Beyonce Nurses Daughter Blue Ivy In Public. Another Breastfeeding Controversy?

Singer and new mother Beyonce has once again made headlines because of her daughter, Blue Ivy. However, this time, she is not being criticized for what may or may not have happened in a Lenox Hill maternity ward. Beyonce has now joined the ranks of women who are proudly nursing their babies in public.

While dining with husband Jay Z at the Sant Ambroeus restaurant in New York last weekend, Beyonce was spotted breastfeeding her seven-week-old daughter.

Breastfeeding advocates are singing Beyonce’s praises for nursing her baby in public.

Although the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization both recommend that mothers exclusively breastfeed their children for the first six months of life and continue to provide breast milk for two years or beyond, public breastfeeding remains a controversial topic in America.

Just last December, a mother who was breastfeeding in public in a Target was harassed by store employees. That a megastar like Beyonce feels confident enough to breastfeed her baby in public despite the potential controversy may be the boost that public breastfeeding needs to gain more widespread acceptance.

As Emma Kwasnica, a childbirth and breastfeeding educator, believes:

I think Beyonce has a huge impact on being able to re-normalize breastfeeding and give women confidence to do the same. Images of pop stars and celebrities giving their babies nourishment will never harm our cause.

What do you think about Beyonce breastfeeding daughter Blue Ivy in a public restaurant while out to dinner with her husband? Will stars who nurse openly help to normalize breastfeeding?