America Ferrera Is Breastfeeding in Public—and Doesn't Care What You Think
There’s nothing stigmatized about this. Not one bit.
In support of World Breastfeeding Week, America Ferrera just posted a cute photo to Instagram to stand with mothers choosing to breastfeed their children. In the photo, which blurs out her newborn son Sebastian’s face with a Phineas and Ferb character, Ferrera is smiling as her son feeds. “They’re my boobies, and I’ll feed where I want to – feed where I want to – feeeeed where I want to,” she wrote as the accompanying caption, adding “#worldbreastfeedingweek.” The week, coordinated by the World Breastfeeding Action, aims to protect, promote, and support mothers who wish to breastfeed in public or private. “In a world filled with inequality, crises and poverty, breastfeeding is the foundation of lifelong good health for babies and mothers,” the official website reads. Similar to Ferrera, singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette also posted an Instagram photo that showed her breastfeeding her child in support of the initiative.
While breastfeeding doesn’t suit all mothers—and that’s totally okay, formula is just as popular with nursing newborns—the issue of whether a woman should breastfeed in public has been divisive as of late. However, public spaces have been making increasingly great strides to accommodate mothers and their post-natal needs, especially involving breastfeeding. Amtrak, for instance, plans to build “lactation suites” in five stations across the country for mothers who want to pump or feed on the go, while more and more airports are creating special rooms for mothers to do their business in peace.
Perhaps most importantly, though, every single state in America has made it legal for mothers to breastfeed in public without fear of retribution or discrimination as of last month. In fact, the Pope is very pro-breastfeeding in public, calling it a “language of love.” Hard to argue against that … or U.S. laws.
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