Breastfeeding is Beautiful.
It is the ultimate expression of femininity and being a woman. It is a magnificent, selfless act of love that nourishes one’s newborn with perfect physical nourishment and strong emotional bonds that will last a lifetime.
You can imagine my surprise when I learned about a couple of military Moms who caught some serious flack when tasteful, professional photos of themselves breastfeeding in uniform on an Air Force base began circulating online.
Washington Air National Guard spokesman Capt. Keith Kosik said that a formal military response to the photos which have gone viral since being posted at BreastfeedinginCombatBoots.com was necessary as they were a violation of regulations against using the uniform to promote a civilian cause.
I beg your pardon, Captain, but breastfeeding is not a civilian “cause”. It is the simple act of feeding your baby, something that has been performed by Mothers far longer than armies have roamed the earth in fact!
Would pictures of women feeding their babies with bottles while in uniform have gotten a “formal response” from the military if these photos had been posted online?
Ahem. I don’t think so!
What’s really surprising is that some breastfeeding Moms were also critical of the photos with one commentor on BreastfeedinginBoots.com posting the following:
“I would never nurse in uniform. I took my child to the bathroom or a private office when her nanny brought her to me …. Not because I was ashamed of nursing, nor of being a mother. All the guys knew I pumped. The military is not a civilian job. We go to combat and we make life or death decisions, and not just for ourselves but for those we lead. The same reason I would never nurse in uniform is the same reason I do not chew gum, or walk and talk on my cell phone, or even run into the store in my utility uniform. … We are warfighting professionals. Women before us have worked too hard to earn and retain the respect of their male peers. I don’t want my Marines to look at me any other way than as a Marine. When I am asking them to fly into combat with me and do a dangerous mission, I do not want them to have the mental image of a babe at my breast. I want them to only see me as a Marine. Let’s be a realistic folks. We give up many freedoms being in the military…Breastfeeding in front of my fellow Marines was one of them.”
With all due respect, but would you like to eat in the bathroom?
Nursing is not akin to going to the bathroom and therefore should not be relegated to this type of atmosphere where airborne germs and other potential threats to a nursing baby may abound.
We clearly have a long way to go in this country when it comes to understanding the role of Mom as both protector and nurturer.
A Mom nursing in uniform is a proud display of both in action and the military would be well advised to support this activity rather than reprimanding it.
What do you think? Should a Mom be able to breastfeed anywhere at any time even when on duty keeping our country safe?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources: Military Mom Proud of Breastfeeding in Uniform Despite Criticism
Breastfeeding Moms in Uniform Photos Were out of Line: Military
As a female member of the armed forces, I can understand your outrage sentiments (from a civilian standpoint) however I can tell you that what these women did is against policy/code of conduct. Military members are not allowed to their uniform promote civilian causes, and as much as some commenters would like to believe that this is an attack on breastfeeding its not. If these women would have shown up at a political campaign in uniform or posed for a PETA campaign they would (or at least should) receive that same reprimand.
Before the Army and the “uniform” existed there was breastfeeding. How can we give such importance to a uniform over life? We NEED to promote breastfeeding because the number of breastfeeding mothers is MUCH lower than it should be. Clearly this rule should be altered.
Can’t we have both? Can’t women in uniform nurse modestly? Can’t they refrain from posting pictures online with their cleavage showing? That’s just basic professionalism in any job.
Vanessa, you’re amazing!! Thank you for indefatigably being a voice of reason on this thread!
The Airmen are in military uniforms in the photo, so the military has everything to do with these photos. Someone with many years of experience in the military can provide a great deal of applicable information related to this discussion. First hand experience doesn’t matter? Does this apply to everything? So anyone can be an expert on anything regardless of their experience? Well Maggie, I hope a man doesn’t walk up to you one day and tell you that you’re breastfeeding all wrong; based on what you’ve said he knows just as much as you do about the subject, and your five years of experience doesn’t count for anything. Don’t let your emotion bar reason. Take a deep breath, and go read about this elsewhere to gain alternative perspective. Try to stop seeing breastfeeding in the picture for a second, and replace it with something you don’t support. Imagine military members in uniform being photographed getting vaccines or taking prescription drugs to support an ad campaign for ‘Big Pharma’ since it sounds like you’re passionately opposed to this. Is it only okay when it’s an organization Maggie approves of, or are military members free to bend the rules for any organization they personally want to support?
Here’s a link to the Mom2Mom campaign photos, you know….the ad campaign they took these photos for:
Scroll to the bottom where there is a gallery of the Mom2Mom campaign photos, and look at #14 & #16. It is the same military mom who was breastfeeding her twins in the controversial photo…ONLY, she’s in civilian clothes in these two. So why were the photos in uniform necessary? Did those poor babies have to wait for mom to get into her uniform before they could eat? It certainly paints a different picture than the initial response by some that “well of course they had to breastfeed in uniform, everyone knows a hungry baby won’t wait”.
As a general statement, I don’t see what years of experience in the military has to do with anything, here. We all have years of experience in something. Military experience exalts no more than any other life or professional experience. First hand experience doesn’t matter. I have been breastfeeding for almost 5 years, but if I can’t make a valid point within the context of a discussion, what does that matter?
Being on the “inside” for x number of years does not qualify anyone to a more informed opinion. Plenty Men/Women “of the cloth” devote their entire lives to their faith and gospels, but many have no more to offer in value in terms of an opinion than a horse with BLINDERS does about it’s surrounding landscape. One could expound on this angle, but hopefully the point is clear.
If the women were promoting anything while in unifrom even “bottle feeding” they would be in violation of the same regulation! That is the point. The rules are the same for every one. Putting it on you tube for all to see does not make it right. Most civilians do not know the rules. The main reason these rules were put in place is to avoid the controversy I am reading in this blog. If they had followed the rules they knew they were breaking this conversation would not be taking place.
I disagree with wearing a helment while riding a bicycle but I do it because it is the law. Should I be above the law just because I post a video of myself breaking the helmet law on Youtube and just because other people agree with me?
I am in the military. I have been proudly serving my country for 29 years. I am all for breast feeding. However, it is illegal to use the uniform to promote a personal or privite cause. All uniform members know that. We are given the mandatory training every year. Breaking rules are wrong. If the two women were in civilian clothing when they took the pictures it would not have been a problem. I would never do what those two young women did. No one is above the law. When you sign up to join the military every member knows the rules. Every member has the right to get out of the military if they call no longer abide by those rules. If you think a rule should be changed. Go about doing it the proper way. Do no direspect those of us who proudly keep the rules while serving our country.
Wow, 29 years! Thank you for your service.
Sara,
I was active duty when I had my son and pumped and breastfed him without any problems. I didn’t need these two Airmen to help me feel like I could breastfeed my son by supporting a civilian ad campaign and violating the rules. There were also six other military women in my workplace that had recently had a baby, and I don’t know of a single one that had any problems breastfeeding their child. Some even pumped in flight, lots of strong mamas I knew! Not a single one of us would have dreamed of doing what these two Airmen have done, because you receive constant reminders about staying out of pictures in uniform that support non-military organizations. So the only thing they have done to help anyone in the military is set an example of how to effectively destroy your career. It sounds like the Air Force is already planning on using their bad decision making as a case study on ‘what not to do’.
I am always surprised at the discomfort even some of my friends have towards breastfeeding in public. Seriously-they’re breasts, they produce milk, they feed my baby when she’s hungry. I refuse to nurse in a bathroom or any other “private” place as if I’m doing something wrong or indiscreet. Maybe these mothers wanted to help other military moms feel more comfortable, maybe they wanted to show that you can be a mother, a person and a soldier. Maybe they did it because they are proud of their bodies, and they love their babies. Maybe they wanted to encourage other military moms that you don’t have to resort to bottle feeding if you don’t want to. As an example of giving others permission by our own actions…I was at the zoo yesterday, we had been there for awhile, my 14month old was tired and hungry, so i nursed her. My sister at first was aghast! Which made me laugh at her. 🙂 But then 15 minutes later I looked over and she was nursing her son. So, both babies were nurtured and nobody else there cared. What’s so ridiculous to me is that this shouldn’t be an issue. It’s a perfectly natural part of our physiology and who cares if other people are uncomfortable with my baby being fed.
Cortney,
You’ve hit the nail on the head. The way the author misrepresented this story has got some women on here so spun up that they’ve got emotional blinders on. I don’t know if they’ll ever figure out how manipulated they’ve been. I’m wasting my time trying to help them see past the distractions. Media sensationalism wins again….