Nervous About Breastfeeding in Public?
Anxious about breastfeeding in public? We know the feeling!
Many of us feel nervous about breastfeeding in public, especially in the early days. The important thing to remember is that nursing our little ones and feeling nervous about it are both completely natural human behaviours.
As this is a topic close to many of our hearts, we’ve asked Keira O’Mara, creator of the breastfeeding Mama Scarf and the force behind the Mama Designs brand, to give us her top tips on nursing your baby when out and about…
“I was nervous about breastfeeding in public when I was pregnant and before I had done it for the first time. There are some easy things that you can do to give you more confidence when breastfeeding in public for the first time.
The Mama Scarf designed by Keira O’Mara.
- Take someone with you! Taking a friend, mum or partner with you is a great idea. It is always good to have moral support. I breastfed in public for the first time with some of my ante natal group mumsmums. It gave me much more confidence.
- Go somewhere that you know is breastfeeding friendly. A local cafe/coffee shop where mums gather is often your best bet as it is a safe environment.
- Plan your route ahead. It is always best to feed your baby before they start screaming to be fed.
- Sit out of the way at a corner table. Until you feel more confident, this is a great way to start. That way you won’t have as many people walking past you.
- Someone once advised me to breastfeed at home in front of a full length mirror. It really is a great way of showing you what can actually be seen! The answer isprobably not as much as you thought. Try it!
- Layer up your clothes, so you can cover bits of you up accordingly or use a breastfeeding cover/nursing cover like a Mamascarf. My experiences of breastfeeding were what led me to come up with the idea for Mamascarf.
Good luck! It definitely gets a bit easier every time in the early days.
Keira x”
Thank you Keira! To find out more about the Mama Scarf visit www.mamascarf.co.uk
