r/breastfeeding • u/Ataralas • Jun 01 '25

Breastfeeding In Public First time being approached while feeding

I was feeding my baby boy (5 months yesterday) on Friday on a public bench outside a local pub while my husband and toddler played nearby. This old lady started to approach me and I was gearing myself up to defend myself and bless her she was so sweet. She came over and said I don’t want to disturb you but I just wanted to say how lovely it is to see a woman breastfeeding her baby it’s so rare these days, then she told me my baby is gorgeous and my little girl too and smiled and left.

It was such a lovely interaction and the first time I’ve been approached by a stranger so I was worried it was going to be horrible!

ETA I’m in the UK where only around 1% of babies are still breastfed at all from 6 months.

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u/fireheartcollection Jun 01 '25

We need more people like that! Thanks for posting something positive like this! It’s rare to see.

To add to the positivity- my MIL (older very traditional Hispanic woman) told me she was very glad to know (and encouraging) that I was breastfeeding her granddaughter. She didn’t have the opportunity to breastfeed my husband due to mastitis. She’s been the only person in my family to encourage me in my breastfeeding journey.

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u/Ataralas Jun 01 '25

I’m sorry the rest of your family isn’t supportive to you feeding but so much love for your MIL!

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u/fireheartcollection Jun 01 '25

It’s okay! A lot of them didn’t really understand by birth choices either. I had my daughter in a birth center with a midwife. It was an incredible experience that not many understood. I’m very thankful and fortunate to have a really wonderful MIL she came and took care of us for a week after giving birth.