Are Breastfeeding Military Moms Inappropriate?

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  • The perinniel issue of breastfeeding has once again become a hot button issue online. A series of nursing photos caught attention when one of the women was wearing her army uniform. “A lot of people are saying it’s a disgrace to the uniform. They’re comparing it to urinating and defecating [while in uniform],” says Crystal Scott, founder of Mom2Mom, a breastfeeding support group, and military spouse.

    one commenter had this to say:

    “I would never nurse in uniform. I took my child to the bathroom or a private office when her nanny brought her to me …. Not because I was ashamed of nursing, nor of being a mother. All the guys knew I pumped. The military is not a civilian job. We go to combat and we make life or death decisions, and not just for ourselves but for those we lead. The same reason I would never nurse in uniform is the same reason I do not chew gum, or walk and talk on my cell phone, or even run into the store in my utility uniform. … We are warfighting professionals. Women before us have worked too hard to earn and retain the respect of their male peers. I don’t want my Marines to look at me any other way than as a Marine. When I am asking them to fly into combat with me and do a dangerous mission, I do not want them to have the mental image of a babe at my breast. I want them to only see me as a Marine. Let’s be a realistic folks. We give up many freedoms being in the military…Breastfeeding in front of my fellow Marines was one of them.”

    Others were more supportive, “There is N-O-T-H-I-N-G more authoritative than a strong mother standing tall breastfeeding as she barks orders.”

    What do you think? Appropriate to do in uniform?

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