This World Breastfeeding Week, Listen To Neha Dhupia: Support Mothers Feeding Without Fear Or Shame In Public

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There is nothing shameful about feeding a hungry baby, yet somehow, when a mother breastfeeds in public, the world still forgets that truth.
Recently, Bollywood actress and maternal rights advocate Neha Dhupia has reignited her campaign, Freedom to Feed, during World Breastfeeding Week 2025, which is observed from 01-07 August every year. Born from her personal experience of judgment while nursing, Neha says no woman should be made to feel ashamed for simply feeding her child, especially in public.

Even today, breastfeeding mothers are often subjected to awkward stares, judgmental glances, or unsolicited advice when they try to nurse outside the home. Many new moms feel forced to hide in changing rooms, cars, or bathrooms to do something as natural as feeding their child. The result? Mothers are shamed, babies are delayed their nourishment, and society continues to stay stuck in outdated thinking.

Photo Credit: Neha Dhupia/ Instagram

World Breastfeeding Week reminds us of the beauty, importance, and normalcy of breastfeeding, but the conversation must go beyond awareness and into action. If we want to create a world where breastfeeding is no longer a "bold" act but a normal, visible, and supported one, we must challenge the stigma from all sides.

Here are five important and practical ways we can start normalising public breastfeeding, without shame or apology.

1. Speak About It Openly, And Often

The more we treat breastfeeding like a taboo, the more awkward it becomes. Normalize it by talking about it, at home, in schools, on social media, and in healthcare conversations. When mothers share their stories and families discuss breastfeeding as a regular part of parenting, it stops being something hidden. Creating openness also helps prepare younger generations to see breastfeeding not as a spectacle but as a responsibility and right.

Photo Credit: Neha Dhupia/ Instagram

2. Show Real Representation In Media

Films, advertisements, and even children's books rarely depict breastfeeding in real-life settings. Most visuals still promote bottle-feeding as the default, and when breastfeeding is shown, it's usually edited, glamorized, or censored. Normalizing breastfeeding in public also means normalizing how it is shown. A mother breastfeeding at a park, a café, or an airport should not be cropped out, it should be shown, respected, and celebrated. Visibility leads to acceptance.

3. Encourage Breastfeeding-Friendly Public Spaces

One of the biggest challenges for nursing mothers is the lack of safe, clean, and welcoming public spaces. Malls, airports, offices, parks, and even hospitals should have designated breastfeeding zones, not hidden in corners but accessible, hygienic, and respectful. Normalization also means not forcing mothers to use these spaces. A mother should be free to nurse wherever her baby needs feeding, with support instead of shame.

4. Confront Stigma When You See It

Change doesn't happen in silence. If you witness someone being shamed or ridiculed for breastfeeding in public, speak up, politely but firmly. If a friend feels embarrassed about feeding in public, remind her that she's doing nothing wrong. Stigma thrives when people stay quiet. Public breastfeeding is a protected right in many parts of the world, including India, and reinforcing this with kindness can shift mindsets.

5. Create A Culture Of Support, Not Scrutiny

Partners, families, bystanders, and workplaces play a huge role in shaping how safe a woman feels while nursing in public. Support could mean standing beside her while she feeds, offering a shawl only if she asks, or simply continuing conversation without making it a moment. The less spectacle we make of it, the more comfortable it becomes. Normalize support, not stares.

What Feeds A Child Should Never Offend A Society

Breastfeeding is not a private indulgence, it's a public health necessity. When mothers are made to feel embarrassed about something so essential, it says more about societal immaturity than about motherhood.

By talking, showing, supporting, and standing up, we can begin to build a culture where breastfeeding in public is as ordinary as it should be. One where babies are fed on time, mothers are respected, and feeding does not require permission.

This World Breastfeeding Week, let's stop saying "Sorry" and start saying "So what?" when a mother feeds her child wherever she is. She's not asking for attention. She's asking for dignity. Give her that.