On any given day across the United States, nursing moms gather to discuss breastfeeding at numerous support groups offered at hospitals and private storefronts or through the international La Leche League. La Leche League has been advocating breastfeeding since 1958.

Breast Friends Talk to other breastfeeding moms on our Message Boards. Find a La Leche League chapter in Your area.

PAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Walk into one of these support groups, and you’ll find enormous diaper bags and infant carriers strewn about the room with tired-eyed women holding sleepy, gurgling babies of varying ages. It’s tough to be a new mom – let alone having to worry about public perceptions about breastfeeding.

PAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">“I don’t care what others say or what kind of looks they give me,” says Katie Baillo of Sherman Oaks, California. “If my baby is hungry, that’s all that matters. You just have to be confident and discreet.”

PAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">Strength in Numbers
Being discreet and confident are two big issues for new moms learning how to nurse in public. Moms often discuss new products – such as nursing covers, shirts and so on – that help them when they are out in public.

PAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana">But confidence can’t be purchased. A mom who wants to breastfeed needs plenty of support from the time she gives birth onward – from the hospital staff, her doctor, pediatrician, husband, family and friends.