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Breastfeeding advocate hits back at trolls' 'vile' messages

A blogger who shares pictures of herself feeding in public has hit back at trolls blasting her for ‘displaying’ herself and inundating her with inappropriate messages.

Ami Roberts, 29, shares candid photographs of herself breastfeeding three-month-old son Smidge while out and about to encourage and empower other mums to breastfeed in public.

But the mum of two was stunned when she received sexual comments on social media ‘praising’ her 36F boobs and claiming they want ‘comfort’ from her.

The Essex local – who doesn’t reveal her children’s real names on her blog Through Ami’s Eyes – admits she is “very proud to breastfeed in public” and attempts to hit back at commenters who may discourage shy women.

“As a society, we’re used to seeing boobs used for advertisements but when they’re seen being used for the most natural reason some people don’t like it. They get uncomfortable and feel they have a right to comment.” Ami said.

Ami Roberts shares candid photographs of herself breastfeeding in public to help encourgae other women. Source: Caters News
Ami Roberts shares candid photographs of herself breastfeeding in public to help encourgae other women. Source: Caters News

She then addresses the other side of the scale, where people feel the need to comment on her social media channels saying ‘I love your boobs’.

“I’ve written back to these men, many of whom have partners and children, asking them how they expect me to reply, should I say, ‘thanks, I’m so glad’?

“What do they expect to achieve from this apart from making women feeling embarrassed and that they shouldn’t be feeding in public?

“I’m headstrong and very confident about feeding in public but if another mum who wasn’t as confident posted pictures and received messages like that it could really put them off and that’s not fair.”

The full-time blogger bottle fed her eldest son Pickle, now 4, after struggling to successfully get him to latch on when he was born in September 2014.

“There was so much pressure to breastfeed him but it just didn’t work. There was all this pressure of people saying ‘you need to breastfeed’ but no-one was helping me. I just wanted to make sure my baby had a full tummy so I bottle fed him.”

After struggling to breastfeed in her early days of being a mum she is now full of confidence. Source: Caters News
After struggling to breastfeed in her early days of being a mum she is now full of confidence. Source: Caters News

Undeterred by her previous experience, Ami vowed to give breastfeeding another go in June this year when she gave birth to her second son.

“I kept an open mind and thought to myself ‘If it doesn’t work I’m not going to beat myself up about it’. It’s about both me and baby being happy so I wasn’t going to pressure myself.”

After a few initial struggles, Ami was finally able to get Smidge to latch on with the help of nipple shields but her joy of successfully breastfeeding was short-lived when she was subject to negative comments while nursing him at a public cafe.

“There was another group of people sat five tables away and a guy in his fifties looked over, tutted and said ‘they shouldn’t be allowed to do that in here where people are eating’ and moved away.

However, her positive messages have received some unwanted attention from men commenting on her breasts. Source: Caters News
However, her positive messages have received some unwanted attention from men commenting on her breasts. Source: Caters News

“That was my first ever negative comment and I didn’t know how to deal with it. Now I look back and wish I’d said ‘I’m not squirting it on your toast, how can you feel that you can comment on this?’

“I want women to know their rights. It’s a woman’s right to feed her baby, we’re not doing anything wrong… and that’s why I’ve shared breastfeeding pictures on my social media channels to show women there’s nothing to hide.

However, aside from the positive reactions, sharing this empowering breastfeeding advocate message on social media has also attracted unwanted attention from men who sexualising the images and say things like ‘I want to get to know you better’.

“I don’t know what they are trying to achieve other than make me sick…When I’ve replied to people their responses have been mixed.”

An example of the ‘vile’ messages she has since received. Source: Caters News
An example of the ‘vile’ messages she has since received. Source: Caters News

“Some make excuses and say ‘sorry I didn’t mean to offend you’ whereas others said ‘well I really like them and I can’t help that’ and thought that was acceptable.

Ami’s husband John Roberts, 29, said he was repulsed by the vile comments she was subjected to.

“It’s disgusting, it just shows what people expect to get away with. They don’t seem educated enough to respect women like my wife who are trying to do the best by their kid,” John said.

Ami with her husband John Roberts and their two kids, Pickle and Smidge. Source: Caters News
Ami with her husband John Roberts and their two kids, Pickle and Smidge. Source: Caters News

Ami, who is a Lansinoh ambassador, said she wants to support all mums – who either choose to bottle or breastfeed their children.

“Bottle feeding is just as hard as breastfeeding, I’m an advocate of feeding in general, whether it’s one or the other or a combination of the two.”

“I have the utmost respect for both sides – all mothers are equal.”

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