Instead of feeling forced to cover up while breastfeeding or feeling ashamed of nursing in public, one mom is doing the opposite. She's proudly feeding her baby, without any clothing, and sharing the powerful visual in the most public way for an important reason: Breastfeeding is liberating and everyone should understand that. Although some may have preconceived notions about why a woman would post a nude photo, Chantel Quick is breaking these assumptions and judgments with her empowering post that has many cheering. For this new mom, having the chance to breastfeed her baby has changed her perspective on what many consider to be a taboo topic — and she refuses to hold back.
Chantel is a gynecological teaching associate, doula, and blogger behind Earth Based Mom, and she isn't afraid to be vulnerable in order to bring awareness to the natural power that women have within their bodies. "This feels scary to share but also liberating and necessary. #liberating because it's real and feeling like you have to hide parts of yourself out of shame isn't fun," she wrote on Instagram. "Sure, some people might want to compare nursing a child to sex and say some things are best to stay behind closed doors but they aren't the same thing (thank god!)."
As a women's health coach, Chantel is speaking out to highlight how common it was to grow up without ever seeing a baby breastfeed or understanding that nursing is a natural part of life that deserves to be celebrated instead of shamed:
"Raise your hand if you grew up seeing babies being fed in the way that is biologically normal and expected? I didn't. Ever. Not at all. I have vague memories of my mother nursing my youngest sister as a newborn once or twice but that's it."
More from CafeMom: This Mom Will Damn Well Breastfeed in Costco If Her Kid Is Hungry
During her own childhood, Chantel only remembers seeing babies fed with bottles and never from breastfeeding, which is something she wants to change for the next generation. "This is a problem. Public health concern. How are women expected to grow up and give their babes this optimal nutrition if all they ever saw growing up was babies being bottle fed?" she wrote. "So this photo is necessary because it normalizes what is … well, normal."
In addition to normalizing breastfeeding, there's another purpose to her photo: raising awareness for extended breastfeeding and weaning between 3 and 6 years old. "That is when children naturally wean from the breast. Of course, as they get older they are not nursing as much as when they are young," she wrote. "Something such as a breastfeeding relationship isn't something that can (or should) be severed over night. It's a slow, steady process that both mother and child should be involved in, like any other relationship."
More from CafeMom: A Husband Is Pressuring This Mom to Stop Breastfeeding So She'll 'Lose Weight'
Although Chantel is in support of breastfeeding, she hopes that people understand her post isn't intended to shame those who do formula feed. "It's meant to raise awareness on the importance of breastfeeding. Promoting health isn't shaming something else. It's promoting health," she wrote. "The WHO predicts over 800,000 lives could be saved from breastfeeding. So that's why it's necessary."
