Nursing in Public

It took me more than 3 months to become comfortable enough to nurse my baby outside of home. And that includes nursing baby at my parents or in-laws house.

Needless to say, this made my life very difficult, as one of the biggest advantage of breastfeeding is being able to feed baby anytime, anywhere. Being overly conscious of breastfeeding in public limits my ability to move beyond my house, as baby will need to feed every few hours. Of course, I could always opt to bring expressed breastmilk out so that I can feed baby. But what if my breasts feel engorged? That becomes yet another problem by itself.

So how did I overcome this fear? I just practised as much as I can with hooking-unhooking my nursing bra, getting comfortable with undoing my nursing clothes without showing too much skin, being comfortable with using the baby sling (so that it provides extra coverage in case baby flips open my clothes), and most of all getting confident. One of the most important things you can do as a new mother learning how to breastfeed discreetly in public is to get support. Go out with friends who are still breastfeeding so that they can demonstrate to you. Going out in numbers while breastfeeding in public for the first time can be a great morale booster.

If you do not already have friends who are able to go out with you for your first public breatfeeding experience, go and look for support groups with other breastfeeding mothers who can help you. In Singapore, there is a Yahoo Group called Asiaparents that is very pro-breastfeeding where you can arrange with other new mothers like yourself for tea so there is safety in numbers. Go to Yahoo Groups under www.yahoo.com.sg and look for asiaparents.

If you feel uncomfortable nursing your baby with someone you don't know, perhaps you can get your partner to go with you to a relatively quiet place to try it out first. In that way, you can slowly build your confidence without too much pressure trying to do it well. One important thing to remember is to try and feed baby before he/she gets too hungry. At least you won't be too flustered and baby won't be fussing too much for others to notice.

There, you have it... support and confidence for breastfeeding in public successfully.