In a rather baffling encounter at a UK hospital, a nursing mother faced an unexpected dose of shaming from a nurse while visiting her grandmother. The mother, Emma Thompson, was there to support her family during a medical procedure when her 4-month-old son, Lucas, needed to be fed. Instead of receiving encouragement, she was told to find a private area “for her own dignity.”
Can you believe it?
Emma took to the Royal Liverpool University Hospital’s Facebook page to share her frustrating experience. She recounted how, as she tried to calm Lucas, a nurse approached her in a rather authoritative manner. The nurse insisted that she needed to move to a private room because her breastfeeding might make other visitors feel uncomfortable.
Honestly, who cares? A baby’s need for nourishment should always take precedence over anyone’s discomfort at the sight of a breastfeeding mother. Emma, confident in her right to nurse wherever she pleased, stood her ground. She moved to a recovery room near her grandmother, only for the same nurse to come over and “slam” the curtains shut, claiming she couldn’t feed her baby there because there were men present who might feel “uncomfortable.”
Emma pointed out that the man in question had his back turned, and he could easily close his own curtain if he didn’t want to see. When she questioned the nurse’s rationale, she was told that the nurse was protecting her dignity and that bottle feeding wasn’t “sexual.”
What?
Breastfeeding is a natural act, not a sexual one. Why should mothers bear the burden of making others comfortable when it’s those individuals who need to learn to accept breastfeeding as a normal part of life? People who find breastfeeding “sexual” can simply look away, as Emma rightly pointed out.
Emma expressed concern that if someone less confident in their breastfeeding journey had been in her shoes, they might have felt discouraged or ashamed. Instead of addressing the visitors’ discomfort, the nurse could have suggested they close their curtains if they were bothered.
In response to the incident, the hospital’s deputy chief nurse, Mark Johnson, issued an apology, stating, “We fully support breastfeeding and encourage our visitors to nurse wherever they feel comfortable.” He added that private spaces are available for those who wish to use them, but there was no reason Emma shouldn’t have been able to nurse in the recovery room.
It’s disheartening to see such stories continue to surface, where mothers face embarrassment for doing something perfectly natural and legal. When will society finally recognize that breastfeeding is a normal part of motherhood?
With brave individuals like Emma sharing their experiences, we can hope to change the narrative and educate those who still cling to outdated views about breastfeeding.
If you’re interested in exploring more about home insemination, be sure to check out this informative post on intracervical insemination. For more insights into the process, visit Make A Mom, who are experts in this area. Also, for valuable resources on pregnancy and donor insemination, refer to American Pregnancy.
Summary:
A breastfeeding mother, Emma, faced unnecessary shaming from a hospital nurse while trying to feed her baby during a family visit. Despite the nurse’s insistence to move to a private area for her dignity, Emma stood firm, advocating for her right to nurse in public. The incident highlights the ongoing stigma surrounding breastfeeding, which many mothers still face.