Bride Bans Guests From Public Breastfeeding at her Wedding
Weddings can bring out the best in people, or the worst. Sometimes it can bring out the worst in the couple who are to be wed. We can all agree, everyone deserves to have the day they want when it comes to their wedding day. But sometimes strange requests can upset guests. Just like this request made by one couple, as shared by the Breastfeeding Mama Talk (BMT) Facebook page.
A new mum was sent an invitation to her husband’s best friend’s wedding (and her husband was the best man), but she wondered if she should go after she received a little note as part of her invitation.
The pink note was nestled in the invitation, requesting all mums bringing their babies, to refrain from breastfeeding them on the day, unless they retreated to a designated area.
The typed note sounded very friendly in the beginning, “To all our mommies who are breastfeeding, we are thinking of you.”
And then the note went downhill from there, “We are sensitive to the fact you may need to breastfeed during our event, therefore we have designated an appropriate place for you to feed your baby so that you do not have to do so in public in front of our Family and Friends .
“For your convenience we are accommodating you with a comfortable and private area with chairs and baby blankets in the ladies room.
“We request that you use this area when you are breastfeeding. Thank you.”
The BMT Facebook page shared the new mum’s story, with a picture of the note received as part of the invitation. The post received a number of different points of view in regards to the note.
One mum said she’d prefer to nurse in a private area anyway. The provision of blankets and chairs in the ladies room was a nice thought.
While others said the note was rude with many saying the ladies toilet was the worst place to tell a new mum to breastfeed, because of the germs.
“Fully grown adults don’t sh*t where they eat so why on earth would they want tiny defenseless humans to do it?!”
A husband offered the following response, “I would have to let my friend know that I felt it was insulting to my wife, therefore, thank you for asking me to be your best man but I have to decline as we will not be attending.”
One commenter said it was the couple’s wedding and therefore their choice to request as they please.
“Her day. Her rules.”
The mum who received the wedding note admitted, there had been several arguments in the past about her “breastfeeding ways.”
“They have multiple times voiced that I need to go elsewhere to do that in ‘private!'” she added.
The mum also had a toddler to think about getting cared for as well. In the end, she got her friend, who had been a wet nurse to her baby before, to look after both her toddler and three-month old so she could attend the wedding.
While many have slammed the note for being included as part of the invite, the real issue is the attitude towards public breastfeeding, and promoting isolation in a toilet when doing so.
The bottom line is it’s the bride’s wedding and it’s her rules. However a person reacts to that is their reaction. How to make a big deal out of it is a waste of time. These days, somebody is always getting butt-hurt over something. Just chill.
Ooooh.. this is awful but I think I’d be tempted to go to see what the bride wore and put a shawl over her shoulders, decolatage, etc.. “These offend me because they don’t provide any function except to make people horny!”