Basics for Nursing Mothers

Nursing in public

Problems in Public

One of the issues of breast-feeding is the appropriate place to do it. I am a firm believer that it is appropriate to feed your baby discreetly wherever you happen to be when your baby is hungry. Demand feeding is the best thing for a breast-fed baby because their little bodies know how much they need and there is no real risk of overfeeding. So if the baby gives you a hunger cry (and you will learn to tell the difference between the baby's cries,) you will want to stop and feed her.

Now, I'm not advocating exhibitionism here, but society really should show far more respect and appreciation for nursing mothers. If you use good sense and cover yourself appropriately with a clean cloth diaper or receiving blanket, you should be able to do what you need to do when you need to do it. It is unfair for nursing mothers to be banished to dirty public restrooms because hypocritical people, who think nothing of half-naked models in billboards all over town and full frontal nudity in R-rated films, are offended by this most natural of human functions.

And, if you try, you can get pretty good at nursing discreetly. By the time I had my third child, I could nurse while I was walking around a store—with no one the wiser. It just takes some dexterity, practice, and a little bit of nerve. Just remember that there is nothing more precious than a mother feeding her child.

So get out into the world and demand the respect you deserve. Act as though it is the most natural thing in the world, and most people won't even notice you. Many places are more child-friendly than they used to be. Check out whether there is a lounge or a quiet corner with a chair if you are more comfortable being out of the way when you nurse.

Clothing Choices

While you are lactating you will feel most comfortable wearing a nursing bra with nursing pads. Your nursing bra will be much larger than your prepregnancy (or even pregnancy-size) bra. Your back size increases, making most of whatever you were wearing uncomfortable. You can sometimes get bra extensions in case you outgrow your nursing bras. They are little pieces of material with hooks that fit right onto your bra. Milk takes up a lot of room.

Milk-filled breasts leak. Isn't this dignified? Well, maybe not—but it is a fact of life. You have to look at the bright side. I may not have had a waist after childbirth, and I may have leaked a little milk every once in a while, but I looked voluptuous. Never in my life had I had such a well-endowed chest. Even I was impressed.

So what's a little spillage when you've got a figure like Sophia Loren? If you wear nursing pads with your bra and change them frequently you should feel more comfortable—and you'll stay relatively dry. Nursing pads are round cotton pads that fit into your bra and absorb the leakage from your nipples. If you don't wear them you might be out at your typical baby-feeding time and notice two huge wet spots where your breasts used to be.

Some women may even need to double their pads if they are prone to an easy let-down reflex. Your body is so programmed with instinct that your milk may well come in if you even think about your baby or if you see or hear someone else's baby.

By the way, there are nursing shields made from materials other than cotton. I had some reusable nursing shields made out of plastic. They fit around the nipple and caught the leakage. It was actually kind of weird when I got to see the amount of milk that had accumulated. They also made my already enlarged udders look like a cross between Madonna's gold-cone breasts and Dolly Parton's.

Express Yourself

If you go back to work while you are still nursing—or if your lifestyle requires you to be away from your baby during one or more of her feeding times—you can express some of your milk during the day so that your breasts don't become engorged. If you are able to master the art of using a breast pump, you can do well with it.