Why do people have such a problem w/ mothers breastfeeding their babies in public?

Question

I mean come on people, let's grow up! It's just a breast! I try to be as discreet as possible, although I don't have an issue w/ it if someone's breast is exposed...Personally I'm more offended by someone's 13 year-old daughter's a ss hanging out of her age-inappropriate clothes or the person at the beach who is way too big for the type of swimsuit they're wearing. . But as the saying goes, if you don't like it you don't have to look... same goes w/ public breastfeeding!

Answer 1

I agree with you 100% I never breastfed my son in public, but for the next one, I most likely will. My in-laws came to visit when our son was 3 months old, and all they wanted to do was go, go, go! I remember I went to the bathroom when we were out to eat to go breastfeed our son and my mother in law came in after I was in there for ONLY 5 MINS and asked, "are you almost done yet?!" you have to be kidding me....then we were at the zoo and my son kept jumping everytime a toilet flushed and there were these huge bugs flying around, let's just say after that I ended up feeding him in the car :( and the trip was a disaster. Never again will I put my future son or daughter through that! I was too worried about offending anyone else and I should have been worried about the kind of enviroment my son had to eat in and I had to stand in. UGH!

Answer 2

Probably because the doctor is poorly educated about breastfeeding. (Which, sadly, many doctors ARE.) There is RARELY any need to supplement and, as you've found, very often supplementing a newborn results in complete weaning. Bilirubin is excreted in the stool, so it's important that a jaundiced baby eat frequently. If bilirubin levels are VERY high and there is little breastmilk or baby is very sleepy, sometimes very small amounts of formula (ideally given by tube or finger feeding NOT bottle) are helpful in producing the necessary stools to excrete the bilirubin. But if baby has been nursing well and often, and bilirubin levels aren't dangerously high, supplementing should not be necessary, and can cause far more problems than it solves. Sometimes mothers are also told to supplement when baby has breastmilk jaundice. (Not the case with this baby, since BMJ usually appears at around a week.) BMJ is 100% benign, but sometimes moms are told to supplement or wean for 1-2 days to 'confirm the diagnosis' or help the levels come down. I would encourage your cousin to a) keep breastfeeding as much as possible. b) Get baby's bilirubin levels checked -- if they are dropping there should be NO reason to continue the bottles c) Speak with an LC about getting baby nursing well again and, if it IS still necessary to supplement, to show her how to avoid bottles.

Answer 3

I want to breastfeed, however, I am very nervous about being able to breastfeed in public. I want to, I just am a reserved type of person in front of strangers. I do think breastfeeding is beautiful in both private and public. It helps me so much to hear and to read everyones positive attitudes regarding breastfeeding. My husband, our friends, and my work is extremely supportive. Our families however, really don't care whether i use formula or breastfeed, and i don't feel like i could talk to them about supporting me. I want to get over my shyness so that i can manage carrying a breastpump to the work conference room and be able to go about my business without turning red at the mere thought! I am hoping this "anxiety" will change and i will be able to "get over it" once the baby comes.

Answer 4

Because the naked female breast is considered a social taboo in public, people forget what they are really there for. The only reason people have such a problem with it is because nudity is socially unacceptable. If people would stop and think about it, there is nothing dirty about breastfeeding except what they create in their own minds. The real offense is that a woman can't breastfeed in public without getting stared at. That is what makes me mad.

Answer 5

Because breasts are associated with sex, not just mammary glands to suckle our young. Thinking of breasts as sex objects is what keeps us from being able to run around without our shirts on hot summer days, it is wrong to think this way when it comes to nursing a baby. Nursing is the most natural thing a woman can do with her baby, it's beautiful and a beautiful experience. I'm glad I did it, no matter how many people I grossed out or pissed off! =)

Answer 6

I don't know. I know I don't have any problem with it, but then, I love breasts so I am biased. Like you said, you don't have to look if you don't want to. Political correctness has gone haywire in this country. Women in other countries breastfeed their babies in public all the time and nothing is ever said against it - it is considered a normal human function, which it is.

Answer 7

my daughter is 22 months and still nursing....i could care less what others think, i know my daughter is getting the best!!!


And to add: When people say go to the bathroom to do it.......all I have to say is Would you eat in a bathroom stall? With all those germs?

Neither would I or My child.

And breast don't have to be "Hanging Out All Over The Place" as they say. When your BFing your child you dont see the breast....it looks like you are snuggling with your baby. I see more boobs on the t.v. shows then I do when I see a mom breastfeeding!

Answer 8

I agree with you 100%! It's amazing how a first world country like the US is still backwards sometimes. For some reason, a lot of US folks think of a breast as a sexual item instead of its true function of feeding a baby.

Answer 9

I agree. Everyone should just get over it!!
And the whole breast pump thing, hello why put milk in a bottle when it's easier to get it right from the source?

Answer 10

I don't care if a mother breastfeeds her baby in public. After all, God gave women breasts to feed their infants. As long as she's discreet about it (keeps her top or something over the baby and her breast).