- Global Voices - https://globalvoices.org -

Should Women Starve Their Babies for Fear of Public Breastfeeding?

Categories: Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya, Food, Women & Gender

Olivia Kidula explains [1] why breastfeeding in public should not stop:

A friend of mine recently gave birth to her first baby girl and is still getting the hang of motherhood. I began to notice she breastfeeds only when no men (besides her husband or father are around) and when she can “comfortably” hide away in a small space. When I mentioned to her that there should be no shame in feeding and nourishing her child in front of anyone, she responded,

“society would rather she starves than look at my breasts.”

The more I thought about the implications of her words the more upset I became. Who would want a child to starve? Who would truly want to deny a child nourishment and comfort at the chest of his mother?