Breastfeeding pictures are nothing new. More and more women are posting "brelfies" of themselves on social media, which is great. Keep ‘em coming, we say.
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However, one mom, a Russian businesswoman, has taken her brelfie to another level by posing for her pic completely starkers, reclining while nursing her son Fedor.
Naked breastfeeding mom
Julia Prudko, who used to be a journalist and now runs a PR agency in Moscow, posted the beautiful image to show her support for all breastfeeding moms. It's no surprise that Prudko has gone viral with this pic — and the majority of the feedback has been really positive.
Sadly, there's still the occasional negative comment, such as this: "Never understood women like this! Is it really that hard to go five metres away from the café instead of showing everyone your saggy tits and destroying their appetite?"
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OK, well there are no words for that sort of ridiculousness. And to everyone questioning why Prudko had to get naked to promote breastfeeding, well... how many answers do you need? For starters, breastfeeding can be an amazing, natural experience. What better way to capture that than to photograph mother and child in their most natural state? We're fed a constant stream of pictures of naked and nearly naked women in magazines and on the internet — does anyone complain about those? Why is it different just because a hungry baby is thrown into the mix?
Then there are the shamers. The haters. Those who think nursing mothers should lock themselves away and feed their babies in darkness, possibly underneath a blanket. To these people — who, hopefully, are now the minority — we need to keep saying, "We know we can’t convince you, but we’re going to carry on sharing these incredible images of us nursing our children because we are doing something great."
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So keep up your brelfies, moms. Keep feeding your babies in cafés, in parks, in movie theatres or wherever you happen to be when they are hungry. Keep spreading the message that breastfeeding in public isn't bad or wrong or anything to be ashamed of.
Will Prudko's pic inspire more naked breastfeeding selfies? We bloody hope so.
Before you go, check out our slideshow below.
