Home IYO...should women allow to breast feed in public?

[Dancing Fire]

 

[TravelingGal]

Oh HEYELL no. SO DISGUSTING! Cut them hooters off and let the suckers starve!

DF, this has been covered in the preggo/mommy thread a lot. Not to mention some time in the last year or two when some nitwit saw a mother nursing in a restaurant and came back on here to gag her heart out.

 

[LaraOnline]

Should you be allowed to eat in public, DF?

 

[E B]

Of course.

 

[neatfreak]

DF don''t even go there.

 

[waxing lyrical]

"Allowed"? It''s law in almost every state. I don''t give a rat''s a** whether it should be allowed. It''s law and I keep a copy of it in my purse in case anyone gives me crap about it.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I''m just so thankful that men allow me to go out in public at all, I would never dream of trying to feed my children in their hallowed presence . . .

 

[LaraOnline]

Date: 8/4/2009 10:34:50 AM
Author: waxing lyrical
''Allowed''? It''s law in almost every state. I don''t give a rat''s a** whether it should be allowed. It''s law and I keep a copy of it in my purse in case anyone gives me crap about it.

Can you believe that there are no anti-discrimination laws in Western Australia protecting the rights of women (and infants) to breast feed in public??? I only found out a month before the birth of my third child!!

 

[somethingshiny]

Of course it should be allowed.

However, I could not do it in public.

And, actually, it has been a learning point for my little boy. He''s 3.5 and amazed the mommies make milk for their babies.

 

[iheartscience]

 

[princesss]

Date: 8/4/2009 12:23:44 PM
Author: thing2of2

My thoughts exactly. This is a pot that doesn''t need to be stirred.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 8/4/2009 2:37:10 AM
Author: TravelingGal
Oh HEYELL no. SO DISGUSTING! Cut them hooters off and let the suckers starve!

DF, this has been covered in the preggo/mommy thread a lot. Not to mention some time in the last year or two when some nitwit saw a mother nursing in a restaurant and came back on here to gag her heart out.

i didn''t read those girly threads.

 

[snlee]

Date: 8/4/2009 12:47:45 PM
Author: princesss

Date: 8/4/2009 12:23:44 PM
Author: thing2of2

My thoughts exactly. This is a pot that doesn''t need to be stirred.

Ditto!

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 8/4/2009 10:09:04 AM
Author: neatfreak
DF don''t even go there.

Ditto.

 

[Laila619]

As long as they do it discreetly, and keep it covered then it's fine IMO.

However, whether it's PC or not, not everyone wants to see it. When I have a baby, I know I won't feel comfortable doing it.

 

[E B]

Date: 8/4/2009 4:53:09 PM
Author: Laila619

However, whether it''s PC or not, not everyone wants to see it.

Then they shouldn''t look. Easy as that!

 

[Mandarine]

huh? what do you mean ''allowed''???

 

[Pandora II]

Absolutely - there is pretty much nowhere that I would feel uncomfortable breast-feeding.

I fed Daisy whilst sitting on the benches in the Council Chamber, I've fed her in shops, garden-centres, trains, restaurants... in the UK we are allowed to breast-feed anywhere we want in public.

Yesterday I was at a wedding and I was sitting feeding her after the meal and a little girl came over, peered at Daisy and said "Is she eating boobie milk? Cos if she is it's lovely - I LOVED boobie milk when I was a baby... oooh look, she really likes it!" - she was 5 years old

I don't whip a boob out and flaunt it for all and sundry - there are plenty of clothes specially designed for feeding that allow you to do so with barely an inch of skin visible.

Why would anyone possibly be offended or disgusted by a woman doing what her breastswere designed for - people eating with their mouths open is far more unacceptable in my opinion? Plus, what are you supposed to do when you are out and the baby is hungry? Maybe Europeans don't see their bodies in particularly 'sexual' terms and so are more comfortable feeding in public - it's normal to go topless at the beach and isn't regarded as flaunting yourself or even erotic.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

It's gross seeing floppy boobs. I don't want to see them. That said, I BF in public and was descrete and covered everything up with a burp cloth or blanket.

ETA - should there be a ban on cleavage? I've seen a hell of a lot more boobs that way than by breast feeding. Please do not bend over in your low cut shirts w/out using your hand to cover up your girls.

 

[kittybean]

Women are allowed to breastfeed in public. (I realize this topic has been discussed quite a bit, but not being a mommy yet, I didn''t get to weigh in before.)

Because of the cultural perception of breasts as sexual objects, I think public breastfeeding can be uncomfortable or awkward for people to see. The sad thing is that many people--men?--are more accustomed to seeing breasts in the context of pornography than in the context of feeding a child. Therefore, seeing a woman''s breast in public makes them squirm a bit, and suddenly, breastfeeding seems almost obscene. It''s totally absurd, but I believe that sentiment is there. For that reason (and because I''m a pretty private person), I''ll probably cover up with a blanket or a cute "nursing poncho" like I''ve seen on a few of my mom friends.

I think "forbidding" a woman to breastfeed in public would be tantamount to confining her to her home if she has a child that needs nursing . . . and that sounds awfully archaic, reactionary, and oppressive to me.

 

[E B]

Date: 8/4/2009 5:23:51 PM
Author: MC
It''s gross seeing floppy boobs. I don''t want to see them. That said, I BF in public and was descrete and covered everything up with a burp cloth or blanket.

I BF in public (though I haven''t done it much yet) and I always cover up, more for my comfort than anyone else''s. Realistically, though, some babies (esp. the older they get) don''t like being covered up. I''ve heard several women say their children would yank the blankets down, and then what? Should they spend the rest of the time struggling to stay covered, pissing off the baby because someone may be offended by a few inches of uncovered flesh?

Baby heads usually cover the nipple/areola/breast (depending on size) while feeding, so I don''t really understand why a bit of uncovered boob is offensive, especially since, as you mentioned, some women walk around sporting *serious* cleavage- and that doesn''t seem to be as controversial as public BFing.

If a woman sat with her breast hanging out long after the child was finished eating, well, that''s another story...but I doubt she''s the majority.

 

[waxing lyrical]

Date: 8/4/2009 5:15:54 PM
Author: Pandora II
Absolutely - there is pretty much nowhere that I would feel uncomfortable breast-feeding.


I fed Daisy whilst sitting on the benches in the Council Chamber, I''ve fed her in shops, garden-centres, trains, restaurants... in the UK we are allowed to breast-feed anywhere we want in public.


Yesterday I was at a wedding and I was sitting feeding her after the meal and a little girl came over, peered at Daisy and said ''Is she eating boobie milk? Cos if she is it''s lovely - I LOVED boobie milk when I was a baby... oooh look, she really likes it!'' - she was 5 years old

I don''t whip a boob out and flaunt it for all and sundry - there are plenty of clothes specially designed for feeding that allow you to do so with barely an inch of skin visible.


Why would anyone possibly be offended or disgusted by a woman doing what her breastswere designed for - people eating with their mouths open is far more unacceptable in my opinion? Plus, what are you supposed to do when you are out and the baby is hungry? Maybe Europeans don''t see their bodies in particularly ''sexual'' terms and so are more comfortable feeding in public - it''s normal to go topless at the beach and isn''t regarded as flaunting yourself or even erotic.

It''s an American thing maybe. I''ve never used a cover and don''t ever plan to. Never felt the need to. Baby''s head covers most, if not all of the areola. Then there''s the shirt, which does a good job at covering or hiding boobage. It''s not really that complicated. Wearing a cover seems to bring more attention than going without. I can see how a new mom might want to use a cover to get the hang of latching the baby and all that. There''s only been a single occasion where I saw a mom''s nursing breast, and that was when the baby popped off the breast to look around and she wasn''t aware.

I find a number of things inappropriate or offensive to the eyes, but I don''t gripe about it. If I don''t want to see exposed butt crack then I simply turn away. If I don''t want to see a woman in too tight daisy dukes with all her "goods" hangin'' out then I divert my eyes. Simple. I see way more cleavage on the front covers of magazines at the check out line in grocery stores. Maybe they should start putting the magazines in black sleeves to avoid hurting people''s sensibilities?

 

[phoenixgirl]

A female friend of DH''s told me once that her home-based religious group decided not to breastfeed around each other any more because it was making the men . . . uncomfortable . . . or excited . . . or something. To put it into context, this was in the same conversation that she told me that:

a) she used to "crush on" my DH, but then she wrote down all his flaws on a list and there went that crush (then she "helpfully" related some of the flaws for me)
b) her house of worship is so pure that fake worshipers can''t survive in their midst (do fake worshipers often try to infiltrate? How intriguing!)
c) she used to be proud of where she went to college, until she realized she is a woman and therefore doesn''t need an education

Oh, and she spent the ENTIRE night talking about how much DH''s parents divorce upset HER, and never once asked him how he felt about it. At the end of the night DH sort of sadly said that he didn''t think she was a very good friend after all, and I was like, "Ya think?!?!" I mean, it''s ok to be a little nutty, but she was so self-involved that she was only a taker, not a giver (except of unsolicited/nutty advice).

What was interesting to me was her view of sexuality and gender . . . the comments about my DH, the sort of excited way she told me that the men couldn''t handle the women breastfeeding . . . it was all so, well, repressed. And weird.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 8/4/2009 5:52:33 PM
Author: kittybean
I think ''forbidding'' a woman to breastfeed in public would be tantamount to confining her to her home if she has a child that needs nursing . . . and that sounds awfully archaic, reactionary, and oppressive to me.

It''s a conspiracy by formula companies! lol

 

[Richard Sherwood]

A woman who discreetly breastfeeds in public usually doesn''t arouse any (or much) curiousity.

I notice it because my wife always did it. It does my heart good to see this most natural of acts taking place.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Yes they should (and as others said, they are allowed to). There are already enough challenges to BF as it is.

 

[Dannielle]

I read this on a blog and thought it was appropriate:

"How much LESS obscene can you get, than the sight of an innocent baby eating his lunch the way Nature intended? Nothing to be ashamed of, everything to go "awww" at... However, women are harrassed every day for this, told to cover up, go elsewhere or even just stay home. At the same time, scantily-clad women are used to sell cars, chocolate or themselves (think Hooters et al), and nobody blinks an eye at half-dressed women and men walking down the street or dancing in clubs. Context is all. The world would be a better place for everyone if public nursing was celebrated rather than denigrated."

 

[anchor31]

The other day at the bus central station, I saw a woman who refused to feed her baby because she was in public. From the way she was dressed, it was obvious she belongs to a faith that encourages women to cover up their bodies as much as they can, but the child was so hungry he was trying to take his mom''s clothes away to get to her breast... and she pushed him away. It made me very sad.

 

[Pandora II]

Just noticed that it''s World Breastfeeding Week this week - very timely of you DF

 

[ficklefaye]

wow, maybe this is silly of me, but i thought BFing in public was a given, your baby is hungry, feed them, why would a mother need to find an ''appropriate'' place if her child is starving?