So what's wrong with breast feeding in public?

Question

Of course it needs to be TASTEFULLY done (sorry for the pun) . I'm just wondering if Victoria’s Secret took the wrong stand on the issue.

Answer 1

I am breastfeeding too, and I wonder why people think that you should ignore your hungry baby just because of someone else's opinion. Not everyone wants to feed thier baby in a nasty smelly public bathroom. Would you want to eat sitting on the toilet or standing up in a "public" restroom? Sometimes you are going to be in an inconvieniant place- I've had to breastfeed my son on metro buses, movies, restaurants, ect...
It's not as big a deal as people make it, really. Just continue to nurture your child in the best way: throw a blanket or jacket over your shoulder if you can, and handle your business.
-breastfeeding mother of 2

Answer 2

Love the pun. This is so silly. Really. How many movies have you seen in the last year with full frontal nudity and you're going to be offended by a nursing mother. Please. They're just breasts! Go to the community pool and you'll see more than you see if you glance my way and happen to notice I'm feeding my baby. Covering a nursing baby isn't always possible. Many of them really don't like it and will pull the cover off constantly. It's usually more discreet without a cover actually. I've had conversations with people who never realized I was breastfeeding. (Believe me, you know when they notice, postiive or negative.) If your 3 -10 year old notices they usually respond based on your response. If you say "oh, that's how some mommies feed their little babies," and shrug, guess what, no big deal. The Victoria's Secret lady asked to use a dressing room to feed her baby and was denied and told to go to the bathroom. Doesn't say if it had a nursing room. Do you want to eat your lunch in the restroom? You know, that place where you'll only "hover" and try not to touch the doorknob with your bare hands? Hmmm? I didn't think so.

Answer 3

absolutely nothing is wrong with b/f in public. For the people who just say use a restroom... have you ever tried breastfeeding in a bathroom? I've yet to see a bathroom with a comfy little spot to nurse your baby. If people have a problem that just too f*#!ing bad
Why should woman have to run and hide when its time to feed the baby. How do all the naysayers think they were feed when they were babies. In every other part of the world this is not an issue. Only here in the USA are people soo uptight and stuffy about the most natural thing in the world.

Answer 4

From what I can tell, the Victoria's Secret thing may have been an isolated incident. There was a nurse in this past weekend at our local Victoria Secret store (in a MAJOR casino/resort shopping area). The management at the store was very kind and supportive -- much more so that the mall mgmt!

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with nursing your babies in public. NOTHING. You should be discreet about it, but there are always those who feed off attention.

PS -- to those of you who answer with "do it in the bathroom" -- would you eat your lunch sitting atop a toilet?

Answer 5

I don't think we are getting the whole story here. The customer in question may not have been doing this "tastefully".. She could have just flopped that thing out without covering up.

I know as a parent that when my kids were 2 or 3 this was a little difficult to explain.

Answer 6

Absolutely nothing! I have a big opinion on this issue.Why do women have breast?Why do we produce milk?Would anyone be offended if they drove past a pasture and saw a calf nursing? Of course it needs to be done TASTEFULLY(good one by the way...lol) I think it's the best thing you can do for you and your baby. I really don't understand why this is such an issue.It's the most natural thing thing to do for your baby.Okay I'll step down from the soap box.Best wishes!♥

Answer 7

There are those who locate nursing offensive era. no remember the position you do it! some human beings have instructed me I might want to of bottle fed and looked at me strange for doing what nature meant. Breast are so sexualized that it really is totally everyone imagine about in recent times even as they imagine of them. i imagine this is alright to nurse a hungry toddler if this is finished discreetly. Now i do not comprehend if i'd do it at a fantastic eating position (probally would not pass to at least one with a youthful toddler both notwithstanding) yet on the mall bench or park bench I actually would. good success and persons will both recognize you for it or be grossed out, oh properly! extra efficient than having a ravenous screaming toddler!

Answer 8

there is NOTHING wrong with breastfeeding in public! victoria's secret could have redeemed themselves by issuing a statement saying that the actions of two of their clerks does not represent the beliefs of the company and that they will be undergoing employee training on the issue of breastfeeding. rather, they blamed the mother for getting upset. until breastfeeding moms start standing up for their rights, breastfeeding will still be "abnormal" in the eyes of the public. the USA is the only country in the world where a woman needs to worry about being glared at or worse, arrested, for feeding her child in puclic places. the USA seriously needs to get their false morals out of the puritan (irrational) ages and join the rest of the world...

Answer 9

Nothing's wrong with it. And tasteful is in the eye of the...uh...*taster*?

Babies need to eat. What's the problem?

I really pity anyone who finds it hard to explain to a 2 or 3 year old what a mother is doing. You're going to be changing diapers for decades!! And, as for the suggestion that women nurse in a bathroom, anyone who is offended by seeing a baby nursing can take their *own* lunch into the bathroom. You can close the door there and you won't see anything you don't approve of!

Breastfeeding is *not* an act of excretion. It is a means of nourishing a baby. Do you ask permission of everyone around you before you eat your sandwich? Do you put a blanket over your head, just in case there's someone who might be offended seeing your egg salad?

The *only* people who have a blanket over their heads in public are *dead* people...we nurse our babies to keep them *alive*. I find that comparison objectionable!

Answer 10

There is nothing at all wrong with it. People who have a problem with it should just not look. There are very few women who feel like bearing their body for all the world to see, most of us try hard to do it without being noticed so give us a break. And as for the bathroom thing... why don't you go eat your lunch sitting in a public restroom and then get back to me. Public bathrooms are often dirty and very very few have anywhere to sit other than a toilet, so please don't suggest this as a good place to take our precious children to eat.