How do you feel about breastfeeding in public?

9 Responses to “How do you feel about breastfeeding in public?”

1. Jill on November 20th, 2006 10:36 pm

   Actually, the first time I nursed my child was 13 years ago and that September they had just passed a law making nursing in public legal and illegal to harass anyone who did it. (even in the workplace) So I felt pretty confident and eager to make a statement. I covered up but wasnt afraid to take care of my babies needs. I felt that it really gave me more freedom to leave the house and stay very active instead of having to lug around bottles and warm them up.

2. Sarah Zeldman on November 21st, 2006 3:51 am

   Here’s a nursing solution I posted on my blog: (http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/blog)

   When I saw this, I *gasped*

   This is extraordinary cover-up is EXACTLY what I wanted when I was nursing.

   You can see The Nursing Curtain (TM) Here: http://www.supermomz.com/store/nursing-curtain-p-129.html

   You see, I always *hated* nursing in pubic. I don’t mind seeing other mothers doing it, but it bothered me. I like to be covered at all times.

   Ordinary nursing coverups didn’t work for me. The problem was I needed to use BOTH my hands during the entire nursing session (I always had to hold my breast) AND I had to be able to see the baby to get him/her to latch on…which means, in order to stay covered up…I would have needed 3 hands - one to hold the cover up open around the neck so I could see the baby, one to hold they baby & one to hold my breast… I just never could figure out how to do it all in public and stay covered up and RELAX about the whole thing! So…my kids were bottle fed in public & nursed at home (or anywhere I could find a private room.)

   Anyway…the Nursing Curtain seems to solve the problem of needing an extra “hand” If I’m lucky enough to have another baby — I’m going to order at least 3! Take a look. It would make a great gift for a new mom! http://www.supermomz.com/store/nursing-curtain-p-129.html

3. Carrie on December 7th, 2006 7:04 pm

   Thanks for sharing that Sarah! Some Moms do have a situation like you, that makes discreet nursing difficult or impossible. Some larger breasted Moms have this challenge too.

4. Sean on December 20th, 2006 10:28 pm

   I’m strongly against breastfeeding in public, public breastfeeding is indecent exposure and lewd conduct which we all know. Public breastfeeding is very lowclass, public breastfeeding is trashy and is a sexual perversion act. I happen to be a ultra right wing conservative who would love to see public breastfeeding be illegal in all 50 states just about anywhere so America would be a civilized decent country

5. Evie on December 21st, 2006 5:07 pm

   I can’t help but give my opinion to Sean on his last post. Breastfeeding is a natural act to nurture your infant/toddler/child. You really need to educate yourself on the whole act and benefits of breastfeeding. If you believe that Public breastfeeding is very lowclass, trashy and is an act of sexual perversion then the most simple everyday acts of humans are and should be outlawed in every state, as you mentioned public breastfeeding should. What about those displays in stores, lingerie models tv progrmas and all sorts of barely there Fashion trends?
   A woman has a right to feed her baby in public and anyway that she may need to (Covered or uncovered) if you do not like it them simply look away.

6. Sean on December 31st, 2006 1:38 am

   I feel that public breastfeeding needs to be banned just about anywhere wether it would be parks, shopping malls, gricery stores, upscale classy restaurant, sporting events, museums or churches. Public breastfeeding is down right rude and very impolite, if this onesided liberal free society can wakeup and smell the coffee to see that this is rude and impolite plus not to mention indecent exposure…we would bring back a more civilized society. Its about time we elect an ultra staunch conservative republican in office like Newt Gingrich to make this inappropriate behaviour illegal in all 50 states. Society as liberal as it is now…is abandoning common sense such as decency because of this womens rights political correctness that has coroded our moral society for 36 years. If society doesnt wakeuo to put the brakes down on this, we could endup becoming a bunch of uncivilized savages, because public breastfeeding is primative, its lowclass and a bad manner. Public breastfeeding is no different than if someone were to urinate-defacate in public or have sex in public. No self respecting, upscale classy, well mannered women would public breastfeed her babies, she would have enough upscale class and manners to breastfeed her baby in a bathroom, a car, in a nursing facility, or the privacy of her house where its out of the publics best interest. As i said before that public breastfeeding is rude and very impolite, plus with this liberal free society that miseducates a newer generation to see that public breastfeeding is socially acceptable, our liberal free society is basically educating our society to say that its ok to be rude and impolite. Public breastfeeding does become incestuous and a form of child molestation if a mother is still breastfeeding that child at 2 years old like what Emily Gillette was doing before you got escorted from Delta. I honestly can say this for what happen to Emily Gillette is that she did the wrong thing on the airplane by breastfeeding her two year old child in front of a bunch of flight passengers. What Emily Gillette did was very lowclass, very trashy plus not to mention of how much it made Emily Gillette looklike an attention breastfeeding sl*t wh*re. Dirty sexually obsene actions like that do not belong on airplanes, big airline companys have the rights to reserve service and restrict nasty, lewd cunduct, indecent behaviour on airplanes like public breastfeeding. What that flight attendent did by booting Emily Gillette off of the airplane was great, because the flight attendent was just doing her job like any other flight attendent. We need more and more flight attendents like that because it shows that there are still some people who condone this ugly, sexually obsene, bad habit. For what that flight attendent did, she did the right, she should be rewarded as far as i’m concern, not be attacked for what she was doing. Emily Gillette was acting like a sl*ut and a wh*re and thats just something that shouldnt be tolerated on big airline companys to make business look bad. We as a society needs to have enough guts and have a voice to speakup that public breastfeeding is indecent exposure and should be banned in all 50 states, we as conservatives can make a difference by signing petitions for the Republican convention to have some laws passed to make public indecent exposure illegal such as breastfeeding in public

7. Lance Landall on January 18th, 2007 6:46 am

   Hi,
   I was reading through the comments on breastfeeding as I had recently penned a poem on the matter. My poem is called ‘Discretion Please.’ You may be interested in taking a look at it. My web address is http://www.poetrywithamission.co.nz
   Regards,
   Lance.

8. carrie on January 25th, 2007 7:41 pm

   Lance,

   I read your poem and thought it was a very respectful way of expressing your opinion. It’s also quite accurate - although, in my experience, nursing Moms don’t need to be told to be discreet because they already are.

   I did have a bristle with these words:
   “cause wrong desire to flare”

   Wrong desire is the problem of the desirer. If I’m meeting my baby’s needs and someone has a wrong desire, that’s squarely their sin. And in fact, I could be walking down the street in modest clothing and someone could experience wrong desires - but that’s not on my conscience, that’s their weakness.

   Thanks for stopping by.

9. Lance Landall on February 10th, 2007 8:39 pm

   I appreciated your response Carrie. I would have responded earlier but have been writing another poem in light of your comments. You might like to take a look at it. It’s called ‘Triggering’.
   Regarding “cause wrong desire to flair”:
   The difficulty with poetry is that different folk can interpret certain lines or words differently.
   In place of “cause” think of “trigger”, hence my new poem. If we leave a purse or wallet lying around someone will be tempted to steal it. While they are at fault, because they stole it, we shouldn’t have put temptation in their way, effectively inviting trouble. Afterall, we know there is a possibility someone will steal it.
   Likewise with breastfeeding. The fault may lie with the man ["wrong desires"] but let’s not put temptation in the way of men, as most men have difficulty in the sexual area [weakness]. They can have wrong thoughts even without provocation but provocation is somewhat like leaving a wallet lying around. Someone somewhere sometime will do something. That’s a given, so why take chances. I hope my new poem will go some way towards explaining things.
   Regards,
   Lance. http://www.poetrywithamission.co.nz

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