A new breastfeeding campaign is being deemed "controversial" by many because it features women doing what many nursing mothers have to do every day: Breastfeeding their babies in disgusting bathroom stalls. The point of this? To show that relegating nursing moms and their children to filthy, germy boxes is not okay. The campaign, called When Nurture Calls, is aiming to have a bill passed that would protect a mother's right to breastfeed in public without being harassed or discriminated — something that happens all too often.
Kind of disgusting, right? Teeny-tiny babies hanging out in gross public restrooms — a place they SO shouldn't be when their immune systems are so weak. Not cool. And would YOU want to eat in here?
Yes, the photos in the slideshow are a little jarring, but the fact is: They're important for people to see. Every day, mothers are made to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome for nourishing their infants when they're hungry. The woman in the bottom poster wrote on Facebook: "I have personally been harassed on numerous levels. I've heard more than just 'go to the car' and 'cover yourself,' I get more sexual comments than anything. So yeah it'd be pretty great not to have any nasty comments made while I'm feeding my child, with or without a cover."
So, what do mothers in her position do? They go to the bathroom — often a dirty bathroom — in order to feed their baby.
Pretty gross, right? And exactly the point of the posters.
Have you ever nursed your baby in an icky public restroom?
Images via When Nurture Calls
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