Breastfeeding in public

[banditgin]

Quote:
actually, I was just being overdramatic. How you feed your baby is your choice. Who am I to say what is right/wrong. What I find offensive is that I would be asked to feed my baby in private but the bottle feeding mom does not have to. You don't need to whip out the boob to feed the baby. My only beef is the if I have to go to the bathroom or car to feed my baby then all mothers should have to.

If you want to urinate in a public forest, go ahead - I won't stop you. Besides, if you got to go, you got to go.

 

[seedcorn]

Quote:
Sounds ridiculous right? So does being offended by a breast feeding a child!!!!

I was once told that I was welcome to nurse my child in the restroom, but sitting on the resting bench nursing was offensive to customers. Meanwhile the bench I was sitting on was in front of a life size cut out of a woman in a very small bikini! It showed more breast than I did, and it's sole purpose was to entice consumers!! GO FIGURE! WELCOME TO THE US!!!
BRAIN WASHING WORKS!!
Blessings,
Amy J.

It's not that act of breast feeding that offends, it's the manner and area they do it, and you know what I'm talking about.......

As far as partially clothed people, preach to the choir. Embarrassed by bikini but yet OK to plop out breast to feed? It's the same body part............don't tell me it's the intent. same argument "artists" use to "justify" porno.

 

[WillsMama93]

Quote:
This sure is a hot button topic!! Now, I am all for breastfeeding. I breastfed my son until he was 6 weeks old. Due to an illness, and his resulting allergic reaction to the medication I had to take which passed into my breast milk, I had to stop breastfeeding. But I would have continued had that been an option.
That being said, when I was a pediatric nurse all of the doctors that I worked for were strong supporters of breastfeeding. We provided a private room on each side of our clinic for breastfeeding mothers. If a woman chose to breastfeed in our waiting room, and was discreet, nothing was said, but we did have the rare cases where a breastfeeding mother would come in and expose her breast quite obviously, and breastfeed without regard to others in the waiting room. We would politely ask these mothers to breastfeed in our private rooms, not for the comfort of the other adults in the room, but becasue we had parents with children of all ages in our waiting rooms, and we did not feel it was any parent's right to expose another parent's child to their bare breast. It had nothing to do with the right to breastfeed in public, it had to do with the rights of another child.
Yes, a woman has the right to breastfeed in public.. and yes, if you disapprove, then don't look. But what about other young ones? Is it your right to school them on the facts of female anatomy if theur parents do not wish them to be "exposed" to it (pardon the pun)

 

[Oblio13]

Quote:
... If you want to urinate in a public forest, go ahead - I won't stop you. Besides, if you got to go, you got to go.

I don't quite get it - was the original implication that it's not okay?

As in we should cite every hunter and hiker that's ever lived?

 

[southernsibe]

I breastfed both my children, exclusively until they were both six months old. Then guess what I did? I continued to breast feed them!!! Even after they could “eat on their own”, then guess what I did? I continued to breast feed even after they could <gasp> talk! I even tandem nursed! I even tandem nursed in public!!!

Paintings that are considered great art, by El Greco, Bermejo, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, Mary Cassatt, all have works featuring breast-feeding, and, they are not covered!! I suppose they were all perverts wanting to show boobs, rather then artists wanting to immortalize something normal, natural and beautiful?


I don't want my children to think that human babies are supposed to be fed by bottles. I know it has it's place, and I know mothers that have pumped milk to be given to their children when they are not with them. They nursed when they had their children with them.

I wonder if those people that think breast milk as a bodily excretion should be kept in the bathroom have ever eaten cereal and milk? I wonder if they know that the milk they are using is, gasp, out of a cow's udder intended for a calf. Perhaps we should design blankets for cows to wear when they are getting milked so that the factory workers are not offended. Is my sarcasm loud enough?

Oh, btw, those paintings if you should be brave enough to look at them, show more skin of the breast and nipple then I have ever shown nursing in public, or that I have ever seen from a nursing mom.

Rachel

 

[jessupfamily]

Quote:
I've ready throught this entire thread (all the while avoiding work) with quite a bit of interest.

While I fully support a woman's right to breast feed, I have to side with those who believe a little bit of modesty is called for. If a woman believes she has the right (or un-right, as the argument has gone) to have consideration when breastfeeding in public then she should also understand that those of us around her have the right to not be blatently shown her breasts while eating, shopping, etc. I don't believe a breastfeeding woman should have to be confined to a bathroom or even a private room, however, as all the wonderful mothers posting here have shown, it's not that hard to be discreet with the appropriate clothing or a light blanket. Heck, even a small washcloth will cover up what doesn't need to be seen.

And yes, some women, even nurses and those who otherwise present themselves in a ladylike image, have been known to expose it all in public while breastfeeding. I watched a lactation consultant in town open her whole shirt and let it hang out while she tried to get her 3 year old (I think that's too old for bfing anyway) to settle down long enough to eat. I'm sorry, but that is public nudity and she was sitting in a crowded coffee shop.

In regards to the above quote, I believe some people have gone in the extreme opposite direction and condemn others who do not breastfeed before knowing the situation. That is just as wrong as telling a woman she should not breastfeed. I used to believe that everyone was wrong if they didn't breastfeed - until I had my daughter. No matter what I tried (and I spent a lot of time with nurses working on it) my daughter would not breastfeed. She was beginning to starve and screamed for days. The day I broke down and gave her a bottle of formula she became the happiest baby on earth. She's now 8, taller than most in her class and very intelligent, according to her teachers. I don't think formula hurt her one bit.

I have also heard of young mothers having so much pressure put on them to breast feed that their children have actually died from starvation. If you think it's not possible, try to remember being a struggling new mom for the first time, wanting to do everything right, a listen to some of the folks who are rabbid about breastfeeding. They convince these young moms that it's scareligious to feed their babies a bottle.

So, in summary, lets allow everyone to make their own choice, without forcing our personal views on them (and yes, with today's options, breastfeeding IS an opinion or choice). And please remember, that no matter what your choice, consideration for the others around you is what really does separate us from the animals.

I was showing the opposite extreme! I have 6 children and have had breastfeeding issues as well. However there is no problem with nursing whenever and wherever you would like!
I am somewhat discreet about nursing my infants and toddlers. However (thanks to hormone laden formula) I have a size K (YES K!) breast size. And will continue to increase with hormone fluctuations. (Not to get to personal.) Try covering that! And not suffocate your baby! I will let my children eat wherever they get hungry and if it's offensive, then look the other way or cover your eyes! My child's future health as well as current health and nutrition are far more important than any weird idea planted by the formula/hospital companies.
When I'm not nursing I am double covered to prevent any "showing-off" of my size. We dress in modest dresses and aprons. But nursing a baby can call for some comfort. And it does show that not everyone thinks of nursing as a taboo issue. It shows other children and young adults that it is perfectly normal to feed your children. There is not much encouragement for these generations to feed their children the healthiest way possible.

And BTW, you can get breastmilk from milk banks, you do not have to ruin a child's future immune system because of convenience. I have pumped and sent milk to others for their baby as well. I have experienced the results of formula personally, and doctors pass so much off as just common ailments. These common ailments would not be common if it weren't for formulas and cows milk! I will be labeled as extreme, but extreme in the right direction!
Blessings,
Amy J.

 

[peruvian_princess]

Well if you want to show off something that should be a bonding between mother and child then go ahead. It is your perogative. I feel if you are concerened about nutritional needs for your child then you would want to keep a low profile on the other hand it seems like many are motivated by alterior motives.

 

[mommy9994]

It's not that act of breast feeding that offends, it's the manner and area they do it, and you know what I'm talking about.......

As far as partially clothed people, preach to the choir. Embarrassed by bikini but yet OK to plop out breast to feed? It's the same body part............don't tell me it's the intent.

Absolutely, I don't think the *problem* was the woman nursing the baby, or even nursing in public. The problem was that it was just hanging out for all to see. If someone were to pull out that body part-- even briefly-- with NO baby, it would be indecent. Why is it more ok to have it noticeably hanging out when you're nursing? No one needs to see your body parts, nursing or not.

I think that because women are programmed differently from men, we tend to expect men to turn off the mind-sex switch. Some can, some can't. My dh has real issues with immodestly dressed women, but doesn't see a nursing woman in the same manner. Not all men are like that, and we as women have the responsibility to cover ourselves for their sakes.

I'm not at all saying that women shouldn't nurse in public-- just that it should be done discreetly.​

 

[morelcabin]

You do realize that North America is about the only place on earth that has all these 'regulations regarding breast feeding. In many other cultures women never cover thier breasts to begin with. In Canada we can choose to go topless if we feel the 'want' to do so, but breast feeding is a whole other ballgame...it is offensive! Give me a break. There is nothing 'sexy' about a woman nursing a baby.
BTW...bottles do offend me. I'm not saying they don't serve a purpose, there are thse who cannot breastfeed for certain medical reasons, but to *choose* to bottle feed is another story. I have heard said over and over again "I won't breast feed because I want my breasts to stay firm..." Now that is very selfish reasoning...and there are many other self serving reasons women use to bottle feed instead of doing what is best for the child. And there is no argument that breast feeding IS better.

 

[newnanchic]

I also breast feed both of my boys 1 of them til he was 9 months old and the other til he was 4 months old. I was very fourntaue that I has a supporting boss that allowed me time to pump while on my break in a closed room. I would NEVER go into a nasty germ infested bathroom to breast feed. I did it a t the table while eating out . I did it walking thru the mall I did not expose myself. I used nursing shirts with the slits sometimes and I just pulled the corner of my shirt up at others and used a cloth diaper like a burping cloth to keep myself covered up. I think you have the right to breastfeed anywhere and anytime there is a need. After all that is why we were given breast to feed our young.