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

[packrat]

I did a lot with both kids. I usually wore a button down shirt, so I could stay covered up. We wandered around stores and everything that way. Ate in restaurants. Trapper liked things quiet when he nursed tho, and sometimes it''s nice just to have a rest when you''re out and about with a baby, so some stores have separate seating areas in the bathrooms, and I''d nurse in there, or I''d go relax in the truck with some quiet music.

 

[Miranda]

When a person has a problem with a woman nursing in public I am instantly concerned about their mental health. They are either suffering from a severe form of sexual repression or they are a pervert.

That said, I don''t want to see another woman''s boob any more than I want them eyeing mine. So, I do exactly what Ebree said. Don''t look!

 

[Dreamer_D]

I breastfeed my son anywhere and everywhere. I made a very conscious decision early on that I wan *not* going to care if people looked at me doing it, and that I was *not* going to be embarrased about feeding my child. I knew that if I was embarassed about it then I wouldn''t BF long term -- it would just be too much hassel-- and I plan to nurse for a few years.

At first it was a little uncomfortable to do it, but now I don''t care. And I don''t cover up because it is too hard to see what the kid is doing, I just wear loose shirts that I can drape discretely.

True to my prediction, my friends who were embarassed to nurse in public all stopped prior to 6 months.

 

[cara]

Dreamer, that's an interesting theory. Kind of like I decided I was never allowed to be embarrassed at my unshaven legs while working out - don't need any more reasons to keep me out of the gym! My friend who didn't nurse in public did make it to through a year of breastfeeding with her daughter... but it certainly did put a crimp in her style!

DF, I suspect you just posted this to stir the pot, esp. as you posted on the family page and not hangout, but really what's the alternative? A world where women that breastfeed are shut-in behind private walls for their babies' early years? Or a world where babies are only formula-fed and boobies are reserved as exclusive sexual objects? Neither seems like a good idea.

While discreet breastfeeding is usually possible, there are certainly occasions for an eyeful while putting the baby on or off, and if the baby fusses with coverings or whatnot. But really, women aren't intending to titillate or put on a show, they are trying to feed their baby. Avert your eyes if it bothers you. (Well, and don't stare either. Treat it as exotic as a bottle.)

 

[Jas12]

The fact that this is even a question is a bit disturbing to me


The fact that i felt compelled to nurse in the car or washroom is a sad, sad thing (and yet i did on occasion)


We have such an odd association of sex and indecency attached to BFing. It bothers me so much

The Jack Newman BFing clinic in toronto (one of the world''s best clinics devoted solely to helping moms with severe BFing issues) has just closed due to lack of funding. It really speaks volumes about the lack of value we place on BFing despite all the lip service (pardon the pun) paid to it by our health care system.
Newman started the clinic and switched from his career as an ER Dr, to BF research after witnessing the atrocities taking place in Africa on a medical exchange program (he watched babies die of terrible disease due to formula companies brainwashing moms into believing their milk was inadequate and thus mixing formula they couldn''t afford with dirty water).
He would be appalled by such a question.

 

[absolut_blonde]

Feeding baby trumps some adult''s hangups any day, in my book. And I don''t even have children, but this seems like an obvious one to me.

What irritates me is when people are all ''why not go into the bathroom and do it?''. Hello? Most public bathrooms are disgusting!

 

[Elmorton]

Agreed. Asking an adult to eat in the bathroom would make national news - so no one should expect a baby to eat there, either!

 

[LaraOnline]

Date: 8/7/2009 5:06:49 PM
Author: absolut_blonde
Feeding baby trumps some adult''s hangups any day, in my book. And I don''t even have children, but this seems like an obvious one to me.


What irritates me is when people are all ''why not go into the bathroom and do it?''. Hello? Most public bathrooms are disgusting!

I wholeheartedly agree. And yet in good ol'' WA, come restaurant managers feel they have the right to ask women and their infants to do exactly that!!!

Considering that eating out is all about the company and conversation, why a paying member of the public should be asked to spend her night out in the toilet is really beyond me!

Grr, I can feel myself getting steamed up! (not that I''ve ever been asked to leave or ''retire'' I hasten to add)

and yes, if a woman must not feed in public and doesn''t want to sit in the public loo to feed, she is basically consigned to her own four walls, as babies need feeding very regularly indeed!

 

[AllieGator]

Should women be allowed to breast feed in public? Definitely. But what bothers me is when women don't even try to cover up. I was at a farmer's market the other day, and a women was feeding on a bench, and you could see EVERY part of her breast. That is offensive. I've seen that a few times. I know that we shouldn't look, but I've been in situations where you couldn't help but see something. But if a women is discreetly doing it, and not too much breast can be seen, I see no problem with it.

 

[bee*]

I just thought of this thread as I was in France for the weekend. While in Ireland, most women cover up discreetly when they''re breast feeding however I must have witnessed at least 20 women over the weekend in Paris and down from it just take out their breast and feed their baby. There was no covering up at all and I just thought how refreshing it was that no one bats an eyelid. Of course women should be allowed to breast feed in public and if people don''t like seeing it, look away.

 

[princesss]

Date: 8/10/2009 5:46:54 AM
Author: bee*
I just thought of this thread as I was in France for the weekend. While in Ireland, most women cover up discreetly when they''re breast feeding however I must have witnessed at least 20 women over the weekend in Paris and down from it just take out their breast and feed their baby. There was no covering up at all and I just thought how refreshing it was that no one bats an eyelid. Of course women should be allowed to breast feed in public and if people don''t like seeing it, look away.

Fantastic.

 

[mela lu]

Date: 8/6/2009 8:24:46 AM
Author: Jas12
The Jack Newman BFing clinic in toronto (one of the world''s best clinics devoted solely to helping moms with severe BFing issues) has just closed due to lack of funding. It really speaks volumes about the lack of value we place on BFing despite all the lip service (pardon the pun) paid to it by our health care system.

OMG IT DID? Wow. My good friend went to his clinic and they toughed through 8 weeks of a bad latch - until she finally found success BF. She said he was amazing! I''m so sad hearing this...

 

[Jas12]

Mela--sorry, had my facts wrong b/c i heard the tail end of the report. The government has cut funding and so as of Sept. 30th, if something doesn''t happen, the clinic will close. Right now it is barely running on private donations, but can''t continue to do so and is in a critical state. There have been some demonstrations and public outcry on parliament hill, but so far it is still scheduled to close

Speaking of Dr. Newman. He is a strong believer in PUBLIC breast feeding. He believes a big explantion for why this generation has so many difficulties with BF is due to the fact that we don''t get to see it happen around us. It is something we are designed to do, but like most human behaviours, we need both a combo of nature and nurture.

Here''s a quote from him that sums it up nicely, and i truly believe he is right.....

"Breastfeeding, like walking, is natural, but it''s a learned behaviour. And so when your child goes and falls the first few times you''re not going to say, okay, that''s it, it''s off to crutches for the rest of your life. No, you''re going to pick that child up and you''re going to learn how to walk with that child and that child will learn to walk with you," she said.

"And it''s the same with breastfeeding. We need to learn, we need to learn by watching women around us breastfeed and we don''t see women breastfeed because women are afraid to do it out in public."

 

[vespergirl]

Duh, of course women should be able to do it if they want to.

However, I chose not to BF in public when I had my first child for several reasons pertaining to difficulty with BFing, but I would totally do it with the second if I didn''t have the same issues.

My baby never learned to latch on properly (the shape of his mouth & my breast were not compatible - 3 lactation consultants confirmed this) so I had to wear a sterilized latex nipple shield every time I fed him. Also, we had horrible thrush, so I often had to apply creams right after every feeding. Plus, my production was very low, so I almost always had to supplement feedings with formula. Because of the struggles with getting the baby on the breast, there is no way that I could have done it discreetly enough in public that I would have felt comfortable doing it, unless I was in a nursing room or ladies lounge.

So, when I was in public, I either brought breast milk expressed in bottles to feed him, or sometimes just formula, or both.

 

[atroop711]

I don''t care if they feed in public..... (I''m not into showing my girls to anyone but if my son was hungry..then I fed him discretely). I DON''T WANT TO SEE a mom breast feeding her 7 yr old in public. THERE I SAID IT...I may be in the minority but IMO when the child can serve themselves...it''s time to stop

 

[vespergirl]

Date: 8/14/2009 2:21:49 PM
Author: atroop711
I don''t care if they feed in public..... (I''m not into showing my girls to anyone but if my son was hungry..then I fed him discretely). I DON''T WANT TO SEE a mom breast feeding her 7 yr old in public. THERE I SAID IT...I may be in the minority but IMO when the child can serve themselves...it''s time to stop

Ditto - there is something really creepy about it when older kids are BFing - my limit is 2 years old.

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 8/9/2009 10:33:05 PM
Author: AllieGator
Should women be allowed to breast feed in public? Definitely. But what bothers me is when women don''t even try to cover up. I was at a farmer''s market the other day, and a women was feeding on a bench, and you could see EVERY part of her breast. That is offensive. I''ve seen that a few times. I know that we shouldn''t look, but I''ve been in situations where you couldn''t help but see something. But if a women is discreetly doing it, and not too much breast can be seen, I see no problem with it.

I''m curious about this. When a baby has a proper latch, the nipple and most of the areola is covered up. The part of the areola that isn''t covered up by a mouth would be covered up by the baby''s face. The only part that should be seen is the top part of the breast which is no different than women wearing low cut teeshirts or what you would see on a beach.

 

[atroop711]

Date: 8/14/2009 3:42:40 PM
Author: fiery

Date: 8/9/2009 10:33:05 PM

Author: AllieGator

Should women be allowed to breast feed in public? Definitely. But what bothers me is when women don''t even try to cover up. I was at a farmer''s market the other day, and a women was feeding on a bench, and you could see EVERY part of her breast. That is offensive. I''ve seen that a few times. I know that we shouldn''t look, but I''ve been in situations where you couldn''t help but see something. But if a women is discreetly doing it, and not too much breast can be seen, I see no problem with it.

I''m curious about this. When a baby has a proper latch, the nipple and most of the areola is covered up. The part of the areola that isn''t covered up by a mouth would be covered up by the baby''s face. The only part that should be seen is the top part of the breast which is no different than women wearing low cut teeshirts or what you would see on a beach.

LOL not with my huge breast

My son would latch on but you could still see Planet Areola from every direction...and I''m trying to no suffocate the boy. This always made me jealous of the small breasted women who just held their babies close to their nipple and you would see nothing