do you think its acceptable for women to breastfeed in public?

Question

yes i know its natural,but we[well i presume we] are not living in Africa ,i ask because there was an argument on the bus today.personally i have no problem if a women wants to get the girls out in public,well one of them.but then on the other hand what if she had twins and both the girls were out.. would that be ecceptible .

my my some of you are touchy arnt you.the girls comment was meant light heartedly.not sexually.the African comment was perhaps unintentionally stereotypical.[ie] programmes on African tribes ive seen. Not someone working in an office in an African city.

open thoughts thats exactly what she did it was almost like, look at me i want everyone to watch.

Answer 1

lol ur getting it today eh!!! ok i breastfed all 4 of mine and half the time people didn't even know i was doing it, its called discretion! young girls these days won't breastfeed because they don't want there breasts seen by anyone you can't win i'm afraid sometimes! you do get some small minded people tho that think were doing it for fun, its a necessity for our child at the time either that or they can put up with little one screaming their heads of see which they prefer! i had twins too and they fed at different times sod that lol.

Answer 2

Some mothers opt to breastfeed in public and make a display about doing so. The breast and nipple hang freely while mom reassembles the baby. This isn't right! The point isn't to make a statement to the world about your right to breastfeed. The point is to feed the baby! This can be done in public without giving full frontal views.

Face it, we live in a society that does not involve much female breast/nipple exposure, so people are inclined to stare just as they would if someone wore a skirt so short that the buttocks were hanging below.

So fine - breastfeed in public. Cover up or don't - just don't "let the girls" hang free. It's really quite easy to do. I breastfed my way all across USA and Europe and never once gave a stranger a peep at the old nipple.

It's really not a big deal!

Answer 3

Yes I do. My wife has breast fed both of my children in public places. I've never seen a woman bring undue attention to herself when breastfeeding. It's normally done in a very discreet manner and unless you look very closely, it usually looks like a Mom is giving her baby a cuddle. There seems to be very few public places where breast feeding is encouraged or supported. It's difficult enough to find shops or public amenities that have decent facilities for parents to feed or change babies let alone trying to stop Moms breastfeeding.

You need to remember that all babies are different and do not understand schedules. You cannot tell a baby that they can only be hungry when you've finished your shopping and got back home. When a baby is hungry, they need feeding immediately. A woman's breast can usually produce sufficient milk to meet the demands of the baby. There is no need to carry around bottles that have to be heated. Most shops will not warm items for parents for health and safety reasons. The other thing that us non-Moms cannot understand or replicate is the very special bond between a Mom and a breastfeeding baby.

As much as I hate reality TV shows and so called celebrities, it would be really helpful if a well known lady breastfed in public as this would provide a positive role model. It would even be helpful if she met oppposition whilst trying to breastfeed in a public place as this might invoke a discussion to allay the concerns of these hysterically oversensitive people.

If the person asking this question has problems using the word 'breast' in a discussion, is it any wonder that some people are uncomfortable with breastfeeding? Sex is used to sell almost everything these days and the multitude of different media show images of people in suggestive poses. If these kind of images are acceptable today, why is breastfeeding offensive to anyone? Neither the Mom nor the baby are being exploited and the image of a baby feeding from its mothers breast surely cannot be considered stimulating.

With all the bad things happening in our world today, why would would anyone want to stop anything good like breastfeeding?

Answer 4

Speaking as a mother who breastfeed all three of my children, the answer to your question is yes it should be acceptable for a woman to feed her child in public. The problem is that it is still frowned upon by some people. There were several times that while nursing my child I was made to feel so uncomfortable that my baby would not eat until I left that area. People need to grow up and realize that breast were made to feed children. We are mammals and most mammals feed their children with milk from their bodies. But also breast-feeding mothers need to have respect for themselves and their child's privacy, place a blanket over your shoulder and cover yourself as well as the baby. You can make a small opening in the top of the blanket so that you can see you baby and the baby can see you.
Also you ask what if she has twins, most mothers of twins do not breast fed both children at the same time unless they are at home. It can be a little hard to try and hold two babies to you breast. If both babies finish eating at the same time it would be really hard to burp both at the same time.

Answer 5

I think it's fine as long as the woman isn't showing off. I'm 31 years old, and I've NEVER seen a woman who was breastfeeding showing off her breasts. Most women aren't even thinking about it--their number once concern is to feed their child.

Our society has forgotten the true meaning/use of breasts--to feed our children. We've (unfortunately) turned them into sexual objects when that was never their intended purpose.

To all the people who are uncomfortable with a breastfeeding woman--same as those who don't like violent TV--DON'T WATCH.

Personally, I've seen more bare skin on 99% of the teenage girls I see out in public today.

Answer 6

What does being or not being a woman in Africa have anything to do with breastfeeding in public? The tone of the comment "we are not living in Africa" is pejorative and irrelevant to the issue of whether or not women in general should breastfeed in public.

Anyway, to answer your general question, of course women should be allowed to breastfeed in public. Babies are not like adults or even children. When they're hungry, they're hungry in the moment and should be fed when needed.

To the more specific question of "what if she had . . . both the girls . . . out," I know what you're asking but the question doesn't make sense or at the very least it's quite unplausible that such a thing would happen. Have you ever seen a mother breastfeeding a baby? She doesn't lie on her side like a dog while her litter sucks on numerous teats. She cradles her baby with both hands to breastfeed. The idea of a mother feeding both her babies at the same time on a park bench or a crowded bus is silly. If she had twins, she'd feed them one at a time.

Answer 7

Yes, it is acceptable...as long as they are not whipping out the breast then grabbing the kid and putting on an exhibition. I have only seen this once, and it was rather pathetic. It was like she wanted to make a statement that she can do this in public, and nobody could stop her.

In a few cases, I have seen women do this with no blanket or anything...not a big deal, but would seem more apropriate to cover up.

Answer 8

I think it's mingin'! "Congratulations you've got a baby, whoopedoo, join the rest of the mothers and mini-me's" - now go somewhere discreet to feed it 'cos I certainly don't want to see some womans waps flashed about in public. If they are totally discreet about it then I suppose so, but I've seem some woman once in a park sat there plain as day with everything on show. Yeah, it's natural but so is having a cold and I still think hawking snot on the pavement in front of everyone is just plain rude.

Answer 9

people kiss, hug, and roll over each other on grass on public, and some times they do make love in public, is that acceptable and feeding a poor hungry baby is not acceptable. at the same time a woman can feed her baby and cover her chest, no one will dare to try to have a look especially if a big part of it is covered.
and for Afric, i think we can learn alot from people living in tribes, far a way from any civilization, because they are pure people, they did not poluted with our lies.

Answer 10

As long as they're modest about it and cover up (with a blanket or something) or go to a semi-private area, it's acceptable. To walk around the mall or be on the bus during rush hour doing it out in the open with nothing covering is a little too much.