The act of breastfeeding is a lovely and natural way for a mother to develop intimacy and a bond with her child.

Moms shouldn’t feel guilty about feeding their kids whenever and wherever they are hungry, but regrettably, some people criticize them because they think it’s improper or unacceptable to feed newborns in public if they don’t use a cover.

Melanie Dudley, a mother of a 3-month-old child, was at a restaurant with her family and a few friends back in 2018 when the child began to cry for food. Melanie, a Texas native, initiated breastfeeding her son without reluctance. And even if that was OK to everyone, it appeared that a stranger seated at the next table felt uneasy about this mother’s lack of clothing while nursing.

He approached Melanie and requested that she cover up, but she responded in a way the stranger didn’t expect.

Melanie shared with Yahoo, “I was on vacation in Cabo San Lucas with my entire family, and a man asked me to cover myself. I’m usually discreet but we were seated in the back of the restaurant.”

Speaking to TODAY, the Texan explained, “I did have the cover on, but it was so hot. It was like, 95 degrees, and my little baby was sweating.”

She added, “I said, ‘You know what? I’m on vacation, I’m taking this off.’”

Melanie, feeling at a loss for words, decided to place the cover over her head, which caused the entire restaurant to erupt in laughter.

“I just put it over my head. I don’t know why. It wasn’t like a salacious fight or anything. That was just my response. I had no words, so I thought, I’ll just cover my head instead,” she explained.

Carol Lockwood, a bystander who saw the whole incident, snapped a photo of Melanie and posted it online with the caption, “I’ve never met her, but I think she’s AWESOME!!! (Please share! With permission, I’ve made this post public — I’m SO over people shaming women for nursing!!!” The photo quickly gained traction, being shared over 225,000 times.

A great number of people stood my Melanie’s side and supported what she did.

We truly believe that breastfeeding is the most normal thing and no mom should feel ashamed for giving food to her baby in public.