Many new mums report they feel uncomfortable or anxious breastfeeding their babies in public, even celebrities such as Lucy Mecklenburgh. The former TOWIE star welcomed her son Roman with fiance Ryan Thomas ten days before the coronavirus lockdown came into effect in the UK in March, and she said feeding in public was one of her "major anxieties."
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"It did feel weird and I did have a lot of anxiety about it and we went to a restaurant a couple of weeks ago and I had two sort of major anxieties," she recalled during a panel discussion organised by WaterWipes as part of #earlydayclub Live, which is a virtual support network for new and expectant parents. "One was feeding in public because I had never done it before and it felt really odd because I had only breastfed in my house. I felt really exposed."
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Speaking of her stressful experience, Lucy continued: "I went to a restaurant and it was a really hot day and I had the muslin on. I think you would normally feed in public when they are not really pulling things yet and they would be a newborn but he's not! And he was pulling the muslin, pulling my hair, pulling my earrings and I was like AHH!"
The 28-year-old noted that breastfeeding in public can be very controversial, but revealed she did not let that impact her decision to feed Roman. "And in the end I just chucked the muslin in the bag and I just said do you know what, I am going to feed him like I feed him at home, you know if anyone has got a problem with it – whatever! And do you know what, I could see how he was latched and I felt more comfortable the longer I did it. And actually he is fine now, we have been to restaurants a few times since, and I am a lot more confident and comfortable," she told fellow panel members TV star Ore Oduba, GP Stephanie Ooi, and wellness expert Caroline Foran.
Lucy described feeding in public as one of her two "major anxieties"
Lucy also recently revealed Roman struggled with tongue-tie and delayed CMPA (cows milk protein allergy), and she suffered from painful mastitis. So we're not surprised she told Instagram fans: "My breastfeeding journey with Roman hasn’t been plain sailing."
SEE: Inside Ryan Thomas and Lucy Mecklenburgh's Essex home with baby Roman