Moms who breastfeed are constantly defending themselves. Usually, they get called out by other people for feeding their baby in public or for feeding a child deemed "too old" by a complete stranger. But what about a mom who breastfed during sex?
Vlogger Tasha Maile recently posted a video on her YouTube channel about doing just that and faced tons of criticism about it. You'd think her viewers would be more open-minded about such a thing, since Maile's channel advertises her as a "vegan breastfeeding mama" and she does most of her videos with her infant latched to her nipple or otherwise attached. But alas, that's not exactly what happened.
Maile later defended herself in an interview with This Morning. Maile said that she just considers it a necessary consequence of having to multitask as a new parent. Because seriously, when does a new mom get a chance to sleep, go to the bathroom, or have sex with her partner anyway? If you want it, you have to make some sacrifices.
She was actually quite practical about it. "If the baby is OK, the baby’s OK," she said during the interview on Monday (during which she was breastfeeding like a badass, I should add). "They’re not sitting there judging you and thinking ‘my mom and dad are having sex.’ It’s a 2- or 3-month-old baby. They’re so innocent."
That fresh open-mindedness did nothing to stop her critics, however. Maile was initially accused of somehow "including" the baby in a sex act, which is a pretty weighty charge. The thing to remember is that Maile has a point: An infant has no memory until about 6 months of age. And even if the baby was older, it was sleeping. Logistically, it might be a little complicated to find the right position to feed and have sex (or the headspace to relax and actually orgasm), but if the baby is safe, the baby is safe.
It's no more including the infant in a sex act than co-sleepers getting it on with baby in the bed or in the crib a few feet away. For some people, merely having a dog in the same room can be a major turn off, but if it doesn't ruin your mood, there's no reason to not have sex while your infant is in the room.
In fact, it can be good for your mental health and for your relationship, both of which can get pretty fragile in that first year or two of having a new baby. When and how someone has sex is quite frankly nobody's business, so long as the little one is safe and secure.
