Beyonce Breastfeeds Blue Ivy In Public

Moms who are protesting and campaigning to destigmatize breastfeeding in public have a new face supporting their cause: Beyonce. On Saturday, the superstar mom of newborn Blue Ivy was spotted nursing at Sant Ambroeus, a cafe in NYC's West Village. She was dining with her husband Jay-Z, an observer told Us Weekly. Later, she was photographed leaving the restaurant, carrying her 8-week-old in a blue BabyBjorn. And, she has also been spotted holding Blue Ivy close in a leopard print carrier.

Beyonce's move comes in the midst of a national breastfeeding movement. Though a "breast is best" mantra amplifies what the AAP reaffirmed Monday -– that mothers should exclusively breastfeed for six months, and that nursing should be considered a public heath issue rather than a lifestyle choice –- nursing moms don't often get support from the general public. In response, "nurse-ins" have become a widespread form of protest to defend a mother's right to breastfeed whenever and wherever her baby is hungry.

Michelle Hickman was humiliated for breastfeeding at Target and organized demonstrations at multiple retail locations throughout the country. A group of "lactivists", led by Emma Kwasnica, is in a growing battle with Facebook insisting that photos of moms nursing babies should not be removed from the social networking site, though they repeatedly have been. Kwasnica staged a nurse-in in front of Facebook's headquarters in early February. And most recently, mom Nirvana Jennette, says she was forced out of church for breastfeeding her baby -- she was even compared to a stripper by her pastor. Jennette is now planning the "Georgia Statewide Nurse-In" and seeking to establish legislative changes for the state.

While each of these protests brings us one step closer to normalizing nursing in public, it appears as though Beyonce's demonstration is one great big leap for mom-kind.