SAN DIEGO — Photoshoots are pretty common at the beach but this one has special meaning for breastfeeders and "chestfeeders" and the babies who count on them.
“We’re just going to head straight under the pier here,” said Brittanee Snyder who is volunteering her time and skills to capture the wild ride and tender moments of motherhood. She’s a professional photographer and one after another, mothers proudly display their bond with their children in front of Brittanee’s camera lens. “I don’t think we knew we would have such a big response, we’re actually doing this four days in a row because so many moms wanted to do it,” she said.
They’re part of a Facebook group called the Badass Chest Feeders of San Diego. A group that recently changed their name from breastfeeders to "chestfeeders."
So, why the name change?
Maarienne Bowman explains, “There are people in today’s world that identify separately from a female.”
They’re hoping to be welcoming for all people who are nursing, including those who do not identify as female. “Just because they don’t identify as a feminine person doesn’t make them unable to provide for their child. When we say "chestfeeding" we're desexualizing and defeminizing the word… it's simply coming from your chest.”
Kayla Cifuentes considers herself a breastfeeding mom and she appreciates the group for empowering all people, “you’re just nourishing your child, it’s nothing to be scared of.”
She says it wasn’t as easy with her first child, “I would either go to the car or avoid going out because I didn’t feel comfortable going out.”
Elisa Aguirre says she loves the connection with her seven-month-old Xochiel Guadalupe, “When I first found out I was having a baby I was so scared, I bought bottles then once she came I was like nope, I love being attached to her, her being attached to me. This is what our bodies are made to do, it’s natural it shouldn’t be offensive.”
That’s the message behind these types of photoshoots, and it feels quite emotional for co-organizer Maarienne Bowman, “I drove off the lot crying being able to see all these women together.”
As many people know, breastfeeding or "chestfeeding" isn’t always as picture-perfect as Brittanee’s photos. It comes with a whole slew of struggles and the moms at this photoshoot hope society and judgements by others are not among them, as they attempt to welcome any and all people who take part in one of nature’s most primal acts.
News 8 Reporter Neda Iranpour has also been one of the 7000+ members of the Badass Chest Feeders of San Diego Facebook page, here’s her note:
They helped me a lot through my entire year of breastfeeding my baby, I was pretty active on the Facebook page from the moment my daughter was born in February of 2019 through 2020. I would ask about latching, regressions, or why my baby would nurse for two hours at a time sometimes! I also had mommy thumb aka DeQuervain's Syndrome so I turned to them for encouragement during those tough moments when I would cry from the pain in my thumbs. DeQuervain's is something that's caused by nursing but the group kept me motivated to continue with my breastfeeding journey. Also, while I was in the News 8 live trucks, I would pump in between covering news stories. From wildfires to crime scenes, at protests and city council meetings, I would often be in the back of our live trucks every 2-3 hours pumping during my morning reporting shift. Side note: our News 8 photographers were so understanding and cool about it all! That's when it gave me strength to scroll on the Facebook page during those early morning hours, simply to read what other people were going through, provide encouragement if I could, and in turn, I would get a lot of support. It became somewhat of a lifeline to a world of people I had never met but felt super close to. Plus, since we were all nursing we were awake at strange hours of the day/night so I always felt I had someone to "talk" to or hear from!
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