The argument over whether or not women should be able to publicly breastfeed in public settings is still raging in 2023.
In spite of this, I think we can all agree that it can be challenging for mothers to stay covered throughout the summer.
Simply put, it’s too hot for both mother and child. Women must feel secure enough to feed their children wherever they can when they are hungry.
The act of breastfeeding is lovely and natural. It’s an important component of helping a child grow up big and strong and get the proper nutrition for many mothers. Additionally, it helps you develop a relationship with the kid.
Regardless of your opinion on breastfeeding in public, a mother can choose to do it whenever she wants. It doesn’t bother some people, but it does make certain individuals uncomfortable.
Melanie Dudley, a mother of a newborn, responded in a way that is being praised by hundreds of women (and others) all around the world when she was urged to cover up by a stranger at a restaurant.
In the year 2018, Melanie Dudley, her three-month-old son, and a few friends were dining in an 86°F restaurant when Melanie’s baby decided it was time for lunch.
The new mother from Texas, Melanie, delicately pulled out her nipple so that her son could start nursing without the rest of her being on display. But a man seated at an adjacent table wasn’t happy with what she was doing nevertheless.
Melanie was approached by the man, who asked her to cover up. Melanie was willing to cover herself, 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.’”
The man in question could see the issue, but Melanie was blind to it. Melanie’s response was to cover her head instead, which caused the entire restaurant to erupt in laughter.
”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.
Another woman took a photo of Melanie and uploaded it to her Facebook. The resulting post quickly garnered plenty of attention and has now been shared over 225,000 times.
Many people complimented Melanie for having the guts to publish her photo after it attracted a lot of attention. She wasn’t the first woman to receive criticism for nursing in public, of course, but Melanie’s inventive answer prompted the image to become viral and the debate to heat up to the point that major news organizations decided to cover the story.
Even though the event took place in 2018, there are still people who comment on the post, and it continues to stir emotions. It only shows that the debate about breastfeeding is still relevant.
It’s a woman’s right to breastfeed her child and breast milk isn’t known as “liquid gold” for nothing but women continue to suffer criticism for doing what nature intended.