Women Showing Their Breasts While Breastfeeding
Many young women today believe that it’s fine to nurse a baby in public and have other men see their breasts because feeding a baby is much more important than what men think or being modest and this is why breasts were created. I disagree. In my grandmother’s generation, women were always careful to cover themselves when they nursed their babies. It was the same for my mother’s generation. They wouldn’t have dreamed of allowing other men besides their husbands to see their exposed breasts.
My generation was modest about this as well. My friends always covered themselves up when they nursed their babies. This generation is different. Nakedness no longer brings them shame and nursing a baby is “natural” and so are breasts, so no big deal, right? Wrong.
You can bet I sure wouldn’t want a woman coming into my home and openly showing her breasts to my husband while nursing her baby. I nursed four babies for over a year and no man besides my husband ever saw my breasts. God commands that older women teach the young women to be discreet and part of being discreet and shamefaced is not drawing attention to ourselves and covering up.
My family of women were together the other day. My niece has a 15 month old boy and she nursed him in front of us but I never even got a glimpse of her breasts and her big baby boy is fine with being covered. “But they hate being covered. How would you like to be covered when you ate?” women write me. Well, I’m an adult and I eat without having a naked breast at my face and you can train a child to accept anything. We train the children. They don’t train us. I sure trained mine to nurse while covered and it wasn’t difficult at all.
Nakedness and shame continually are linked together in the Bible. “…and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear” (Revelation 3:18). We are not to show our nakedness just because we live in a culture that tells us it is acceptable. We are to be discreet in all of our behavior, yes, even when nursing our babies. If most of the generations before this generation could do it, so can you. Breasts are not to be displayed in public by godly women for any reason.
Yes, breasts are sexual for men or God wouldn’t have written this in His Word: “Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love” (Proverbs 5:19). Men are highly attracted to women’s breasts no matter how much women don’t want this to be true. I wouldn’t even nurse in front of my sons if they were older than five years old. No, breasts are to be covered and private. It’s what God has called us to do.
The following verse doesn’t give the exception for nursing. No, covering yourselves while nursing isn’t shameful. Not covering yourselves is shameful. Align your life with the perfect Word of God, NOT according to your feelings and what you feel is right, or what is most convenient for you, or what culture finds acceptable. It’s a narrow path we walk on and few want to walk on it.
In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.
1 Timothy 2:9
13 thoughts on “Women Showing Their Breasts While Breastfeeding”
I heard from a Christian news source that some women activists are currently trying to get a law passed that would allow them to walk around top less, if they so desired. We live in such depraved times. Years ago women, for the most part, all dressed modestly even if they were not a Christian. Morality dictated a considerable emphasis on being careful NOT to offend others. We, as a culture, have been on a slippery slope for years. May the Lord come soon!!
Yes, women take off their clothes and pose naked saying that they want respect as if this will gain them respect! There are many foolish people out there. Let us never be one of them.
I have three kids, nursed all of them up until they were a little over a year, and not once did I have to expose myself to do so. A hungry baby will eat, like you said, WE train our children and NOT the other way around. I actually found a cover helpful and not an inconvenience. When we were in the privacy of our home and I didn’t use a cover, our baby would be distracted as they got a little older. It seems as if they had the cover, they focused on getting in a full feeding and emptying the breast, therefore allowing my body to produce more milk for them.
Where there is a will, there is a way and any mother who wants to nurse her baby modestly will find a way. I never even thought about it being an inconvenience since there was no way I wanted others, including strangers, to see my breasts. Many women today have no shame about nudity and it’s very sad. This must be why God has commanded that older women teach young women to be chaste and discreet since many won’t if they are not taught.
I nursed three babies and never once nursed in public, with or without a cover. I would excuse myself to another room. It didn’t take that long, I liked the private time with my babies, and it spared anyone, men or women or children, any embarrassment or discomfort. I read all the time that nursing is “natural” — well, so is going to the bathroom but we don’t do that in the living room in front of everybody.
Yes, I have heard the argument that breastfeeding is “natural” as well. Making love to our husbands and going to the bathroom, as you stated, are natural but we do both of them in private. It’s shocking to me how many “Christian” women are offended by posts like this. I guess they’re not interested in learning about modesty and discretion from an older woman.
I always nurse in private too. There’s no way not to draw attention to your breasts if you are nursing your baby with others around, even if you keep them covered. Everybody knows what is happening, and nobody needs that visual.
In Australia, most malls have toilets that have separate parent rooms and inside are cubicles with a chair inside and a curtain that can be pulled closed so mothers can nurse in private. I don’t use them, but i know they are there. I feel uncomfortable being around a woman who is nursing uncovered. I never know which way to look! Yes, breastfeeding is natural and beautiful, but i think women should remain covered for it.
Many churches encourage nursing mothers to use the cry room during the service if they need to nurse. But unless my baby is extremely noisy and fussy (which is a rare occurrence), I stay put in my seat. But i stay covered so those around me feel more comfortable. Everybody knows there is almost zero chance of hearing the sermon once you go to the cry room because other mothers insist on talking or letting their kids play with loud toys or a child is in there screaming. So like it or lump it. I am not moving from my seat. But I will try and be modest and considerate.
My husband would be mortified if I said I wanted to breastfeed in public! I feel like many husbands just they let their wives tell them what to do and how things go. I feel so bad for men out in public who stare or look or don’t know how to react. Some of them aren’t even doing it out of sin, just out of awkwardness. Like the other women here, I breastfeed for a year, never once in public and my baby never went hungry! I also hear women say “well when a baby wants to eat they want to eat” well if I was ever somewhere and my baby wanted to leave then I left! My babies needs come before my wants.
Yes, covering up is definitely a must. Whether or not we should be going to a separate room or not can depend a little on who is around. But I have leaned in that direction lately as well, or at least tried to find a corner. But covering up is so necessary in either case.
So very well said Lori! I completely agree….and thankfully women around me that I know feel the same way! 🙂
In a recent issue of Keepers at Home Magazine, a reader reminded nursing mothers to remember to use nurse in private or to at least cover up. I use to get angry at women who would must whip out one of their “girls” and nurse uncovered in front of my husband at music class. Yes babies get hungry, but mothers can nurse without ” letting it all hang out”!
I have always struggled a bit to breastfeed although I do believe that it is a very important physical and emotional part of motherhood and something which should be celebrated and encouraged.
But breastfeeding is not a justification for immodesty and there is absolutely no way I would expose my breasts in public or that my husband would allow me to do so.
It is perfectly easy to be discrete, to use a proper cover or as I have always done, find a private place.