Tips for breastfeeding in public in Singapore

Feeding a baby in public gets easier with a plan rather than with courage. Pick clothes that open from below, know where the nursing rooms are in the malls you use, practise the hold at home, and keep a muslin in the bag. Singapore's heat makes a light cover better than a thick one.

Where can you feed your baby in public in Singapore?

More places than most new mothers expect, and the nursing room is only one of them.

Large malls have a nursing room, usually tucked beside the family toilet or the baby-changing area. The directory board marks it, and the concierge will point you there if the signage is poor. Changi Airport, many public libraries and some community clubs have them as well, often with a sink and a power point.

Outside those, a quiet corner works. A shaded bench along a covered walkway, the back row of a café, a fitting room in a quieter shop. The useful trick is to decide where you will go before the baby is hungry, because a crying baby turns a simple decision into a scramble.

HealthHub, the Health Promotion Board's site, encourages feeding on demand, and so do the World Health Organization and UNICEF. That includes when you are out of the house. Feeding your baby where you happen to be is the ordinary thing to do.

What should you wear?

Clothes do more work here than any accessory.

The layering approach is what most experienced mothers settle on. A stretchy vest or nursing tank underneath, a looser shirt or blouse over it. Lift the outer layer, pull the inner one down, and the baby's head covers everything else. Nothing goes over your head, and your tummy stays covered.

Other options that work in this climate:

• Button-front dresses and shirts, undone from the bottom up.
• Nursing tops with hidden vertical openings, which look like ordinary tops.
• A loose kaftan or a wrap dress.
• A soft, wire-free bra that unclips with one hand.

What does not work: a fitted dress with a back zip, a one-piece jumpsuit, or anything you have to remove to feed. Our guide to nursing bras covers fit, which matters more than style once you are feeding eight times a day.

Do you need a nursing cover in this heat?

Probably not, and many Singapore mothers give theirs away.

A structured apron or poncho traps heat against a baby who is already warm at 32°C and high humidity. Babies pull at covers, kick them off, and fuss underneath them. A fussing baby attracts far more attention than a glimpse of skin does.

What works instead is a large muslin square or a light cotton wrap. Draped over one shoulder, it gives the same discretion, lets air move, and earns its space in the bag by also serving as a burp cloth, a sunshade over the stroller, and a changing mat in an emergency.

If you do prefer a cover, choose the thinnest fabric you can find and practise with it at home before relying on it out.

How do you practise before the first outing?

Rehearsal takes the nerves out of it.

Sit in front of a mirror at home and run through the whole sequence in the clothes you intend to wear. Lift, unclip, latch, settle the cloth. You will find out in two minutes which top is impossible, which is worth the time.

Then pick an easy first outing. Off-peak hours, a place you know, someone with you. A café at 3pm rather than a food court at noon. The second outing needs half the planning, and by the fourth you will stop rehearsing at all.

What if someone stares or comments?

It happens rarely and it stings more than it should.

A short, flat answer ends most of it. "He's hungry." Then look back at your baby. You owe nobody an explanation, and engaging further gives the comment more room than it deserves.

If a member of staff asks you to move or cover up, ask for the manager rather than arguing on the floor. The request is often one person's idea rather than a company policy.

What to keep in the bag

A short list beats a packed bag. A large muslin, a spare top for you, a bottle of water, nipple cream if you are still in the sore weeks, and a diaper change set. That fits in something you can carry on one shoulder.

The water matters more here than most lists admit, because feeding in this humidity leaves you thirsty within minutes. Our pieces on what breastfeeding does for you and your baby, foods worth eating while nursing and pumping once you are back at work cover the parts of this that happen at home.