Have you seen this beautiful photo of the two military mamas breastfeeding their babies?
via Brynja Sigurdardottir Photography with the caption:
“Share if you support breastfeeding ;) http://
I posted this photo last week but after thinking about it some more and noticing TODAY’s article featuring it, I thought I’d share the thoughts of the women behind the photo and add some info for anyone interested in the military aspect of it.
What is the story behind the photo?
Military spouse Crystal Scott started Mom2Mom in January, a breastfeeding support group for military moms at Fairchild AFB outside Spokane, WA. She asked photographer Brynja Sigurdardottir to take photos of real breastfeeding mothers nursing their babies to create posters for National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in August.
“This is one of the amazing photographs from a photo shoot we did this past Saturday for our upcoming Breastfeeding campaign! Thank you for also crediting Brynja who is the amazing and wonderful photography who donated her time to help us create this extraordinary photos! We are going to create slogans and put them on the photos, make them into posters and put them anywhere and everywhere we can!”
What do the women featured have to say about breastfeeding in uniform and the attention this photo has brought breastfeeding military mothers?
From TODAY’s article, Military mom ‘proud’ of breast-feeding in uniform, despite criticism:
One of the moms photographed in uniform, Terran Echegoyen-McCabe, breast-feeds her 10-month-old twin girls on her lunch breaks during drill weekends as a member of the Air National Guard.
“I have breast-fed in our lobby, in my car, in the park … and I pump, usually in the locker room,” she says. “I’m proud to be wearing a uniform while breast-feeding. I’m proud of the photo and I hope it encourages other women to know they can breast-feed whether they’re active duty, guard or civilian.”
She said she’s surprised by the reaction to the photos, which also feature her friend Christina Luna, because it never occurred to her that breast-feeding in uniform would cause such a stir.
“There isn’t a policy saying we can or cannot breast-feed in uniform,” Echegoyen-McCabe says. “I think it’s something that every military mom who is breast-feeding has done. … I think we do need to be able to breast-feed in uniform and be protected.”
The Air Force has no policy specifically addressing breast-feeding in uniform, according to Air Force spokesperson Captain Rose Richeson, who added, “Airmen should be mindful of their dress and appearance and present a professional image at all times while in uniform.”
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Another military mother, Robyn Roche-Paull, explains her experience in the US Navy as a breastfeeding mother in a male-dominated field.
Watch Robyn Roche-Paull in this short video produced by Milk for Thought.
Her Book: Breastfeeding In Combat Boots - Robyn Roche-Paull
If you would like to support breastfeeding mothers in the military and all mothers who nurse in public or private, share this photo with your friends and family on Facebook, Pintrest, Google +, wherever you’d like. If you are located in WA, contact me for ways to help locally.
More news on this story:
My related posts:
- Tandem Nursing Thoughts
- Read it: Every argument against NIP debunked
- Overcoming Nursing In Public Fears
- How to breastfeed in public
- This Is The Way Nursing In Public Should Be Treated
