Nursing in public-is it rude?

Question

Does it bother you?

Answer 1

No Practical

Answer 2

I used to nurse in public. I think that it all depends on the woman and if she's able to do it without being detected. I used to drape a receiving blanket over my shoulder, covering the baby and any exposed breast. As long as I was seated, no one could tell that I was doing anything other than cradling my baby.
I had a "friend" who would announce that she was going to nurse her baby. That was rude and annoying.
I don't want to see some woman whipping out her gigantic breast and latching the baby onto it! You need to be discrete. Otherwise it does bother me.
And I don't like it when people say that you should go into the restroom to nurse. You wouldn't eat your lunch in the bathroom, so why should I nurse by baby in there?
Sometimes you just don't have a choice and you HAVE to nurse in public. My girls wouldn't take a bottle or a pacifier, so when they were hungry, I fed them!

Answer 3

No it is not rude and no it does not bother me. In fact people are WAY too sensitive about this.
Think of it this way...nobody thinks it is rude to feed a young child in a restaurant, and they will spill things, knock food off the table that has to be swept, leave a big sticky mess behind for somebody to clean up, not too mention the may be screaming and crying and whining the entire time, and people don't freak out about that, but a tiny baby, with a nipple in it's mouth not making noise or a mess or leaving anything for anyone else to clean up offends people?? Huh??

I nursed both my kids in public and in private, in church and in malls and restaurants. I'd do the same again and anyone who is comfortable with it should do it also. If you are not comfortable, look elsewhere, or if you don;t want to nurse your child in public, don't do it. (I wouldn't feed my kid a cheeseburger in a public bathroom, and I wouldn;t feed my infant breastmilk in one.)

Answer 4

No, it is not rude. It is natural. When I see a woman nursing it gives me a warm, wonderful feeling remembering how nice it was to nurse my children. When I see a woman giving her baby a bottle in public (or anywhere else) I think, "What an idiot! Why do you think God gave you breasts? Don't you want what is proven to be the absolute best milk for your baby??"
I nursed my two sons both until they were 2 years old. Obviously, I nursed in public, even at church and malls. If you are careful there is no breast showing to alarm the idiots who don't really know what a breast is for.

Answer 5

no it doesnt bother me. I nursed all three of my children in public (discreetly of course) I think the rude part is when someone asks you to go to the bathroom to feed the baby! I always replied with "WOULD you eat in the bathroom?" I dont get what the hangup in America is about this. It's perfectly natural. It's kinda funny when someone with a kid in tow gets offended. Seems to me like the perfect time to explain to that kid what breasts are for to begin with. Instead, these parents make it a bad thing from the start.

Answer 6

No it isn't rude. What is rude about feeding a hungry baby? People seem to forget that the function of a woman's breast is to feed a baby. Most women are very discreet about nursing in public. The people who are offended should go back under the rock they obviously crawled out from under.

Answer 7

I was a nursing mother. All breastfeeding mothers have a right to nurse where ever they want to. If someones doesn't like it, then don't look. The prob is that people are noisy and have to be in everyones business, if they don't like it, look somewhere else.

I had someone say something to me at the mall and I put them in their place real quick. I asked the woman why in the hell are looking at my chest in the first place, if you hadn't been looking you would have never know that a baby was there. I asked her if she had been breastfeed or had breastfeed a baby. She was breastfeed as a child, but didn't have any kids. I told her that when she has children, she will understand.

Answer 8

No. You have to experience the crying, hungry baby to appreciate this. I think its rude for people to act other than its a natural act between a mother and their baby. However, I do understand that some people may feel uncomftorable, but they can move on somewhere else. Have you ever seen someone eat their spaghetti like a dog? What do you do? Keep looking at them or do you look elsewhere or leave? I suggest if you dont like breast feeding then go elsewhere, and understand the baby has to eat just like you!

Answer 9

It's not rude any more than any other eating is. What's RUDE is the people who think that using breasts for what they're designed for is a bad thing. I mean, that's what they're FOR!!! Why is it all right for men to walk around shirtless (and, in most cases, GROSS), but it's a huge problem for women to just feed their babies?

Anyone who has a problem with a woman feeding her baby is public because THEY have issues with breasts is just a pervert in my opinion.

Answer 10

I don't care if they do... I would rather not feed my child in a public bathroom (for example). I will agree with a few of the above posters and say being discreet is certainly the most polite thing to do. On the other hand, it is just a boob--- that is what nature intended them for.

Answer 11

Why would it bother me? Adults are allowed to eat in public, so why shouldn't babies be? Breasts are generally thought of as sexual playthings when in fact, they're meant to nourish our children if we choose to have them. As long as a woman isn't being obscene about it, I think nursing in public is fine.

It's sad when I see women nursing in public bathrooms or in a dark corner of the mall somewhere, hidden from view. I don't eat my dinner in a toilet...why should my baby?