Michelle Branch has taken to Twitter to call out a fellow mother who publicly shamed her for breastfeeding at the park.
The 38-year-old singer used her social platform on Tuesday to share her thoughts with her followers about the encounter. “I am in shock,” Branch wrote.
In early February, the Grammy-winning artist recently welcomed her and her husband Patrick Carney’s baby girl, Willie Jacquet, into the world. This is the couple’s second child, the first being their three-year-old son, Rhys James Carney.
Fellow mother shamed Branch for nursing Willie
While spending the day at the park with her son Rhys, Michelle Branch came in contact with a mother who shamed her for breastfeeding her daughter in a public place. With the notion that fellow mothers tend to be the most sympathetic to other mothers, Branch was shocked that the woman was judging her for nursing her child.
“I just got shamed by another mother (who was holding her own young infant!) for nursing my 6 week old baby on a bench at a playground while my toddler was playing,” Branch tweeted.
“She said I wasn’t ‘being modest’ I am in shock that this kind of judgment was coming from a fellow mom!”
The Everywhere singer then followed up with a deeper explanation of the scenario. She said she was covered up and significantly far away from the other people at the park.
“…and to clarify, I had a nursing tank top on and was seated away from others. It’s not like I walked into the crowd and whipped my tits out. Being a mom is hard enough. Can we not judge one another for how we feed our babies?”
Although Branch was extremely upset about the encounter, she was so in shock that she didn’t respond to the fellow mom in person.
In a Twitter exchange where a user replied with a similar situation, Branch wrote back, “I was in shock, so I didn’t say anything back. I’m fuming!”
Pic credit: @michellebranch/Twitter
Fans flocked to Twitter to support Michelle Branch
Followers of the Breathe singer have shown their utmost support for Michelle Branch by responding to her, mostly in disbelief, on Twitter. The top response came from the YouTube chef Jerry James Stone, who replied with a sarcastic photo of a mother “covering up” while breastfeeding by putting the cloth over her head.
“Please cover yourself while breast-feeding ? also: I’m sorry you had to deal with that crap,” he wrote.
Many of the responses were extremely heartfelt and showed how valid Branch’s frustration was.
“I just don’t understand why other moms feel it’s necessary to mom shame especially for the most natural thing in the world. It’s infuriating. You keep doing what you are doing and take care of your babies. They don’t like it or agree with it then they can turn their heads!”
Many followers agreed that the problem was with the fellow mother, not Branch. “Michelle, her problem is about herself, not you,” one user wrote.
Another said she had the same experience as Branch – “I’ve had the same experience. I find it’s about their own insecurities – not you. Feed your baby. Screw ’em if they don’t like it.”
Although not all replies were from fellow mothers who have been through a similar situation, it’s clear Branch has the utmost support from her followers, who absolutely agree with her standpoint.