To not wear a mask when breastfeeding my baby

[Catsdogsandfoxes]

Was feeding 3 mo DS on the train through London this afternoon and took my mask off so he could see my face properly and we could interact. I find BF weird with a mask on. AIBU?

@WonderfulYou

Then all power to you. But don't try and frame it as some 'breast feeding is so special it deserves mask exemption' thing. You didn't want to wear your mask in that moment for your own reasons so you didn't. That's it.

I agree.
I feel this is a cheap shot at people who don’t breastfeed and the anti-maskers are loving it.

How?? People who don't breastfeed seem to take every utterance of the word as a jab at them personally

I don't care if you take your mask off anyway, so no unequal treatment from me

YABU!

I travel into central London daily and vast vast majority are wearing masks.

Baby won't be in any way affected by you wearing a mask for one short feed whereas others would if you were harbouring Covid.

@Antsinmypantsneedtodance

YANBU breastfeeding with a mask on is a pain. Especially when breastfeeding a toddler...they just ping it.

People who are saying you dont need to interact with your child when breastfeeding obviously haven't been doing it right! Breastfeeding is all about nurturing and bonding. In addition to obviously the feeding part.

Sorry but what do you mean "haven't been doing it right"?

Random question (and I did breastfeed) but is there any evidence at all that breastfed babies are long term more bonded with their parents than others when you account for other factors that could affect this?

“boobing” (not envy)

Agree with other posters that this is about feeding superiority. Highly doubt OP would’ve got the support she has if she’d been bottle feeding.

I work with someone who maintains that all mums should be exempt from mask wearing though, as any mask wearing is going to ruin their children’s lives. So, y’know, people are nuts.

It’s irrelevant whether she is bottle or breast feeding - you wear a mask on public transport. Feeding a baby isn’t an exemption.

@cafedesreves

Random question (and I did breastfeed) but is there any evidence at all that breastfed babies are long term more bonded with their parents than others when you account for other factors that could affect this?

None whatsoever.

bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-019-2264-0

Thanks @Lifeisnteasy. This is what I would have expected.

Masks will be scrapped shortly - don't know how half the people on this post are going to cope 🤣

Mask wearing is having such a negative impact on children/ babies.

Do what’s best for you and your baby OP @Catsdogsandfoxes ,

@Catsdogsandfoxes

People's responses actually surprise me! There was actually no one sat around me as the train was v quiet but just wondered what people thought...half of London don't seem to be wearing them at the mo. My baby was upset and I wanted him to see my face so I could comfort him while feeding...and I don't regret it!

99% of the people in my tube carriage were wearing a mask.

Yanbu

My kids are older now so I never had to breastfeed with a mask on. I know I would have struggled if I had to wear on. It could be fiddly enough without the added restriction

If course you were being unreasonable. What an odd reason to remove a mask.

Your OP said you wanted to interact with baby and now you say he was upset.

Stop changing your story and wear a mask.

Don’t rely on the rest of us to keep you safe, that’s selfish.

@Antsinmypantsneedtodance

YANBU breastfeeding with a mask on is a pain. Especially when breastfeeding a toddler...they just ping it.

People who are saying you dont need to interact with your child when breastfeeding obviously haven't been doing it right! Breastfeeding is all about nurturing and bonding. In addition to obviously the feeding part.

This. Plus we need to live with covid now and move on from mask and lockdown obsessions. The public need to stop wetting the bed and get a life.

@Lightswitch123 and will you pay the public’s fine when they get a fine from for TFL for not wearing a mask? Because wearing a mask is still a rule and people have been fined, even now.

Interact with your baby?? I used to scroll shite on my phone whilst breastfeeding..

Yes op you are being unreasonable and a bit precious

Those fines don’t hold in court, because mandate isn’t a law.

YANBU at all.

@HardbackWriter I couldn’t see my baby in a sling on when breastfeeding with a mask either! When she was little and sleeping in a sling I had to pull the mask down to make sure she was okay/face uncovered

Yabu. Not every feed has to involve interaction and bonding. When we were at home, I'd watch DD when she was feeding and she'd look up at me, but if we were out I used a cover - and she always ended up falling asleep anyway!

@JaninaDuszejko

I thought you were going to be a super paranoid new Mum worried about infecting your child that you live with.

For a single feed on public transport I think it would have been better to keep your mask on. And I'm not entirely convinced cotton masks in public areas make much difference to the spread but it's about what is polite.

How does wearing a useless cotton mask have anything to do with politeness? Genuine question.

Well you need to stay hydrated so have some water when you bf.

@Wizzbangfizz

Masks will be scrapped shortly - don't know how half the people on this post are going to cope 🤣

I cannot believe what I'm reading here, someone posted that people should wear masks out of politeness even though they don't work!! Why not just DON'T WEAR ONE if they don't work?!

On a train you should keep your mask on.