Facebook forced to reinstate image of breastfeeding mum after photograph goes viral

Facebook has been forced to reinstate an image of a mother breastfeeding her severely premature baby for the first time after the photograph went viral and attracted thousands of supporters.

Emma Bond, 24, posted an image of her feeding severely premature baby daughter Carene for the first time on Sunday to her approved friends and family on the social networking site - only to have the image deleted later that same day after it “breached nudity rules”.

In response the mother of two posted the image on a pro-breastfeeding community page. The image received nearly a quarter of a million likes and hundreds of messages of support.

Miss Bond, from Oswestry in Shropshire, said to the Daily Mail: “It was a magical moment and to have it removed the same day for breaching nudity policies was really rubbing salt in the wound.”

“Two weeks prior to this being taken, I was told my daughter would die, so to then find yourself able to breastfeed was an incredible step.”

Carene was born on 3rd October weighing just 2lbs 2oz. The average baby weighs around seven and a half pounds. Miss Bond and her partner, Ashley Kitchen, 30, were told she might only have three days to live.

“Everyone was aware it was touch and go, so I was sharing the special moment with people to show them how far she had come,” she said.

After the photograph went viral, Facebook reinstated the image. A spokesperson said to ITV: As a result of this, photos that show a nursing mothers' other breast will be allowed even if it is full exposed, as will mastectomy photos showing a fully exposed other breast.”

However, the upset mother claimed: “I see so many animal cruelty or beheading or child abuse images on Facebook and report them myself, but nothing gets done.

“But something as precious and natural as this is removed instead. I know they put the image back up but it shouldn’t take thousands of people to make a stand for that to happen,” she said, adding: “I still haven’t got an explanation or apology”.

The decision follows international online campaign #FreeTheNipple which sought to attack guidelines used by social media websites to regulate nudity.

In June Facebook claimed it had changed its community standards as a result of the campaign, ordering its moderators to consider the context of photographs, allowing non-sexual images – such as pictures of nursing mothers or women with mastectomies – on the social media website.