Comfort Zones

I saw a friend of mine, Alison, this week, who, in addition to being a 1st grade teacher, has two small children.  They were running around the park and we enjoyed the fun of the 15-second conversations that get dropped and picked up again where they leave off after running after a little person who might be falling off a swing or slide.
 
She started talking about how breastfeeding was difficult for her  She wasn’t comfortable using her breasts as the source of nutrition for her babies. She related to me a story of how a good friend of hers has twins and is breastfeeding exclusively.  Her friend takes off her top to feed the babies, which, in my experience is an efficient way to get the babies to eat.
 
My perspective is a bit skewed probably because I work in Ob/Gyn and I’ve become somewhat de-sensititized to people without their clothes.  My friend is hardly a prude, but she said that she was uncomfortable when her friend would visit and need to nurse the babies.  The mother of the twins asked Alison if it made her uncomfortable, and Alison said, “Oh no, I’m fine,” while inside she felt her heart pounding and needed to take a few deep breaths.  Even as she told me this story, her face became beet red and she started fanning herself.

 I didn’t want to minimize her reaction, because after all, she’s entitled to her own reaction. It made me realize that everyone has their own particular comfort zone when it comes to how they feed their babies.  Some of us want to cover up, some don’t.  I guess it really is all about the freedom to find what works best for you.