What do you think?
An angry mum shared a photograph of a notice she recently spotted to her breastfeeding blog to point out how mammy-shaming it is.
Johanna Sargeant of Milk and Motherhood posted the photo to her Facebook page which tells mums that they should not use their mobile phones while breastfeeding.
Sargeant expressed annoyance at how shaming and condescending the post came across as and said she had had enough of mums being put down for not being ‘good enough’.
Johanna starts the post by asking how long she needs to look at her baby for before she is deemed a good mother;
“So tell me: For how many hours of every day should we stare adoringly at our babies in order to be deemed a ‘good mother’?
If my baby feeds 10 times a day for 45-60minutes, must I gaze at him the entire time to ensure that he develops appropriately? What about my neighbour, whose baby feeds 6 times a day for 4 minutes per side — should SHE watch her baby lovingly for that entire time?”
She goes on to talk about how not only do some mums need the break to just aimlessly scroll but that for those that don’t have a lot of family around it may be their only way of chatting with others.
“When I have no family here and no strong friendships, but a Facebook group of new mothers reduces my anxiety and isolation, should I not? For those hours upon hours upon hours, every day, every week, every month, should I just stare at my baby?”
I remember as a new mum very much needing to take a few minutes when I could to just browse social media for awhile. It made me feel less disconnected from the outside world.
When you’re looking after a small child you often don’t get to venture outside much as it doesn’t seem worth the hassle with all the baby things that you need to pack.
Sometimes popping onto Facebook or Instagram is the only way to catch up with friends and other mums who know what you’re going through on a daily basis.
Johanna finished off by saying that the guilt tripping of modern mums is uncalled for and how using a phone is not different than browsing a magazine or watching TV;
“This is shaming and guilt-inducing and I friggin HATE it. This was created by someone who did not have a baby during the era of smart phones. You can’t tell me that mothers beforehand did this. They read books, read trashy magazines, did crosswords, were on the phone to their friend, watched Days of our Lives.”
In short, just let mums have a moment. Just because we’re not staring at our babies 24/7 doesn’t mean we don’t love them it just means that we need a little ‘me time’ and that’s ok.
