Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project 2015 | Gainesville, FL Photography

I know that the photos I take are a way of freezing time. Probably because I am a nursing mother myself, the photos that crash over me with the biggest wave of emotion are my breastfeeding photos. Once mothers receive these images, I get the most kind, genuine messages thanking me for preserving this time in their life and the life of their baby. They are doing an amazing thing, after all, feeding, nourishing, and comforting their little ones. They realize that, in this capacity, they are powerful. No one else will do. For the duration of a breastfeeding relationship, your baby wants and needs you.

I take part in a global effort to normalize breastfeeding in public, called the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project. I was driven to participate in this project as I feel my own nursing days slipping by one by one. Some of my fondest memories of my sons are sitting with them, cradled in my arms, off in some delightful dreamland, suckling at my breast. I’ve been told that they’ll never learn to fall asleep on their own (not true, they eventually do). I’ve read that I’m spoiling them, or that, in my two-year-old’s case, he’s too old. I could cite sources about the numerous benefits of breastfeeding (even for toddlers), but I won’t. I want this post to be about the feelings involved in breastfeeding, not the facts. I will mourn the day that my sons stop nursing. But I know it will be our choice, on our time, and therefore the right time.

Every mother has the right to have as long of a breastfeeding relationship with her baby as is mutually desirable. Unfortunately, one obstacle to achieving this is the sexualization and stigma that women face for breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding does not occur on a schedule — it occurs on demand, and as such, women do have to feed their nurslings in public. So, please, enjoy these images from the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project. Pin them, share them around. The more we see it, the more normal it becomes. And, as a result, more mothers and babies will be able to cherish long, healthy nursing relationships.

To read testimonials of women who participated the project, visit the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project on Facebook.

To see more images from other participating photographers, follow our blog circle! Click here.