Breastfeeding Mom-of-Twins Telling In-Law to 'Get Out' if Offended Backed

A mom-of-twins has been cheered for telling her mother-in-law to "get out" if she was uncomfortable with her breastfeeding, after she called a photo "gross."

The 28-year-old, who welcomed her babies a month ago, asked the internet for advice after she fell out with her husband's mom.

Posting to Reddit's Am I The A**hole forum under username u/throwRAtitsaho, she explained she'd struggled with fertility issues, and as such had gone "all out" with the nursery decor.

"There's a black and white picture of me breastfeeding the twins framed on one of the walls. I love it, my husband loves it and my mum loves it," she wrote.

Breastfeeding provides key health benefits for babies, and mothers, including reducing the risk of asthma, obesity, Type 1 diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) among children.

It also helps reduce a mother's risk of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and ovarian and breast cancers.

"Low rates of breastfeeding add more than $3 billion a year to medical costs for the mother and child in the United States," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

But despite the pros, the CDC stated only 1 in 4 infants is exclusively breastfed by the time they're 6 months old, which is the recommendation.

The CDC noted: "Most mothers want to breastfeed but stop early due to a lack of ongoing support."

A survey on public opinion toward breastfeeding from SummerStyles, quoted by the CDC, revealed last year that 69.2 percent of respondents agreed with the following statement: "I believe women should have the right to breastfeed in public spaces." That figure is slightly up from 68.02 percent in 2018.

Some 9.38 percent disagreed, and a further 21.60 percent responded with neither agree or disagree. In 2018, 10.53 percent disagreed, and 21.45 percent were undecided.

The site quoted Dr. Ruth Petersen, director of CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, who said: "Breastfeeding provides unmatched health benefits for babies and mothers.

"It is the clinical gold standard for infant feeding and nutrition, with breast milk uniquely tailored to meet the health needs of a growing baby.

"We must do more to create supportive and safe environments for mothers who choose to breastfeed."

But it seems the woman's mother-in-law wasn't creating a supportive atmosphere, after she dropped by unexpectedly one day.

"I let her in because although she can be a bit annoying, she loves her grandchildren and she's happy that we finally managed to have some babies," she said.

The mom allowed her in-law into the nursery to see the babies, and that's when she spotted the black-and-white photo.

As the twins were awake, the mom began breastfeeding them in front of her mother-in-law, who was horrified by the photograph.

She wrote: "She couldn't shut up about the picture. According to her it's gross and inappropriate. I know breastfeeding with your t*ts out is a bit weird to the older generations, but this is my nursery.

"If my t*ts were that annoying, she could just get out. She kept saying that I should take it down, and then actually took it off the wall herself. That's when I snapped. I put my son down, and I took the picture off her.

"I said 'you can either deal with looking at my t*ts or get out of the room.' She got extremely offended and left the house."

Her father-in-law soon called and claimed her use of language was "disgusting," to which she hung up the phone, and waited for her husband to get back.

The mom, claiming she has "post partum distress" and couldn't deal with her in-laws' complaints, added that while her husband told his parents to leave his wife alone, he said "I should've picked my words better."

"I told him to tell his mother she wasn't welcome in the nursery ever again. MIL is still demanding an apology and FIL said I'm being a 'total cow,'" she said.

The post, which can be read here, amassed more than 7,000 upvotes and comments since being posted Sunday.

The top comment, from Bright_copperkettles, racked up more than 13,000 alone, and said: "Send him a pic of you breastfeeding with the caption 'moo'. When I was breastfeeding I felt like a literal cow, so that gives me a chuckle.

"NTA [not the a**hole]. Perhaps your in-laws shouldn't be allowed over when your husband isn't home. That way he can stand up for you and pick the words himself, since he is concerned about your phrasing."

Every-Requirement-13 wrote: "Perhaps your in laws shouldn't be allowed over EVER! Their behavior is infuriating. You're absolutely not the AH, they both are!"

Foamtoweldisplay said: "If my parents called my SO a derogatory name out of malice, they would not be welcome to my house until they apologized."

Hangingonington added: "It a room in your house, for Pete's sake. MIL needs to get over herself. If OP [original poster] gives in on this it'll never stop."

Newsweek reached out to u/throwRAtitsahoy for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.