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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To breastfeed in public without cover?

117 replies

user1495362060 · 13/07/2017 13:18

I have a 2mo whom I breastfeed everywhere without using a cover. I am usually wearing a special dress/ two shirts and/or covering with a muslin so most of the time the only thing ever uncovered is the nipple. However it is obvious I am feeding of course.

I am not English so recently i have been wondering if breastfeeding like this is a normal thing here. I received no reaction from anyone so far. However I also never see anyone else doing it in cafes and such. Some mums I know said they have to go somewhere private to feed. So I was just wondering if people are secretly shocked but not saying anything :)

OP posts:
monkeysox · 13/07/2017 13:20

It's fine yanbu

Isadora2007 · 13/07/2017 13:21

No way would you be unreasonable to feed your baby. I love to see a breastfeeding mum and try to give her a smile. I probably come across as some weird perv 😳

Tazerface · 13/07/2017 13:22

I never used a cover.

The woman in Costa who had her two friends drape a muslin over her baby's face was far more noticeable than me feeding my baby and reading a book!

(I fed like you btw, but lots of people will expose their entire breast. Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable with that but to each their own)

Ketzele · 13/07/2017 13:22

I think it really depends on where you live. I'm in London, and breastfed dd1 for two years without cover - on public transport, in Ikea, in cafes... Nobody ever turned a hair, not once.

I don't think it's like that everywhere, but I would say that if you haven't received any reaction so far you're probably fine Smile

LaurieMarlow · 13/07/2017 13:22

YANBU to do this. It's perfectly normal and needs to be seen as such.

Don't worry

Bear2014 · 13/07/2017 13:23

YANBU. I fed my DD for 22 months and never once used a cover. I don't know anyone who uses a cover in real life, I think they look like more faff than they are worth, and I wouldn't want to have my face covered as I eat. Crack on!

PinguForPresident · 13/07/2017 13:24

Absolutely normal. i did the same with both of my children.

GoonBridge · 13/07/2017 13:24

YANBU. We all gotta eat.

Bear2014 · 13/07/2017 13:24

ketzele I'm in London also - I don't think people really go in for covers here at all. Baps out all over the place Grin

NicolasFlamel · 13/07/2017 13:25

Completely fine. Even if you got a negative reaction from someone it's still fine. I've never seen anyone eat their lunch with a cover over their face, it's bizarre anyone would expect a baby to.

AreWeThereYet000 · 13/07/2017 13:26

I feed my DD wherever I am, if they don't like it they can look away x

DioneTheDiabolist · 13/07/2017 13:26

YANBU OP, I'm another who never used a cover. I didn't see the point of the faff.

LaurieMarlow · 13/07/2017 13:26

Covers are an enormous pain in the arse and don't help the cause much. No one should feel compelled to use them.

The 2 tops method is so much easier.

4sausages · 13/07/2017 13:26

Sounds ok to me - I never used a cover. Maybe the other mums you've spoken to aren't comfortable feeding their babies in public, which is fine of course. But if you're happy with it I say go for it!

BertrandRussell · 13/07/2017 13:27

I never used a cover-and never had any reaction but smiles and praise and the occasional free cup of tea! Once you've had some practice practically nothing's visible except a little bobbing head, so no need to swathe yourself in yards of cover-which only serves to shout "LOOK!!!!!! Woman Breastfeeding Over Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

newbian · 13/07/2017 13:27

YANBU. DD refused a cover after a certain age anyway.

Glumglowworm · 13/07/2017 13:27

yanbu

You have a right to breastfeed, so don't let anyone tell you to stop or cover up or go into a private room or toilets although some places may offer a private room if you prefer it, which is fine as long as it's genuinely a choice of what you prefer and you can say no you're fine where you are

KatharinaRosalie · 13/07/2017 13:28

Perfectly normal, I've always found that faffing with those massive covers draws more attention than simply feeding

ISaySteadyOn · 13/07/2017 13:29

YANBU. I never fed with a cover either.

OhOurBilly · 13/07/2017 13:29

YANBU, covers add a literal extra layer of faffing the twice I used it. DS wouldn't tolerate one now as it is, he's too busy trying to see everything that's going on and flashing my boob to the world .

BroomstickOfLove · 13/07/2017 13:33

YANBU. I never used a cover. And I'm nowhere near London.

Mrsknackered · 13/07/2017 13:33

@Isadora2007 haha I do this too. I remember once I was staring and smiling at a woman in the park breastfeeding and then realised that I probably wasn't giving off the right vibe at all.

SomewhatIdiosyncratic · 13/07/2017 13:34

DISCREET BREASTFEEDING COVER OVER HERE! NOTHING TO SEE! NO NEED TO BE OFFENDED!

Well that's the effect the have on me anyway Wink

I wore feeding tops, mainly because I couldn't get my massive milky bazzoomers into any of my usual clothes, and they fitted and were easy to use. I went top up/ top down when the feeds spaced out and I dropped a couple of cup sizes.

Across two DCs who both fed for over a year, I never had a negative reaction. Plenty of smiles and the odd "good for you" type comment.

Covers tend to look awkward and faffy. I know some people will have their reasonable for using them, but they're not standard kit.

TriJo · 13/07/2017 13:35

YANBU, I'm still breastfeeding my 15 month old and we've never used a cover. I'm in London and nobody gives a fuck at all.

AlbusPercival · 13/07/2017 13:36

I get my whole boob out. It's easier and I don't give a fuck.

I do occasionally get looks but no one has ever said anything.