Air Force Mom Breastfeeding in Uniform Is Stunning Look at Military Parenthood [View all]

[KamaAina]

https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/air-force-mom-breastfeeding-in-uniform-is-stunning-113524714422.html

A photo of a U.S. military member breastfeeding her baby while in uniform has sparked heated online discussion about whether or not the ideals of motherhood and military strength can — and should — mix.

“I know there will be people who don’t agree with me nursing in uniform,” wrote Air Force Reserves member Jonea Cunico on Facebook, where photographer Jade Beall posted the powerful image of Cunico nursing her 14-month-old son. “There are no regulations forbidding me to do so. I am a mother. Both inside and outside of my uniform. Breastfeeding is part of motherhood for me.”

Beall, an Arizona-based photographer, is known for shooting intimate, honest portraits of women — stretch marks, lactating breasts, and all. Last year, she published “The Bodies of Mothers: A Beautiful Body Project,” which was lauded for being truthful and empowering. “My latest Shero, the beautiful Jonea,” Beall wrote along with her post of Cunico’s picture. “I had the tremendous honor to photograph her a few days ago.” She then included what Cunico had written about her body image — that she’d been teased all her life for being too thin, and that, when people have told her she looks like she’s never been pregnant, it affects her deeply, and makes her feel “ashamed.” That, Beall noted, gave her “chills.”

For Cunico, who is 25 and pregnant with her second child, posing for Beall was an opportunity she had “often daydreamed about,” and she jumped at the opportunity. “I think the photo is beautiful. It documents such a special time for me,” she tells Yahoo Parenting. “I admire her work and effort to bring women and humanity together. Her work has personally impacted my life and I wanted to be a part of something that could do the same for other women.”