A powerful photo depicting active duty military mothers breastfeeding their babies in uniform has taken the internet by storm, garnering support from all corners of the web (except Facebook, apparently).
When the photographer, Tara Ruby, served in the Air Force years ago, “support for breastfeeding moms wasn’t even an option or a consideration,” she writes on her Facebook. Which is why she wanted to create a powerful image of breastfeeding military moms to help normalize breastfeeding in the military.
The photo was actually taken to be hung in the new nursing room in the headquarters of army post Fort Bliss, in El Paso, Texas, CNN reports. The room makes pumping breast milk a relaxing and comfortable experience for military women; something that didn’t exist when Ruby served, and that is not the norm even today at other army bases.
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Her vision came together with the help and support of the Fort Bliss Pregnancy and Postpartum Physical Training (P3T) Program, a program committed to maintaining health of pregnant soldiers and help them regain their fitness levels postpartum, so that the transition back is easier.
“To my knowledge a group photo to show support of active-duty military mommies nursing their little’s has never been done,” Ruby said on Facebook. “It is so nice to see support for this here at Fort Bliss.”
Ruby posted the photo late on September 10th, and in the morning, realized it had been taken down, she writes. Many commenters also note that they shared the photo, and theirs too, had been removed from Facebook—so naturally they continued to post until it was left undisturbed.
At the end of her Facebook post, Ruby poses the question of the day: “I am 100% for #normalizebreastfeeding. How about you?”
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