What do you think about breastfeeding in public?

Question

Like in a restaurant or on a park bench, etc?

Don't get me wrong...breastfeeding is natural and beautiful. But so is sex and the naked body. I just don't want to see it while I'm eating lunch, you know? I wouldn't want to breastfeed in public cause that is a very personal thing in my opinion. Now I consider myself a liberal, but is my stand on this close-minded or practical? heh.

What do you think, what is your opinion?

Claudia, yeah I feel the same. If I don't know or really see what you are doing...then it doesn't bother me. But if I see a veiny breast, I think you could have covered up a bit more.

Answer 1

A woman can breastfeed without you hardly knowing at all if she does it properly.

Answer 2

Uggg, I get so sick of hear illogical comparisons of breastfeeding to: sex, urinating, and deficating.

Breastfeeding has NOTHING to do with sex! It is the innocent act of a mother feeding her child, and can be easily incorporated into a modern society with the removal of the breast being perceived as a sex object (which it is NOT).

Urinating and deficating are the expulsion of bodily WASTE, this is a SANITATION issue. Of course the removal of bodily waste is going to require some privacy.

People who have no knowledge of breastfeeding or exposure to it are the most critical. Did you know that you can never predict when a breastfed baby is going to be hungry? Did you know that introducing a bottle can harm a womans ability to breastfeed for the full year? Did you know that the number of woman not breastfeeding is considered to be a nation wide healthcare CRISIS costing YOU money? Did you know that part of the problem of why woman don't do it is because of people like you? Were you aware that NO breastfeeding woman actually enjoys having her breast exposed in public?

Wouldn't you consider it discrimination to tell someone that they could bottlefeed their child here but not breastfeed?

Wouldn't you rather booth next to a quite discreet breastfeeding baby than a screaming colicy bottlefed one?

Answer 3

I think breastfeeding is a natural, wonderful thing. It's what breasts are for after all. Most women I know or have seen try to be discreet, and with practice it can be done very well in public -- but really, give the Moms a break on this one. It's the ones who diaper their kids out in the open that bother me. I saw one put the baby on the table at lunch to do a diaper change. Those are the moms that should be getting grief.

Answer 4

If breastfeeding in public could be banned then so ought to everybody eating in public!! Hell breastfeeding is extra organic then those footwear you have on your ft! i think of that is disgusting that breastfeeding is even stated in the type of way!! So what? There may well be fashions exhibiting there effective info yet a mom feeding her baby is incorrect? So ill

Answer 5

The whole point is that it bothers you because you feel breasts are sex objects. Boobs are not offensive as a general rule, but they are to you though.

In other countries, No ONE thinks ANYTHING of a nursing mother in public, because sex is not first on everyone's minds there. I agree with one up above that said: This topic in America is embarassing!!!!!

You are eating YOUR lunch & so is the tiny child! What's the difference? Is your lunch so personal that you hide when you eat it??? Neither is the child's. BTW, I am shocked at mothers who think it would be acceptable to FEED THEIR CHILD IN A RESTROOM!!! That is DISGUSTING!!!


It is your frame of reference, your perspective...
This must be the problem...
if you were educated on the benefits of feeding your child this superior food, as opposed to a formula in a bottle, then you would understand a lot better. You should commend all women who nurse their children. It is an unselfish way of showing your child you want what is best for them.

I am sure that women can keep covered up, as I did--
but sometimes the nursing child just keeps pulling the cover off. The child knows nothing of your taking of offense.

Answer 6

Not sure what this has to do with Religion and Spirituality?

As far as breastfeeding, the baby's gotta eat. I think that moms should be aware of when the baby is going to want to eat though, and plan ahead for it.

If they cannot find someplace private, then they need to have scoped out an out-of-the-way place where they won't be the center of attraction.

And I think for modesty's sake, if they have to be somewhere where other people are, then they should cover themselves with a baby blanket over the shoulder and down their chest over the baby. But with good planning, this should almost never have to happen.

Not because I think breastfeeding mothers should hide, but because it's NOBODY else's business to be looking at!

I have nothing against breastfeeding whatsoever - have had five kids myself. But I also always thought it was very, very important to take OTHER PEOPLE into consideration, as well as it being necessary to feed the baby. Find a happy medium there where the baby gets fed but other people are not involved visually.

Answer 7

I think you're a prude. Women have been breastfeeding in public for as long as there have been women and babies. Do you imagine the sight of breastfeeding contributes to lustful thoughts in men? Not true! I just asked five guys and all agree it makes them feel "warm and fuzzy," not sexual.

If you deny your offspring the warmth and security of a genuine loving mother while they're infants and need physical contact the most, you're harming their emotional development. These days, experts say human babies need all the mother-love they can get because it helps them develop emotional self-control. "Mothers" who throw a bottle into the crib at feeding time inevitably get exactly what they deserve -- children with little or no emotional connection to their mother. I urge you to re-think your position and to re-consider it from the perspective of the needs of the developing infant. It's not about what YOU want to see; it's about the baby's emotional needs.

Edit: After reading the comments above, it's obvious that those who object the most are women! Those of you who think a bottle's just as good as mother's breast need to read a recent book on childcare. The real issue is not how you feel about the sight of another woman's breast while you're eating your lunch, it's about meeting the emotional needs of a developing human being. No wonder so many men secretly despise their mothers and don't know why -- they were never given the chance to properly bond with them, when they were infants! Modern American women seem to me, the most selfish females and the worst mothers in the history of humanity.

Answer 8

Most women who breast feed are so good at it that you won't or shouldn't even notice..it is a bit more respectful when in public for them to put a shawl or a blanket over when they feed...Not sure if you have kids, but you may change your mind when you have them if you breastfeed..Plus in most places restaurants (nicer ones)..and malls have sitting areas in the bathroom..but if your baby nurses between 20-40 minutes you probably don't want to miss the meal and such...I know that I am expecting my baby in a couple of weeks and I felt the same way that you did, but after reading and really watching people...there are a lot more people nursing in public than you realize they are just very stealth like..

Answer 9

The breast is for the baby.
The only function the breast performs is producing milk 4 the baby. PERIOD.
In public, the baby knows Nothing of the sensibilities of mankind. When the babe is hungry, its time to eat. PERIOD.
To see a baby bonding w/ mom is just as beautiful as Jehovah could make anything on earth.
I would NOT recommend ANY1 feed a baby in a public restroom...Aaauuggghhhh! Quad-zillion Germs!!!
If you love ur child, why on earth would u subject him / her to such a disgusting!! thing?
Do U want to eat in a public restroom?
Now, there is Nothing wrong w/ modesty in public.
A mom could easily cover herself, & the baby somewhat,
w/ a blanket. Or find a lil out-of-the-way nook; away from prying eyes, and feed ur young 1.
Many ppl r just stuck in their own hang-ups about a beautiful thing. As I see from some of the answers here.

Answer 10

Some mothers just flop it out, that's crude. I don't wanna see it, especially if I'm eating or drinking.

However, if a mother is using something to cover herself up, I have no problem with breast feeding. She can use a receiving blanket, towel, burka, muumuu, whatever. It's just more courteous to cover when breastfeeding, just as it's more courteous to change a diaper inside of a bathroom than at a bus stop.

Answer 11

It is nothing wrong with breastfeeding a child public just make sure you cover yourself so people won't notice. As you could see by the way people answered in here, there are ones that agree and disagree. I say try to keep the peace wherever you go. Do it but make sure you are covered!