Happy December!
This for Dear Amy,
Skin to Skin is what I try to teach from the getgo, but often especially
first time Moms are very leary of exposing themselves.  So I get the baby and Mom
situated and then gracefully drape a baby blanket across the back of the babe
and thus let her feel the deliciousness of the skin to skin and yet offer her
some modesty.  I often do it because the hospital rooms are cooler than warm.
 I remember with my first baby hiding out in the bedroom and it was when my
aunt and uncle who had helped raise me arrived and they came in and sat and
talked with me about the wonders of birth and nursing a baby. I hadn't realized
that my uncle had helped deliver all of their children and knew more about
breastfeeding than anyone except my aunt.  They taught me to feel comfortable and
come out into my own living room and not hide the beauty of feeding my child.
Sometimes we need people to give us permission to come out.  A shaw or
blanket may help mom to feel more comfortable.  Others are not intimidated in the
least bit.
My mother turned me away from watching a woman breastfeed on the bus, because
she was never comfortable with her own body.  Yet it was not uncommon in
Havana pre-Castro to see women on buses breastfeed.  It really depends on where
you come  from culturally, familial and within yourself.  The important point is
to let mom get comfortable with herself and her baby. Let HER decide whether
she will be more open "breasted" (minded) or more modest. Let's get the baby
on the breast and let Mom make her choices. P.S. The more children I had the
less scared I  was about feeding in public. With arrival of winter I don't think
barebreasted women will be as much of an issue.
Lovingly,
Leanne Jewell, RN,C, IBCLC, LCCE, FACCE
Miami, Florida

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