Whether or not women should be permitted to breastfeed in public remains a contentious issue in the year 2022.
However, I think we can all agree that it is more challenging for mothers to maintain modesty during the warmer months.
The temperature is too high for both mother and infant. Women should feel safe enough to feed their children wherever they are able to.
The act of breastfeeding is lovely and natural. Many mothers see it as essential to helping their children grow up healthy and robust. Bonding with the kid is a side benefit.
No matter how you feel about it, a mother has the right to breastfeed her child in public whenever she chooses. Some people aren’t troubled by it at all, while others report feeling uneasy.
Melanie Dudley, a mother of a newborn, is being praised by hundreds of moms (and others) throughout the world for her response after being urged to cover up by a stranger at a restaurant.
In 2018, Melanie Dudley and her three-month-old son were dining out with some friends when the baby decided he was hungry despite the restaurant’s 86-degree temperature.
Texas native and first-time mother Melanie discreetly exposed her nipple so her son could start breastfeeding. Unfortunately, a man at an adjacent table disapproved of her actions.
Melanie gives a reply
Melanie was approached by a stranger who requested that she cover up. Melanie consented to covering up, but not in the way the man had anticipated.
”I was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas with my entire family, and a man asked me to cover myself. I’m usually discreet but we were seated in the back of the restaurant,” Melanie told Yahoo.
“I did have the cover on, but it was so hot. It was like, 95 degrees, and my little baby was sweating,” the Texan told TODAY.
“I said, ‘You know what? I’m on vacation, I’m taking this off.’”
Although the man could see the issue, Melanie was blind to it. The remainder of the restaurant burst out laughing after Melanie’s response of placing the duvet over her head.
”I just put it over my head. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like a salacious fight or anything. That was just my response. I had no words, so I thought, I’ll just cover my head instead,” the woman explained.
Melanie was the subject of a Facebook photo upload by another woman. The ensuing post rapidly went viral, with over 225,000 shares as of this writing.
Melanie’s photo went viral, and many people commended her for having the guts to share it publicly.
Melanie wasn’t the first woman to face backlash for breastfeeding in public, but her clever response helped the photo get widespread attention, and the ensuing debate sparked coverage from major news outlets.
Even though it’s 2018, people are still commenting on the post and it’s still making them feel something. This only serves to further demonstrate the continued importance of the breastfeeding discussion.
Breast milk isn’t called “liquid gold” for nothing, and it’s a woman’s right to breastfeed her kid, yet mothers are still judged harshly for doing what their bodies naturally require.
Suffice it to say that Melanie’s response to the man who told her to hide caused him to stop talking.
Please SHARE this article to pay tribute to Melanie’s ingenuity!
