A photo of a young mum breast feeding her son at a restaurant, while defiantly facing the stares of an angry diner has gone viral.
The self described “badass breastfeeding (uncovered) mama” posted the photo on Facebook to give other mothers the courage not to back down when faced with the disapproval of others.
Twenty-four year old Ashley Kaidel accompanied the photo with an explanation of why no breastfeeding mum should have to cover up.
The photo shows Ashley sitting at a table breastfeeding her son, while looking in the distance with a determined look on her face.
“In the picture, it appears I’m staring off into the distance,’ she wrote on Facebook.
“In reality, I’m staring into the eyes of a woman staring at me.
“She is looking at me with disgust and shaking her head with judgement in an attempt to shame me and indirectly tell me without words that I am wrong and need to cover myself.”
“You should not ever feel shamed, belittled, embarrassed, or wrong for feeding your baby the way nature intended.”
Ashley noted that she understands some women feel more comfortable covering up, and that’s ok too.
Her key message being that it’s up to the breastfeeding mother to make the choice without fear of judgement.
“Breasts were made to sustain your baby’s life before they were made to bring pleasure to any other man, woman, partner, or spouse,” she wrote.
“There is nothing weird about this and there’s no difference in me feeding my baby with my breast than you feeding yourself with a spoon.”