“It wouldn’t even occur to me that somebody would be upset about me feeding my child.”
New mom Izabele Lomax was scrolling through Facebook when a post in a breastfeeding support group caught her eye. It was a screenshot of another post that showed a mom being secretly filmed while breastfeeding her baby at a beach.
“Quick vent. Just pulled up my Facebook and was greeted with this and I just cannot understand how another female can say this and take VIDEO of this momma feeding her baby and post it to the internet,” the person wrote. “I blocked out the momma and baby for privacy but it got under my skin so badly.”
As Lomax, 24, zoomed in on the photo, she recognized the face — and location.
“I was like, ‘That’s me!’” Lomax, who is based in Maryland, tells TODAY.com.
@izlomax ill leave this here 😊 #breastfeeding ♬ original sound – izlomax
Lomax says she felt her blood start to boil as she read what had been written about her.
“I’m not shaming woman who breast feed their babies. I’m shaming the woman who breast feed in public with no respect to cover themselves up and just let their boobs hangout (nipple included) for everyone to see!” the typo-riddled caption read.
“COVER TF UP!!! I shouldn’t have to cover my sons eyes and explain why your boobs are out and quite frankly I don’t want to see it either. Have some respect!” it continued.
In the video, an unsuspecting Lomax is seen sitting under a beach umbrella and breastfeeding her 9-week-old son, Baker. She was joined that afternoon by her fiancé and her parents.
“We were in our own little area and I didn’t notice anyone staring at us or anything,” Lomax says. “It wouldn’t even occur to me that somebody would be upset about me feeding my child.”
Temperatures soared to 89 degrees that day and Lomax says Baker would have been at risk for overheating if she had covered up with a towel. Also, mothers can legally breastfeed in any public or private place in all 50 U.S. states, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.
The following day, Lomax took her outrage to TikTok. She needed to unpack what had happened.
“Imagine waking up, getting on Facebook and seeing this video of yourself yesterday at the beach,” Lomax began. She then addressed the woman who posted it directly.
“You had every opportunity in the world to say something to me. Not that I would have cared or stopped what I was doing. But you instead choose to post a video of me and my child on Facebook,” she said. “My child was also hungry in multiple restaurants and while we were walking down the street, and guess what? He ate.”
After doing some research, Lomax learned that the woman has a 4-year-old son.
“If you’re sexualizing a breast to a 4 year old, you’ve got your own set of issues,” Lomax concluded.
Lomax tells TODAY.com that the woman has since deleted the video, though she has not yet received an apology.
Meanwhile, supportive comments continue to roll in on Lomax’s TikTok.
“With these record heat spikes too. Covering up would be torture to me & my little one,” one person wrote in the comments.
Added another, “I always tell people to put a shirt over their head so they don’t have to see me lol or they can go to the bathroom to eat while she eats at the table.”
