Have you heard the term “lactivist”? It refers to someone who actively supports breast-feeding over bottle-feeding babies. Many lactivists are in favour of “NIP” (nursing in public) – which is exactly what megastar Beyoncé has made the news doing in recent days.
The singer was spotted breast-feeding her seven week-old baby, Blue Ivy, in full view of the patrons at a New York restaurant last week. This no doubt caused a large percentage of America’s population to choke on their milk and cookies.
While it’s highly possible that Beyoncé is just another busy mom with a hungry kid in tow, trying to multi-task her way through her days, she’s also an A-lister. And breast-feeding campaigners have wasted no time in pointing out how significant her decision to nurse in public is for their cause.
Actress Jenna Elfman, who is a spokesperson for the Best for Babes breast-feeding advocacy group, has lauded Beyoncé for setting a “classy example that breast-feeding is and should be a natural part of our life as a society”.
It’s interesting to note that black mothers in the US have significantly lower rates of breast-feeding than white moms. Perhaps Beyonce’s decision to breast feed publicly will have an influence on those stats, across the board. In the meantime, B is probably just wishing someone else famous would have a baby so she could NIP in peace.
[Source: Time]
