Friday 8 June 2012

8 tips for nursing in public

I've written about nursing in public previously and the post was really popular so I thought I'd put together my top tips for week 2 of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt which is all about Mum-to-Mum sharing.

Nursing in Public is quite often in the news and can be quite daunting for a first time Mum with a brand new baby.

  1. Practise nursing in front of a mirror so that you can see what other people will see.  Looking as you do from above can give you the wrong impression of what everyone else is looking at when you nurse.
  2. Make your first trip out an easy one, go along to a breastfeeding support group so that you are in good company and doing the same thing that everyone else is doing.  You may even pick up some great tips from the Mothers at the group.
  3. Take someone with you when you go out in public for the first time and plan ahead.  Feed before you leave the house so that you are not in a rush to find somewhere to nurse as soon as you get there.  There are some great places to nurse if you are still nervous about it such as a restaurant booth, a women's lounge in a department store or even a changing room in a womens clothes shop.  When you gain confidence all you will need is a chair or comfy place on the floor to sit.  The friend is there to keep you distracted so that you are not looking around and thinking that everyone is staring at you (they are not).  If you are deep in conversation the feed is over before you know and guess what?  You did it!
  4. You may need to put a little thought into what you are wearing.  There are many options.  Here are some of my suggestions:
  •  Wear a nursing vest and then if you choose to wear something over your shoulders to provide more coverage or keep warm.

  • Wear a loose fitting top over a nursing vest.  Lift up the top and pull down the nursing top and you are covered on all sides and hiding your stretch marks.

  • Use a sling and in some cases noone will even be able to tell you are nursing.
(An Asian Style Mei Tai, A Maya Ring Sling and a Moby Wrap)


There are lots of things you can use to cover a shoulder while getting the baby latched on or for the entire feed.  I hear the Snugglebundl can be used as a discreet cover.  The Mamascarf can also be used for discreet feeding, and the Breastvest can be used to hide those stretchmarks while wearing your own nursing bra.  Of course a muslin or blanket can work just as well or the tail of the sling shown above.

5.  My top tip for the month and I mention this a lot, but patterned tops are great for hiding all kinds of bodily fluids.

6.  A toilet is not a great place to breastfeed, there are plenty of options open to you.  My last resort has always been the car.  It's comfy and quiet.

7.  Find your breastfeeding supporter, the one person in your life who supports your decision to breastfeed.  It might be your partner, sister, Mum or friend.  It may even be your 90 year old Grandad.  Hang out with them when you go out of the house so that they make you feel confident when attempting to nurse in public those first few nerve racking times.

8.  Remember, you have every right to breastfeed your baby wherever you are legally allowed to be.  I have bever been asked to move or stop breastfeeding in public, so be proud to breastfeed in public and feeding your baby is the most important part in all of this.

You're probably thinking - Why do I need to know all this, I'm just going out with my baby and we'll nurse and all will be easy and OK, but I get asked about nursing in public all the time at breastfeeding support groups and some people may be afraid to ask.  Use as you will!

If you have enjoyed reading this post about nursing in public and you'd like to read more about breastfeeding and share your top tips about breastfeeding please check out these other participating bloggers.






The Lovely School of BabyWearing have kindly offered a Moby Wrap as a competition prize.



 The School of Babywearing™ is a social enterprise that runs a variety of training courses for parents, professionals, businesses and other interested organisations about wearing babies and children in slings and baby carriers.
As a social enterprise, we use our profits to fund the work we do. Our mission is to spread the word about the benefits of babywearing widely throughout the UK.
We do this through all our activities which include providing babywearing training courses, distributing literature and other resources and supporting babywearing consultants.

Please use the rafflecopter below to enter the competition for both the Moby Wrap and the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Grand Prize as you have now found the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Logo!





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25 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this, some great tips!

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  2. Really good, I especially like the photos. Of course when baby gets a bit older all attempts at being discreet will fly out of the window as he will start letting go of your nipple to smile at anyone who walks past, spraying them with milk in the process....but by then hopefully most people will be confident enough not to mind too much!

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  3. Yay the comp is up! Just about to enter for a chance of winning the Moby wrap (I'd LOVE one of those :) )

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  4. Hoping to win a moby Wrap to help with Matilda Mae's reflux and the need to be close all the time x

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  5. Oh and a babywearing tip, just do it! Make yourself go out with just a sling and nappy supplies and you soon realise how easy it makes life. It can be a scary thought at first but you'll never look back once you try...

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  6. Baby wearing is a great way to get the weekly shop done and get the baby to nap at the same time

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  7. my top baby wearing tip would be to try before you buy. Go to a sling meet or borrow friends to find the sling that really works for you and your family.

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  8. My tip is to keep cool. i get hot easily and thought baby wearing would be hard but i had layers and in a moby always wore light tops with a coat over as we practically lived in our moby. love baby wearing

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  9. I have a breastfeeding shawl but don't like using it as I don't like the fact that I can't see my son as he is feeding. I would love a baby wrap as its discreet but I can still see him!

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  10. There are so many different types of wraps/slings/carriers available I was completely confused, so I had a consultation at a local sling library, it was great and really useful, I came out of it knowing what I needed and how to use it. So my top tip would be to visit a sling meet/library and get some expert knowledge and advice :)

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  11. I'd love one of these because I could never bring myself to Breastfeed in public! I always took myself off to somewhere private! It was a nightmare? Would love one of these for my next one :)

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  12. I never got to grips with feeding baby in a sling/wrap so my advice would be to seek out your local sling group/NCT sling library and ask them for support and advice.

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  13. Have just bought a moby wrap for my 2nd baby due in Sept as with a three year old as well I think breastfeeding in public is going to happen more often than last time. I'm sure I'll be grateful for a spare though ;-) I think essentially being prepared, dressing for success and firmly removing the paranoia that everyone is watching you are the keys to breastfeeding in public. I always kept in my mind, what would people in shop/restaurant/park wherever prefer a baby screaming their head off constantly or a happy baby and a slight glimpse of my breast as I get baby settled and in position?

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  14. We didn't baby wear much first time round as I was worried about falling over, but this time Bubby D practically lived in her sling for the first few months and it's been great :)

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  15. I would love this because I had a great time carrying my first son in a carrying cloth and he loved it too. The only problem was that the cloth was not long enough, so after 6 months, I couldnt use it anymore. But it gave me a lot of freedom for my usual houswork and shopping as I had both hands free and a happy baby close to mummy :)

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  16. Baby wearing makes quickly popping out to the shops so much easier as you don't have a cumbersome pushchair to push around too. When baby is young too, it gives them the opportunity to snuggle up close to you too whilst keeping your hands free to do other things! We went out in the snow with my kari me as it meant that my son had my body warmth as well as being in his snow suit and I had a little hot water bottle - win win!

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  17. My favourite babywearing tip is to PRACTICE!
    Once you've got the hang of it you'll very rarely use your pram!

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  18. Learn how to use you carrying device before you have the baby in your hands too and first time get someone to help you. I love wearing my baby and you soon learn to take it every wear as its great having both hands free!

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  19. My tip would be to not wear too much under wrap as it gets very hot wearing a baby! I wear loose cardigans or a jacket on top if it gets chilly. I started out with a baby bjorn which was killing my back. After much research I went for the moby wrap, which is now my best friend. I wear it pretty much all day every day. DD sleeps in it. She loves to watch me cook, garden, shop etc from it. She loves going for walks in it. And it has saved my back! Would be great to have a spare for when it needs washing as I can't do without it!

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  20. Thanks for sharing and great tips, Mine would be to try to a few different positions especialy once baby gets older and find what feels right for you and baby seems more comfortable in. It also definately gets easier to put on with practice :) I would recommend it to anyone and will definately be doing it again once baby arrives.

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  21. I'd love a Moby wrap, feeding while babywearing feels so close and natural,. I loosen the straps andsit down to fully enjoy our bonding time

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  22. I'm 37 weeks pregnant and have been researching baby wearing ever since I came across it, I'd love to try the Moby wrap, it seems like the best carrier/sling to keep baby close and for comfort.

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  23. I'd love a new Moby wrap because I have heard such great things about them and need a new sling because my stretchy one has got a bit too stretchy after two babies!

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