Yummy Mummy star explains why she made that controversial comment

Yummy Mummy star explains why she said breastfeeding in public should be illegal.

Maria DiGeronimo explains why she made the comment that “breastfeeding in public, for me, is illegal” on Channel Seven’s new reality show, Yummy Mummies.

She explains the “sacred act of breastfeeding is physically and emotionally intimate and is not just about feeding, but equally as important is the connection and bonding of mother and child.”

“A powerful hormone that is vital for a mother to successfully breastfeed is oxytocin which stimulates the “letting down” of the breast milk. Many factors can inhibit the production of this hormone including a mother’s stress level influenced from her surrounding environment.”

She goes on to say, “Obviously, I do not suggest one has to hide or feel ashamed to breastfeed, I just personally would use the nursing areas — which nowadays are so readily available — or with no other option, I would use a light cover with intention of ensuring a more relaxed and less distracting moment for my baby to be able to engage in eating and bonding with me.

I personally feel that the time and location of a feed should warrant some rationale, as I feel the composure of a nursing mother is vital to a successful breastfeeding experience and a possible crowded place could ensue distraction.

“I feel breastfeeding is a special moment that should be witnessed by only intimate family members not just anyone walking by. I just don’t see why I should have 20, 30, 50 people walking by me with the added background noise potentially disturbing my peace with baby.”

“Furthermore, even in the most evolved societies breasts are part of one’s sexual ritual, as unfortunately society has been somewhat programmed from birth to sexualise breasts. We are bombarded with daily sexualised images of women predominantly featuring breasts; from daily televised adverts to magazine covers.”

She adds, “I feel a woman’s breast is a private part of her anatomy and although they are being used for food, I don’t feel comfortable with a flash of my nipple as I latch baby on and then off.

I am comfortable with my body, I am comfortable to wear swimsuits, and am not worried about any flaws on my body… yet I still don’t want everybody to see my bare breasts.”

You can read her full post here

Recently there were calls of outcry from mums begging people to boycott the series as it is putting motherhood in a terrible light – Petition to boycott new series “Yummy Mummies”

What do you think about the series? Are you tuning in to watch?

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18 Comments

- - mom94125 said
  - 05 Sep 2017
    10:57 am
mum’s rooms also need to be stepped right up! one place i went to was so amazing and all the others pale in comparison. i don’t want to sit next to a toilet to breastfeed! yuck and smelly! the great room had seperate sections to go to the toilet if needed and the cubicle was giagantic with enough room for a pram and it had a seperate section where you could go into a cubicle and shut the curtain, sit in an armchair and watch tv. it smelt like vanilla and had soft lights. there was nice clean change tables and it was pleasant. this was at a shopping centre in nsw

- - hopefullyheidi said
  - 15 Jul 2017
    12:26 am
I must be a bit behind because I’ve never even heard of the show.

- - mom101628 said
  - 13 Jul 2017
    10:50 pm
I tend to agree with this lady.

- - Missey Grace said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    7:12 pm
Hmmm, I don’t watch this show. There are many good shows that’s entertaining and educational.

- - mom90758 said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    2:43 pm
I’m absolutely not interested in this show. I personally never felt comfortable breastfeeding in public and always found quiet places to feed my daughter, but I don’t mind having people around me breastfeeding.
- mom93821 replied
  
  13 Jul 2017 , 6:22 am
  I love your comment because you did what was right for you and respect the rights of others – beautiful!
  - mom90758 replied
    
    13 Jul 2017 , 7:24 pm
    
    Thank you very much! It wasn’t always easy to find the right spot where to feel comfortable. But with a little bit of organization you can.
- - mom160421 said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    1:51 pm
I haven’t watched this show. It’s all a bit too glitzy for me.

- - mom111059 said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    8:46 am
I haven’t watched the show as the adds were enough to put me off. Spoilt women who think more of themselves and the clothes than the new life they are creating. Boy are they in for a wake up call.

- - taynik46 said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    7:02 am
I haven’t seen this show and I not sure I even want to – I never did breastfeed my daughter in public – it was just something that i was uncomfortable about – that I wish I wasn’t because it was so restricting to make sure we were home for each and every feed! – in hindsight I wish I just had the confidence to do it.

- - Ellen said
  - 12 Jul 2017
    4:24 am
I don’t agree with this lady. Any mum knows that when a baby gets hungry and becomes fidgety in no time and needs to feed. There’s no time to check out in the supermarket and certainly no time to pay and then search for a nursing area, you have your milk handy and just feed. You really don’t have to have your nipples flashing. And covering it ? When there is one thing that draws the attention to breastfeeding, then it’s breastfeeding under a cover !! It’s difficult to latch your baby properly under a cover or keep it latched on well and it gets far too hot, with lack of oxygen ! Yes, there certainly are moments that you feed your baby in the quiet and intimacy of your own home or a nursing area, but practically this is not possible all the time.

- - mom112217 said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    9:09 pm
She is just covering up her stupid comment!

- - june11 said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    8:48 pm
At least the Mum is using her breast for a legitimate reason. The photo of her looks pretty discreet to me. She’s not baring her skin for the fun of it. Some would “fall out” of their tops if they moved the “wrong way”.

- - BellaB said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    6:17 pm
I’m just ignoring the whole show. By all accounts it’s bad.

- - mom93821 said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    5:18 pm
I do not agree with anything that she says in this article. Where are all of these wonderful nursing areas mentioned in the article? Just because she says breasts are sexualised does not make it right! As a woman I choose when and where to feed a hungry baby. The function of my breasts is to feed a baby. If it makes people squeamish to see a woman breast feeding then please look away. I can think of many things that indeed should be illegal…but breastfeeding a baby and providing it with nutrition is not one of them! I will never ever watch this show.

- - stepmom107932 said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    4:37 pm
Sounds like a massive back peddle after realising she F’d up. Also The tenses she uses makes it sounds like she is talking theoretically and not from experience.
Last if all I tried to feed my baby with a cover once, it sucked! he was coming off the nipple all the time, didn’t want to latch properly, was hot and sweaty and very upset the whole time. I gave up removed the cover and he fed fine.

- - nealsq said
  - 11 Jul 2017
    4:00 pm
was this her comment from the start or was she back peddling? I for one never flashed a nipple while feeding, in fact people would say they didn’t realise I was feeding my babies. If my kid was hungry and a boob fed kid then they got their food. Boobs are only sexualised if you make them that way