Why I Ditched the Nursing Cover

I have now joined the ranks of Supposedly Indecent Moms-- more about why in a minute. But first I will sing the praises of nursing covers.They gave me the confidence to breastfeed in public as a first-time mom. They are pretty handy as an impromptu blanket or changing pad. And of course, they are tons of fun for this WAHM to sew and sell!

And apparently, they give Adam super powers.

I think nursing covers are a very useful tool for helping moms nurse confidently in public if they are uncomfortable with the possibility of flashing some boob or being confronted by someone who is offended by biology. It is a sad fact that many women quit breastfeeding or don't even try at all because nursing in public is too intimidating, so I am all in favor of anything that helps women overcome that barrier.

But in my breastfeeding journey, I am now at the point where I want to look beyond my personal success and help create a culture where breastfeeding anywhere, anytime, is acceptable. I believe one of the ways to normalize breastfeeding in Western culture is to stop hiding behind little tents every time Junior needs to eat. As Banned from Baby Showers points out, "it is obvious that you are hiding it [breastfeeding], so by the very nature of the hiding behavior, it must be shameful or embarrassing." I believe that nourishing one's child the way God intended it; the way Mary fed Jesus; the way that the majority of humanity feeds their young; is not shameful or disgusting. Nourishment and sexuality are two sides of the same coin where breasts are concerned, and Western culture is way off-kilter in how it hyper-embraces one side and gets majorly creeped out by the other.

So I don't care at all who uses a nursing cover; I realize that it is tied strongly to how our culture is all weirded out by breastfeeding. If you are using a cover, I applaud you! You are nursing your baby, which is much more important than how or where. The reason I nurse without a cover in public is in the hope that one day, after seeing breastfeeding done in a very normal, matter-of-fact manner, the general public will accept nursing as the norm enough so that moms don't feel like they need to cover up. And I'm not gonna lie; nursing has been a lot easier for me now that I'm not wrestling with a nursing cover and trying to do it blind!


Anyways, here is a scandalous little gallery of mommas feeding their babies without cover-ups. Enjoy!

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Taken August 4th, in case you were wondering.