After a mother was told to leave a public swimming pool in Toulon for breastfeeding her baby, the local branch of Mum Mood, an association dedicated to supporting mothers and promoting breastfeeding, has decided to organise a peaceful sit-in event in the heart of Nice.

For many mothers, the perfectly natural act of breastfeeding their young children in public comes with the threat of stigmatisation and critique, from disapproving looks and sighs to outright rude and intrusive comments. It can even go further, with some feeling unable to feed their baby in public, fearing a reprisal similar to that faced by a local mother who was reportedly told to leave a public swimming pool in Toulon this summer by two staff members for merely meeting her baby’s essential needs.

This taboo is something that Mum Mood, an EU-wide association dedicated to supporting breastfeeding mothers, hopes to quash.

Later this month, the association will be inviting mothers from across the region to head down to Nice’s Promenade du Paillon to stage a peaceful solidarity sit-in. The organisers hope that this collective breastfeeding event will encourage people to reconsider negative views on breastfeeding in public, and help mothers who feel uncomfortable breastfeeding while out and about regain their confidence.

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The event will be held on Saturday 14th September at Rauba Capeu quay, in front of the famous Baie des Anges. Earlier this year, a dozen Mum Mood mothers gathered at the nude statue of David for the inaugural collective breastfeeding initiative, with symbolic reasoning behind the choice of locale.

“What is a penis doing on the Coulée Verte when there are lots of children around?” said Céline Bourganeuf, the president of Mum Mood, in an interview with ActuNice in June, highlighting her perceived hypocrisy of those who find public nursing inappropriate. If nude statues of men are widely accepted, why not a mother caring for her child?

Mum Mood anticipates a turnout of around 50 mothers at the upcoming event. Even more are expected to join the 2024 Mum Mood Breastfeeding Forum, which will also be held in Nice, on 12th October. The forum will feature workshops, talks, information kiosks, a photo exhibit and even a concert.

Organisers describe it as “a unique opportunity to bring together breastfeeding scientists, associations focused on breastfeeding, photographic art, creators, brands and families to exchange and celebrate breastfeeding”.

For more information about Mum Mood and its events, click here.

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Photo source: Ksenia Makagonova, Unsplash