15 Times Breastfeeding Proved to Be the Most Controversial Parenting Topic of 2015

Students at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, partnered with the Building a Breastfeeding Environment support group to create a paradoy video about breastfeeding, which resurfaced in May of this year. "We know that although many students in university are accepting of the benefits of breastfeeding, and plan to breastfeed their own children, it is still not considered acceptable to breastfeed publicly," the video's creators said on their YouTube page.

In June, one mom found out that a man took a photo of her breastfeeding her child at a TGI Fridays in Terre Haute, IN — where the man was eating with his daughter — and shared it on Facebook because he was disgusted, and wanted to know why she couldn't "cover her boob up." When the nursing mother in question, Conner Kendall, discovered his post (which has since been deleted), she wrote a passionate letter to the unnamed stranger, which was shared over 98,000 times.

A mom in Australia — who had been breastfeeding her 11-month-old son without issue since he was born — was banned by a judge from continuing to do so in June. The father of the young boy expressed concern to the court after a parental dispute with the baby's mother over a tattoo that she got four weeks prior, claiming that she put the baby at risk despite reporting negative results on hepatitis and HIV tests.

Dil Wickremasinghe, who often appears on TV3's Midday, took her 11-week-old son on air to discuss breastfeeding and attachment parenting back in August. Though it looks like Phoenix was having a sweet little nap on his mama's chest, it turns out that he was nursing the entire time — live on TV! Phoenix innocently ate his lunch during his television debut, and it was reported that not one television set exploded during the process.

Alongside a photo – posted to the pro-breastfeeding Facebook group Mama Bean – in which she is simultaneously nursing her son and her friend's son, Jessica Anne Colletti said it was a completely natural process and a gift she was honored to give her friend, who gave her the initial go-ahead. The image received a wave of support . . . and dissent. "That's just wrong," wrote one, while another said it was sickening to watch. In response, Mama Bean Parenting followed up the post with an article explaining the need to normalize breastfeeding in all its forms and allowed Jessica to further explain her unique situation.

As if the act of breastfeeding wasn't stressful enough, an ad campaign from September aimed to add a hefty dose of shame to the experience — at least for those moms who dare to eat something other than a fruit, vegetable, or whole grain. The three-image campaign highlighted the impact a mother's diet has on her baby with the tag line, "Your child is what you eat." But even if a healthy diet is preferable, the campaign's approach — to shame breastfeeding moms for snacking on that potato chip or sipping on that Sprite — wasn't helpful. Instead of inspiring women to eat nutritious meals, it was more likely to encourage them to avoid nursing altogether.

A Canadian mother was dumbfounded that a Christmas photo she took "in jest" caused an uproar on social media. The image in question is a modern take on the Santa photo, which features the mother nursing her son while sitting on a stunned (and finger-pointing) Santa's lap. The caption, emblazoned on the image, reads, "All I Want For Christmas ... Is a Happy, Healthy Baby." She posted the photo to Facebook, and immediately received criticisms. Dunbar said, "It is quite disappointing that people are so negative about it when it's not meant to be that way. Partly, it was just to be funny."