Nursing a child is a natural, normal, and healthy choice, but for some strange reason, breastfeeding brings out the worst in people. Either they say a mom is breastfeeding when she should be bottle-feeding, she's nursing in public when it should be done in private, or poor mama is doing it for way too long (or not long enough). How could any woman win? That is the question Tennessee birth photographer Nicki Kaylor asked herself and nine other volunteers in her recent photo project, Latched With Love.

In the series, Kaylor asked mothers to reveal the rudest, harshest, and most ridiculous things people have said to them while they were trying to feed their child, and unfortunately, the answers may not be shocking. The stigma against mothers who breastfeed in public is real. And these were real mothers who were targeted by both strangers and people close to them. Kaylor spoke with CafeMom about her now-viral project and her ultimate goal of stopping breastfeeding shame.

As she says in her original Facebook post, "Mothers who breastfeed should be APPLAUDED. Not judged nor stared at. Breastfeeding is PURE. Breastfeeding is BEAUTIFUL. Breastfeeding is NATURAL." We couldn't agree more! The stigma needs to stop, and perhaps projects like these will get the conversation moving forward.

Read on for some stories and photos of brave and beautiful breastfeeding mamas -- and get ready to feel incredibly inspired.

start slideshow

Breastfeeding, Formula & Nutrition breastfeeding