Should women breastfeed in public?

Question

a woman was sitting in the OPEN inside a window display at a store in the local mall. She was facing the shoppers outside the store, but admittedly there were mannequins spaced in front of her. The manager of the store politely informed her that there were specific areas where she could feed her baby and further advised her that both men and woman and girls and boys came into the store. The manager was very nice about it. But the woman protested , saying very loudly that her baby was 'hungry' and that she was going to feed her! the Manager again asked her to please go to the facility he'd told her about.
Well, the woman pulled her baby from her breast, lifted her breast and then told the manager that she would 'have your job"
That was a week ago.
Nothing happened yet with the manager's job, but didn't she handle it properly?

No Bailey. I am not the manager but I watched this event unfold. As a matter of fact the manager was extremely polite and nice about the situation. the mother on the other hand, was very rude to the manager. I'm not a mother, yet, but I would never ever wave my breast in front of any male manager or other customers (children and men also, as this woman did.

the 'facility' was in an upscale mall in Cherry Hill New Jersey where there are mother/baby nursing areas. I forgot to tell you that the manager offered to accompany her to one of them. I'm a young woman. The offensiveness came as the result of this woman waving her EXPOSED nipple and heavy breast in the manager's face, as though taunting him. SHE made the scene, not him.
And I'm sorry. Laws or not, mothers need to breastfeed in areas that are provided for them. NOT bathrooms. But if facilities are available, (and in this case there were) they should be used. Period. End. Dot.

Answer 1

I believe the manager handled that wonderfully. If you're baby's hungry, by all means, feed it. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with going somewhere more private (such as a bathroom stall or somewhere designated for feeding). Not only should that be a time of intimate contact between a mother and her baby, but it's also good manners. Your baby is not going to starve if you don't feed him/her within 10 minutes of crying. That's MORE than enough time to find a more suitable place to feed it. Yes, congratulations on being a mother, but the world did not suddenly become your playground and like it or not, you still need to show some decency. :)

Answer 2

She may not have handle the situation all that delicately, but the manager is indeed danger of loosing his job and could even face legal prosecution for his behavior! Every state has laws stating that breastfeeding is not indecent exposure and that mothers are allowed to breastfeed anywhere they like that is a public area. The only time anyone has the right to request a breastfeeding mother to leave is if it is private property..i.e. private residence!
The fact that this manager used the reason that people could see her is wrong since she wasn't doing anything illegal.
Oh and by the way...consider what he claimed was "specific areas" for her to breastfeed. I can almost garantee it was in a restroom...even if it was a higher scale department store that had a "sitting room" attatched to the bathroom. I can garantee they've cleaned that room less often then they do the display areas! I've worked retail they're more worried about selling products then keeping a restroom clean.
Also you're not saying if she lifted her breast to put it away or out of spite. Either way she's within her rights for it to be exposed since she was feeding her baby.
If she was smart she'd take it to corporate. With all the drama in the news of what happens to other retailers who try to dictate where breastfeeding can occur inspite of laws they'll either transfer or fire that manager just to avoid the negative PR. If I had been her I would have called the local news immediately!
As a breastfeeding mother I think she was inappropriate but still she was within her legal rights. It's just as bad as the fact that you'll find teens cussing a blue streak in the mall yet there is nothing illegal with it!

Answer 3

This question get asked A LOT ! I have two boys that I bf. Babies get hungry it's a fact of life and they like everyone else have a right to be fed.. However, having said, I also think it's up to the mother to show some discretion and NOT have her breast hanging out.. Especially, in a public place... When I bf. I had a "hooter hider" OR a blanket that I used to cover up and it was never a problem.. Those people who think feeding a baby in a bathroom is all hunky dory... Next time your hungry I would like you to find the closest restroom and eat your meal in there ! A restroom is NOT for eating in ! I think that BOTH sides over reacted.... The woman should have just told the manager to "shove off" and covered up AND the woman should've just covered up OR gone to a designated BF area if they are provided... The manager should've just left her alone... Most of the time it's very hard to tell if a baby is bf'd OR sleeping unless you stare... If I was the woman I would be pissed too... It's NOT a crime to bf a baby in public.... Get over it you see more boob on the television than a BF'd.. MOTHER.....

good luck

Answer 4

Put simply yes they should be allowed to breast feed, it is natural and if someone feels uncomfortable watching a woman breast feed......here's an idea don't look. Its not like there are neon lights flashing saying look at the barely exposed breast. It is something that happens naturally and something most of our mothers would have done when raising us. Why is this an issue now, most babies will only feed for 10-20 mins so why someone would stand there for 20mins looking at a woman feeding her child is beyond me. I am a father of 2 and if anyone has a problem with my wife feeding my baby girl they can take it up with me, and believe me they won't. Society seems to have little problem interrupting a woman with a baby whilst she is in a somewhat inconvenient position, yet if a man is there by her side no one will say a word. People need to grow up and stop being so sensitive to what comes naturally, yet these same people have no problem with violence and abuse shown on TV at the movies and in video games, what has gone wrong with this world that is the real question here.....

Answer 5

I think that mothers have every right to breastfeed in public, if they choose to do so. It's a natural process, and most public breastfeeders don't reveal any more of their breasts than some of the clothes girls wear these days do. So I don't think it's wrong for her to have breastfed publicly.

However, in my opinion the woman didn't handle the situation as well as she could have. I know she was just being defensive, but she could've had a better response to the manager than the one she had.

Answer 6

I went to a childrens museum with family during thanksgiving weekend and during the time we were there I needed to nurse my baby. I asked an employee where I could nurse my baby and she said there was a couch in the baby playing section. So I go over there and there is a lady and a guy sitting there. I was too chicken to ask them to move so I went and got my husband, he politely said this is supposed to be the nursing section and my wife needs to nurse our baby. The old lady left (she was just resting and not watching anyone in the infant playing area) and the guy had the nerve to sit on the floor right in front of the couch. I'm trying to go out of my way to not nurse infront of anyone and this dude just sits right infront of me. I tried to sound annoyed loudly by looking at my husband and saying unbelievable. I couldn't believe it.
I guess my point is women breastfeed where ever you feel like it because even if you find the designated place to nurse you'll still have some strange dude near by.

Answer 7

While it does sound like the mother in question was confrontational and displaying her body unnecessarily, she is correct that her baby does have the right to eat. Was this in the US? In most states, a woman's right to breastfeed her child is protected by law. She doesn't have to go hide in a special "area", cover up with a blanket, or sit in an area wher men can't see her. Why should she - she's not doing anything obscene or indecent, she's simply feeding her child. If she was using a bottle, no one would say a thing to her, but she's choosing to feed her baby in the most normal and natural way possible, so people think they can harass her. I wonder if this mother was simply fed up with being told she couldn't feed her child.

That said, most nursing mothers are very discreet. You can't see anything when a baby is nursing that you wouldn't see on a billboard, a TV ad, or a beach - and typically you'll see a lot less. It's too bad that nursing mothers are made to feel like they have to be confrontational to simply feed their children.

Answer 8

If I chose to breastfeed my child in public ( discretely with a blanket covering me) and someone asked me to leave I'd be telling them where to go. The only thing the woman did wrong was giving in and leaving, I would have refused. Let the manager call the cops and see what happens. If the baby was being bottle fed it wouldn't have been a problem so asking a breastfeeding mom to leave would be discrimination.

Answer 9

I think it was odd that she was sitting in a window display however in Australia there are laws that protect your right to feed your baby in public or wherever necessary. It may have been less offensive to the mother for the manager to offer her a chair somewhere else in the store so she wasn't sitting in the display. I know what it is like to have a cranky baby but I wouldn't sit in a window display.

Answer 10

It sounds like the breastfeeding woman didn't handle this particularly well, but she was still doing nothing wrong.

And the manager was in no way nice about things if he was telling her to go and feed her baby elsewhere. It doesn't matter how he said it, his request was unreasonable.

Absolutely women should be able to breastfeed in public. I don't know the exact law in the US, and imagine it varies from state to state, but in Australia a woman is legally allowed to breastfeed anywhere that she has a right to be. And it's illegal to discriminate against her because of her breastfeeding.

I know there are often mother & baby rooms available. I quite often use them. However, sometimes they're really grotty. Sometimes they're too far away. Sometimes they're full. And I absolutely agree that a toilet is NOT a suitable facility in which to feed your child.

By the way, to those who equate breastfeeding with urinating or masturbating (or sex or defecation) - have you thought about your argument at all? Breastfeeding is not an act of eliminating bodily waste. Nor is it a sexual act. It is purely the act of nourishing one's child. And it's only due to poor parenting advice that it's not a common sight, and due to our messed-up societal values that we're unable to see breasts as anything other than inherently sexual.

Answer 11

I believe that women should be able to breastfeed where ever they're allowed to take a baby (actually it's law where I live). The nursing mom seemed a bit confrontational, but she does have her rights.
Trust me, I work in a department store and I'd rather see a mother nursing than some of the other things I've seen people do...