A Liverpool mum has spoken out about her experience of breastfeeding in public as people get "embarrassed" or ask if she would "like to move".
Breastfeeding is a personal, but natural, choice which many women approach differently, but it still remains a controversial subject.
Ellen Freel, from Litherland, gave birth to her first child, Anaya, seven months ago and they are on a breastfeeding journey.
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But Ellen told the ECHO she has found she gets "stares" and people seem to be "embarrassed" when seeing her in public.
She said: "At first I was nervous about breastfeeding outside. At a party I was asked if I wanted to move upstairs because it's private, I've had people leave the room because they think it's embarrassing.
"But if you were using a bottle you could do that anywhere. It baffles me, breasts are filled with milk ducts, it's just another body part.
"Why is there that shame? There's a stigma here which is insanity. We shouldn't be embarrassed, it's natural, our babies need to be fed.
"A lot comes from breasts being sexualised I think but you see a calf suckling, people thing it's cute but a human it's disgusting.
"I've got friends who have moved to formula because they've been made to feel embarrassed. It's about time we woke up from the madness. It's not a battle.
"People ask me, can't I wait until I get home? but feeding a baby is natural, they are hungry, they need food just like us."
A group of breastfeeding mums have come together to organise an event next week for National Breastfeeding in Public day.
The event will be held on February 22 at 10.30am in Kingsley and Co book shop in Bootle Strand and is to promote breastfeeding.
Ellen added: "We are trying to break that stigma, make it normalised and empower women to feel confident and comfortable to feed wherever and whenever they want and need.
"When I visited the museum recently I had people staring and although they didn't say anything, they looked embarrassed.
"They may not be judging me but they looked uncomfortable."
The Liverpool mums have set up social media pages for their group the Milk Drop in a bid to encourage others to share their breastfeeding journey.
Ellen said: "We think the more people who share their images, the less embarrassing it will seem.
"The reactions were a surprise to me, it makes no sense. I understand where the stigma comes from but I could never imaging making someone else feel that way."
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