Do people use breastfeeding covers in the UK?

[stopgap]

I'm an ex-pat, now living in NYC, and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen women openly BF-ing in England. Now I'm not saying that where I live now (New York City) is the epicentre of public breastfeeding, but I see it much more frequently, and I'd say most women use the Bebe Au Lait covers, myself included (aside from when I'm at my b'feeding-friendly paediatrician's office, or the two b'feeding supply shops I'm lucky to have in my neighborhood).

Do you use a cover or do you think, to hell with it, b'feeding in public is my right?

I agree with DomesticGoddess31 - I used a cover for the first few weeks of feeding, but not because I didn't want people to know I was feeding - I didn't care whether they knew or not, so it was irrelevant to me whether the cover made it more obvious. It was because I wasn't very good at it, nor was my baby, and there were nipples pinging about everywhere. Having got to the age of 36 without ever having got my nipples out in a pub, it wasn't something I felt immediately comfortable with. Once we'd got the hang of things a bit more, I stopped using it, and now if the occasional nipple pings out I don't bat an eyelid, but it helped me early on.

I use a cover as do a number of new mums I know, it's not about hiding the fact that I'm bfing for me it's more about hiding my recently acquired massive boobs. If I'm anywhere like baby cafe or a baby group I don't use it but in cafes and shops it gives me comfort to know that all is covered I don't think I'd of fed my dd half the places I have without it.

I think the main reason you don't see bring in public in the uk is because we don't cover ourselves in dayglow orange pasley 'covers'. We just get on with it and generally go unnoticed.

Sorry, I have nothing to add, just wanted to giggle at lilham feeding in 'cages'

I was on Southport pier the other day, breastfeeding at a table outside the cafe. Looked up to find a hundred old dears gazing at me from every window of the tram with soppy / nostalgic looks on their faces. Would have ruined their day if I'd have used a cover!

FFS I'm not sure exactly what kind of one upmanship you are trying to go for here - the first few weeks of breastfeeding are difficult and you feel on show and so yes you use a cover . But when you manage to get the hang of it you whip your top up in cafes, on park benches and even just walking about (expert status!).. I miss it, can you tell?

I never used a cover but favoured the vest under a t-shirt method.

I had NO problem with showing the world my newly aquired large breast, I loved that much i'd have handed out photographs of them!!

However the post-natal saggy tummy was NOT going to be seen in the light of day.

I agree that covers draw more attention to the fact you are BF.

This is making it very complicated. You unclip, push up bra (I BF for a very long time, I gave up on feeding bras), push up top, feed. Baby across your lap covers your tummy. Loose cardigan is useful in winter, keeps out draughts and allows the use of baggy t shirts.
The hardest thing, by far to do discreetly, is refasten those stupid clips on feeding bras which needs two hands. I often feed in public then went to the loo to put my stupid bra back together.

The breastfeeding shops sell a few different ranges of breastfeeding clothes, a wall of different pumps and bottles for expressed milk, the "My Breast Friend" feeding pillows, the covers, nipple creams, stretch mark creams, and they also have a supply of 400 pumps that local women rent. Handily, both stores have nice sofas for feeding, which I'm sure will come in useful when I'm out and about this winter.

I also had a good giggle over the breastfeeding in cages typo. Tres discreet :D

Haha, I noticed it too. But it's an iPhone autocorrection! Try typing cafes and you will get cages lol. Obviously we don't usually buy bf clothes here. I wear my pre-pregnancy tops and just add a vest or boob tube underneath. The vests new from the likes of primark and h&m so I'm sure is cheaper than those special bf clothes.

very rarely seen a cover, never used one myself.
a friend in the us was using one because in the state she lived at that time openly bf was illegal.

Hi5 to emzar and domestic goddess!!!
I'm in your camp...I use a bebe au lait cover purely to stop the nipple/breast flash!!! I couldn't give a flying f**k if people know what I'm doing...it's so my daughter can feed and I can wear what I want without needing to overheat with layers...it is also good at keeping her feeding instead of distracted by the surroundings you are in and letting everyone get extra glimpses of the nipples! I get a lot of comments of how fantastic it is when I'm out too.

I don't think I've ever seen one used. If other women feel the need that's fine, and anything that makes a mother feel more comfortable is a good thing.

It would be nice if all bf women felt comfortable feeding in public however they choose.

I do worry though that public thinking can evolve from "that woman is being discreet" to "all bf women SHOULD be discreet". I wonder if I'm being judged unpleasantly when I just feed.

Stopgap- ah, I hadn't thought of clothes. People don't really go in for them much in the UK, so I guess that explains a fair amount of shop space. I'm always a bit torn about masses of 'kit' for breastfeeding. On the one hand, I think that anything that helps even one woman feel more comfortable or succeed at feeding when she is struggling must be a good thing. On the other hand, I do worry that it makes breastfeeding seem an expensive and off-putting option to some people, or acts as yet another consumer pressure on those on tight budgets. It's a difficult balance.

I think most people seem to agree that probably as many, if not more, women publicly breastfeed in the UK, but that perhaps you don't notice as much here because few women use covers (By the way, just in case any of the follow up posts misunderstood my last post, I wasn't saying that the fact covers made it more obvious you were breastfeeding was a bad thing. I was directly answering the OPs question about whether more women were breastfeeding in NY - they probably weren't, but she was noticing them more because covers were more common).

I am that there is a US state where public breastfeeding is illegal. A little bit of me does worry that, if covers become more mainstream, they could stop being a help to women who actively want to use them (i.e. a good thing) and start being pressured onto women who don't want them ("if you must feed in public, you should at least have one of those covers on...").