A mum came under the ire of prudish netizens after a photo of her surfaced on social media — it was an image of her openly breastfeeding her infant while riding on a Downtown Line train.
Yes, once again, it’s another story related to public support and disgust about nursing in public, followed by the subsequent heated debate whether openly breastfeeding is okay or not.
To clarify, it’s not an offence to breastfeed in public in Singapore — as long as the mother is decently clad and doesn’t expose more of her breast than is necessary, according to The Breastfeeding Mothers’ Support Group Singapore.
In any case, some folks are appalled that the mother did so on the MRT in full view of everyone else. Even those who were supportive suggested that the mum should have at least used a nursing cover for more privacy.
The mother in subject isn’t too bothered about the criticisms lodged against her, however. Responding to the viral response the image received, she explained that she does have a nursing cover, but her daughter would cry and struggle underneath it.
“I put my baby first so as long as she is comfortable and feeding well, I don’t really care what others think,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “It isn’t that hard to just look away if you don’t like to see a baby drinking milk.”
The mum also sounded her belief that there’s nothing wrong at all with feeding her child in public, and pointed out the double standards surrounding cleavage and breastfeeding.
“If people are ok with women who show cleavage, I don’t know why they would not be ok with me breastfeeding. Unless these group of people think my breast is for sex and not for feeding my baby,” she wrote.
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