Let's try and help normalise public breastfeeding and boost the confidence of mums and mums-to-be.!
Before I start, I would just like to say that York as a whole seems to be very breastfeeding friendly, I have never heard of any establishment here that is not a welcome space to breastfeeding mothers.
I have been running my (free) monthly breastfeeding photoshoots in York since July last year, and they have been absolutely wonderful! There were two reasons that I had wanted to start these;
1- I wanted to give breastfeeding mums the opportunity to come and have some beautiful images captured of them feeding their babies and/or children (tandem feeding mamas exist and they are superheroes!) and to be able to give them a keepsake image memory of their breastfeeding journey, so that no matter how long they managed to breastfeed for, they have something to remember this time of motherhood by and be super proud of. Breastfeeding can come with many struggles and hurdles and is not always an easy thing to grasp or do, so any new mum who even just tries it should be incredibly proud for doing so.
2- And this is the main reason -I want to give breastfeeding mothers a confidence boost and try to help normalise public breastfeeding. This doesn't have to be as public as being sat in a shopping centre or busy cafe, this can just be as public as feeding around family members or friends at home.
There is still a stigma around public breastfeeding, there are still mums who receive remarks or negative comments about where, how or for how long they should breastfeed. And there really shouldn't be.
I never want to alienate those who choose to formula or bottle feed their babies, I myself have formula fed, bottle fed and breastfed all of my children when they were little and I do not think one is better than the other; 'you do you' and you do what is best for your baby and yourself. But when did anyone ever tell a bottle feeding mother that she would be better doing it in secret, hidden away in another room, or while covering up??
Above: You wouldn't want to do this, would you? Bottle feed your baby in a toilet room? This is not ok.
Below: This is also not ok. A mother breastfeeding her baby in a toilet room, this should never happen.
These two images were taken within the same minute, I promise you this space was clean and sanitary and we were in there for all of a few minutes to capture these images, to show the reality of what some breastfeeding mothers may feel is their only option whilst out and needing to feed their baby. Other spaces like this are not so clean.
Some breastfeeding mothers may choose to take their baby somewhere quieter, away from other people to feed. This could be for many reasons; maybe her baby will feed more efficiently with no distractions of noise or other people... maybe she feels more comfortable being alone to feed, especially in the early weeks where getting to grasps with optimal feeding positions is a learning curve or needing to expose more skin to get the perfect latch. But possibly, some mums feel too anxious to breastfeed around other people for fear of negative comments, or even worse, are asked to go elsewhere to do it.
Breastfeeding mothers should feel like they can feed their babies whenever and wherever they like or need to, just like bottle feeding mothers do.
Wouldn't it be incredibly sad if an expectant mum-to-be considered breastfeeding as the primary way of feeding when her baby came along, but had heard stories of mothers being spoken to negatively while feeding out in public, or didn't feel like she had the support of friends and family to breastfeed comfortably around them, and felt too anxious to even try it so went straight to bottle feeding?
With my breastfeeding photoshoots, I want to help empower the women who come along and help boost their confidence so that they feel like they CAN breastfeed around people they know and even people they don't know out in public places.
I don't know if just little old me can help with the big picture and the stigma around public breastfeeding, but I hope that there will be a somewhat domino effect even just local to York; if one mother comes to a breastfeeding photoshoot, feels amazing for having done so and goes on to feed out in public, and another mother -who may feel too anxious to have publicly fed before- sees her, she might think 'if they can do it, so can I!' and before you know it you have more mothers breastfeeding their babies in public open spaces, and it reinforces the message that it is ok and completely normal.
I am going to continue with these monthly photoshoots for as long as I can, photography isn't just my job it is my passion and I absolutely love this little project, it is definitely creating positive vibes and receiving great feedback! -One lady came along last summer, feeling quite anxious and massively putting herself out of her comfort zone, but her friend had recommended she come along for a confidence boost and so she did. She told me she does not like to venture out much incase her baby needs feeding, and if she does she will go to her car to feed, this was so sad to hear but unfortunately a lot of breastfeeding mums feel this way. Anyway, she LOVED her photoshoot and was so thankful for the opportunity and so proud of herself for doing it (I was proud of her too!) and a couple of weeks later I got a message to say she had fed out in public for the first time! Amazing! And THAT is why I do these sessions.
If you have had a breastfeeding photoshoot with me I would love to hear how it has had a positive impact on you and your journey, you can either leave a comment on this post of you could message me using the contact button HERE.
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