Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
A photo posted by Filipino actress Kylie Padilla yesterday has put a spotlight on a struggle every breastfeeding mom faces: “How do I feed my child in public?”
In the photo, posted on both Padilla’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, she is seen breastfeeding her 1-year-old son inside a public restroom.
Her caption reads: “No plans on stopping anytime soon,” with the hashtag #breastfeedingmama.
Padilla’s Facebook post now has 19,000 reactions, 10,000 shares, and more than 800 comments, while the same photo posted on Instagram has close to 160,000 likes.
While Padilla’s camp told Smart Parenting that the mall she was at had a breastfeeding station, she had to go for the restroom because the station was too far from where they were and her son was already hungry.
Many praised Padilla for her efforts to continue breastfeeding her child despite how hard that is to do in the Philippines.
The Philippines’ Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act mandates that all facilities must have lactation centers readily available for breastfeeding mother. This shouldn’t just be any empty room either. According to the law, it must have features like a sink, a refrigerator for storing breastmilk, and outlets for breast pumps.
Despite this law, many public spaces in the Philippines still don’t have proper nursing stations. Many are forced to either find a more private area or suffer stares from people. In the Philippines, there is still a stigma attached to breastfeeding in public.
As if mothers don’t have it hard enough, some are also judged for where and how they decide to breastfeed their child. This is seen in some comments on Padilla’s photo, where netizens criticized her for feeding her son in a restroom.
One Facebook user named Niña Palarion said in Filipino and English: “Breast feeding (sic) is like eating [a] meal. Why do it in a restroom? Haay. So unfortunate for her child that he was fed inside a restroom … tskk!!!”
At least some good came out of these negative comments, though, because an overwhelming number of people came to Padilla’s defense and pointed out how mothers just can’t win.
“When [a mother] breastfeeds in public, you have a lot to say, now that she’s breastfeeding in the restroom so people won’t see, others have something [negative] to say too,” Kimmy Maestre II said.
“IS IT WRONG TO BREASTFEED HA? My God, not all public places have breastfeeding areas, you know.”
JeddahRose Mejia Borbor had the same sentiment. “Where should breastfeed moms place themselves then?” she asked critics.
Many also came to Padilla’s defense, like fellow breastfeeding mother Catherine Casquejo who said she has a similar struggle.
“Puhlease, let’s just all appreciate the fact that she is a breastfeeding mom. We, breastfeeding moms, know how challenging it is to be one but very fulfilling at the same time, thus, the least that we can do is to support and respect one another,” she wrote.
Kathleen Jose urged bashing moms to just support other mothers like Padilla; she even gave a harsh reminder of reality. “Let’s just support all breastfeeding pinays“ she wrote. “Some even live near trash and breastfeed there.” she said.
How do you think the situation for breastfeeding mothers can improve in the Philippines? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
