setting up her brain for the rest of her life," says Wodnick, adding that breastfeeding lowers your baby's chances of developing asthma, diabetes, eczema, ear infections, obesity and heart disease, among other health benefits. You also reap health benefits when you breastfeed your baby, from lowering your risk of certain cancers to helping your body heal post-childbirth.
In fact, the American Association of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding (if possible) for about the first six months of a baby's life, followed by in combination with food until at least 12 months. They also urge pediatricians and other health care professionals to assist women and children in the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding as a health issue, not just a lifestyle choice.
That being said, it's OK to feel a little shy! "I really honor that someone feels shy about breastfeeding in public," Wodnick says. "I would never tell someone, 'just don't feel modest!'"
Wodnick says it's important to remember that "this is how mammals feed their babies." And, she points out, "It's very easy to discreetly feed your baby... You really don't see a nipple or areola when a baby is breastfeeding." In fact, she says, "You see more of women's bodies standing in a supermarket line looking at tabloids that you do when you see a human baby eating human milk!"
It's perfectly understandable to feel a little self-conscious, but if you keep these tips from Wodnick in mind, you can become more comfortable with making like Beyonce and feeding your baby when she needs to be fed, paparazzi or not!
1. Learn to recognize and follow your baby's feeding cues. If you are a mom who feels modest or shy, it's that much more important to understand and follow your baby's feeding cues, says Wodnick. "It's easier to latch a baby that's regulated," she says -- a baby, that is, who doesn't have to cry and cry to get fed. A "disregulated" baby in a crying frenzy, Wodnick explains, will have a harder time latching because of the position of his tongue muscle. "A regulated baby who is giving you cues like putting his hands in his mouth or licking his lips or bobbing his head is going to latch and breastfeed more easily, with less fuss," she says.
2. Take a little extra coverage with you. From the Hooter Hider to the My Breast Friend coverups sold at Walmart, there are tons of ponchos and cloths made especially for breastfeeding modesty. But remember, says Wodnick, "There's not that much to cover up!" A simple scarf will do the trick just as well.
3. Get mother-to-mother support. Wodnick says the more you breastfeed in public, the more comfortable you'll be with it. She highly recommends finding a mothers' group to join, like your local La Leche nursing support group, where you can connect with other breastfeeding moms.
4. Let your loved ones be your champions. "People in your life can be guardians of your space," Wodnick says, so share with your family and close friends why breastfeeding is important not only your baby's health but to your own, and how they can help you feel more comfortable when you need to feed your baby around them.
Finally, speaking of your health...
5. Remember that breastfeeding is good for YOU, too. Breastfeeding not only reduces your risk of breast and ovarian cancer, Wodnick says it's an important part of your physical recovery from childbirth. It also helps prevent postpartum depression, increases maternal-infant and attachment and has been shown to help melt off baby weight.
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Good for her! Her baby was hungry and she fed her. That is how nature works best...listen to baby's cues and give her the best nutrition she will ever have in her life. It's nice to see this and I hope one day it won't make the news because it will be the norm here in the US as it is already in some countries. Many more babies are fed in public than most people realize because when mom gets used to it nothing shows anyway. If it did for a moment as mom adjusts herself it still wouldn't be as much as you see in the mall or on a beach. :)
Breast feeding is done in public all over the World and is natural and beautiful.
Absolutely! I'm no Beyonce fan, but I 100% applaud her for feeding her baby when she needed to be fed and not retreating to a bathroom to do it. As a new mom myself, also breastfeeding my child, I completely appreciate that she is doing what is natural to do. Hopefully this will help promote the fact that breastfeeding is natural, and beautiful, and is nothing gross and disgusting!
Lucky baby! Yeah, I said it. I'm a guy!
Yes, very nice. I breastfed in public and no one hassled me, but that was in Los Angeles. I also was discreet and used a soft baby blanket as a drape. Nice role modeling Beyonce, keep it up!
Good for Beyonce! I breast fed all 4 of my kids in public, in 83, 86, 88, & 91! No one ever objected! However, I have owned a child care center for the last 15 years, and have had objections from parents over teachers, breast feeding their child in the classroom. My stance is, if you don't like it, take your child elsewhere!
It's natural AND the right thing to do!
This just drives me nuts. Generations of people were raised on formula and turned out just fine! There is no reason to pressure a new mother into breastfeeding if they don't want to do it.
If a new mom doesn't want to, her milk will not come in and it is a moot point
So nobody is forcing anybody! But I think the point is mother's have the right to be educated on the benefits of breastfeeding and also to feel culturally supported in breastfeeding. Maybe generations of people turned out "just fine" being on formula, but they were sicker as babies. Research has shown that breastfed babies get sick less often, and they are smarter. Breastfeeding increased IQ by an average of 7 IQ points (one for every month breastfed up to 7 months). Plus many other benefits for both mother and baby.
No they didn't. statistically they had higher rates of cancers (mom's and children when they reached adulthood), obesity, diabetes, asthma, and everything else. so yeah, if you can you owe it to yourself and your child. In any case no one said anything about pressuring a new mother, like a vaginal probe to pressure a woman into not having an abortion. So you're just another guy voicing an uninformed opinion about something you know nothing about. go back to listening to Rush Limbaugh, if he's still on the air.
I'll have you know that I'm a woman, thank-you-very-much, and even though I am not expecting a child I have friends who have complained that their doctors are trying to pressure them into breast-feeding.
I'm not against women who want to breast-feed, I'm against a culture that says you're a bad parent if you decide not to.
They do recommend breastfeeding, but I don't think they're pushy abt it. But yea, I don't think women should be made to feel bad if they don't want to or cannot breastfeed. Breastfeeding is very demanding, not everyone wants to or can do it.
I physically can't breastfeed, and when I had my daughter the lactation consultant's where always stopping by asking me to try. It's obnoxious. Knowing full well I cannot breastfeed, they still called me weekly to ask if I would like to try. Really??!
I will admit, it was fun messing with them. The looks on thier faces when they saw my daughter with a pacifier or drinking from a Similac nursette was pure gold.
Oh, how humorous it is to see someone who has more concern for a baby than the mother herself. What is pure gold is the amount of money you will be spending on formula, doctor visits. That is of course unless you are roaching off of the government... then it's MY pure gold=\
Are they also trying to "pressure" their patients into not smoking, or eating a balanced diet, exercising, or making other positive health choices ? How awful of them.
From a strictly medical stand point, and really common sense, the healthiest thing to do is breast feed the kid. Yes, there are situations where formula is a must. If mom's milk doesn't come in, well, formula is a good alternative, but it's not as good. We are designed to feed our children that way, it's natural, and evolutionarily speaking, there is a reason we're supposed to. Mommy can produce way better proteins, pass on important immunological complexes, and baby is designed to accept and process her milk the best. Plus, with mom's milk, there is less chance of allergic reaction because baby's body will recognize mom's products as being good and useful. This is not always the case with formula. It's processed, powdered, and synthetic. These three things aren't great for adults - yes they can sustain us but aren't optimal- so why would they be awesome for baby? It just doesn't make sense. I'm not bashing mom's who have to use formula, but breast feeding really does give kiddo the best chance and isn't that sort of the goal? Give kid best chance at being healthy and happy? I personally am pro-breast feeding, because I've had to deal with allergic reactions in an infant. Not fun, let me tell ya.
Plus, moms, like the article said. Breast feeding is great for your body too. Your body just went through a major event and it takes time to heal up nicely. The biochemicals that your body releases when stimulated by baby breast feeding do all sorts of wonderful things for mom's body. For example, say you didn't make it to the hospital in time and you end up having baby with the paramedics instead of a doc. Baby is fine, but you're bleeding heavily and they can't stop it. Among other things and assuming there isn't some reason why your breast milk would be toxic to the baby, they're going to hand you the baby and tell you to breast feed. This is because the baby breast feeding stimulates this lovely chemical oxytocin to be released which will help your uterus contract and help quell the bleeding. See, benefits all around!
Again, formula is necessary in a lot of different cases, but it's not optimal. If you can breast feed, you probably should - for both your health and the baby's.
No reason? I can think of 50.
Awesome she did it right! If you do it right, no-one sees anything. I nursed my daughter for 2.5 years (last year was only at home, nighttime), but never got "caught" feeding her in public. OK, once by a security guard at Sam's, so I flashed him and he realized it was a baby in my shirt, not a case of soda.
I breast fed all 3 of my children for at least the first six months of their lives. The only person who ever had anything to say negatively about it was my father. The first and only time that I fed my eldest, (now age 31 years), while visiting my parents at their house, I was very discreet about it, but my father got up and stomped out of the room all the while mumbling about how "slutty"I was behaving. It absolutely broke my heart and damaged our relationship beyond repair. Things were never the same between us after that and he never really had a relationship with any of my children, either. They did not need that sort of a negative person in their lives.
Tiger, I'm so sorry you had to hear such hurtful things from your own father for doing probably the least "slutty" thing imaginable. You are right; neither you nor your precious children should be around such awful negativity and misogyny.
Awesome! Good for her! Discreet public breastfeeding is completely normal! You see more with a bikini or a very low cut top than you do with discreet breastfeeding.
Yes!!!! You rock, Beyonce!! And so does her husband, Jay-Z, for supporting her in this. Support of family is crucial for breastfeeding success. I am proud to say I was a La Leche League leader for three years in the 1980s, and I always give a word of support to women who bfeed their babies. My daughter breastfed twins for two years, and they are big, healthy boys.
No one's 'pushing' breastfeeding--doctors promote it because it's a species-specific food for infants. You don't see cows giving their calves human milk, right?!
Why do you have to be like Beyonce. Why isn't it about being a MOTHER. I have four kids and I breast fed all my kids. That's the main reason for them(breast). I fed my kids at the park, on the bus, the mall, in the car and even the school. When a child is hungry your suppose to feed them. It has nothing to do with being a SINGER OR MOVIE STAR ....IT MEANS SHE'S A MOTHER TAKING CARE OF HER CHILD'S NEEDS. CAN'T YOU FIND A REAL STORY
But Kimberly, that is the sure-fire way for the media to get the attention of the simpletons who have such boring pathetic lives that they need a celebrity to tell them how to live.
@Kimberly, it's a nice story, when so many people have horrible things to say when a mother breast feeds her babies. If only one girl, decides to breastfeed her children, because she read this story, then it's worth it...
I had my first child in the 80s and was taught how to cover up before I ever even had the baby. I did it all the time, even in my own living room alone. It wasn't at all difficult and I think it kind of give the baby a little cocoon to be in and nothing distracted him from the task at hand. I had 4 kids, breast fed all of them and always just covered up with a baby blanket, no big deal. Why pay for formula when you can fed two for one!
And I did the same thing in the early 70's, and no one ever once noticed. Now....do you want to know WHY no one noticed? Back then, we CARRIED our babies. We didn't have carseats that converted into baby carriers, and we carried our kids in our arms. Infants sleeping soundly in moms arms while she shopped was a common sight. It was also common to toss a lightweight blanket over the baby, to keep the change in light from waking it as you walked, and as a bit of a noise barrier. It also made the perfect breastfeeding shield, and although few women my age now admit it, IF yu breastfed, you breastfed in public as the norm. The fact that no one knew it did not in any way mean we didn't do it. We just didn't talk about it LOL, mostly because it was no one's business what we were doing.
And THIS was back in the days when breastfeeding was discouraged!
Looking at both my baby book and my husband's from the early 60s, it appears doctors were encouraging breastfeeding even then. I've heard all my life that it was best for mothers and babies alike. What am I missing? I know early weaning was common, but was it ever really discouraged? I meet a lot of people who seem to genuinely believe that formula is just as good as mothers milk and I wonder where they get this.
My mother had 3 boys before she had me, and she said she WAS discouraged from breast feeding them, and when she had me she INSISTED on breast feeding, and that was the 1950's. She said they fed babies canned milk, I think Carnation evaporated milk, something crazy like that.
My children were born in late 80's and early 90's and breast feeding was encouraged, obviously we know a lot more about health and nutrition than they did in the 50's!
Plop it out, pop it in. Simple as that.
The only people who hang-ups about breast-feeding in public are the same people who listen to Rush Limburger and the other right-wing, fear-mongers this nation - this world - would be better off without.
Some of the outdated precepts we, as a society, cling to so tightly, waving our bibles at and crying about simply astonish me. Breast-feeding is one such example, but even more basic than that:
If my 50-some year old neighbor decides it's too hot while out mowing HIS grass and sheds his shirt, no one thinks twice about it. But if a woman were to do the same, it would be a scandal! It's a pathetic double standard, originally created by THE SAME PEOPLE who make their women go about in public in what is little more than cloth sack with an eye-slit. Yes, I'm talking about middle-eastern terrorists.
And if you actually support this double standard, or attempt to rationalize it, you're no different than Osama bin Ladin himself.
Excellent!
Everyone Benefits
There are many breastfeeding benefits for babies, mothers, and society. Babies who are breastfed receive health and immune system, developmental, psychological, social, economic, and environmental benefits. Research indicates that women who breastfeed may have lower rates of certain breast and ovarian cancers. Society also benefits because breastfeeding yields health care savings, less missed work and less environmental waste.
Here are just a few reasons to encourage breastfeeding:
FOR BABY:
Breast milk contains antibodies that can protect infants from bacterial and viral infections, such as diarrhea, lower respiratory infection, ear infections, bacteremia, bacterial meningitis, botulism, urinary tract infection, and necrotizing enterocolitis.
Breast milk is the most complete form of nutrition for infants. A mother's milk has just the right amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that is needed for a baby's growth and development.
Breastfed babies score slightly higher on IQ tests, especially babies who were born pre-maturely.
Most babies find it easier to digest breast milk than they do formula.
Breastfed infants tend to gain less unnecessary weight and tend to be leaner. This may result in being less overweight later in life.
FOR MOM:
Breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and possibly the risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis after menopause.
Nursing uses up extra calories, making it easier to lose the pounds of pregnancy.
It helps the uterus to get back to its original size and lessens bleeding a woman may have after giving birth.
Breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, delays the return of normal ovulation and menstrual cycles. (You should still talk with your doctor or nurse about birth control choices.)
You do not have to purchase, measure, and mix formula. There is no need to warm bottles in the middle of the night.
Breastfeeding can help a mother bond with her baby. Physical contact is important to newborns and can help them feel more secure, warm and comforted. Breastfeeding mothers may have increased self-confidence and feelings of closeness with their infants.
FOR SOCIETY:
Breastfeeding saves on health care costs. Total medical care costs for the nation are lower for fully breastfed infants than never-breastfed infants since breastfed infants typically need fewer sick care visits, prescriptions, and hospitalizations.
Breastfeeding contributes to a more productive workforce. Breastfeeding mothers miss less work, as their infants are sick less often. Employer medical costs also are lower and employee productivity is higher.
Breastfeeding is better for our environment because there is less trash and plastic waste compared to that produced by formula cans and bottle supplies.
Need I say more?
One thing that was helpful to me as a new mom to breastfeed in public was to try it in front of a mirror at home. That way I could see with my own eyes just how little is exposed (and that only briefly).
Anywhere that it is appropriate to feed a child from a bottle or use a pacifier is an appropriate place to breastfeed a child.
It's funny how people who are defensive about using formula always say how "it's just as good, it's equal" but if a mother wants to nourish her child in public, then "breastfeeding is too special to do around others".
wats the big deal???? here in africa, it is a common sight and nothing to gape at or go wild about.
Pulleeeeeeeeeeeeez! Bottle fed babies can go much longer between feedings than a breast fed baby can. I for one do not like to see a woman breast feeding in public and I'm a woman. If we lived in Sub-Saharan Africa where the food and water supply can be iffy, breast feeding is the best choice for feeding a baby. The formulas available in the US and western Europe are perfectly fine for a newborn. Many new mothers are made to feel less than capable if they do not breast feed these days and are told breast feeding strengthens the baby's immune system. That's a bunch of hooey. Regardless of a mothers choice, lets go back to keeping breast feeding something one does in private.