My view on breastfeeding in public is pretty much the same as Hope‘s. If the sight of a woman feeding her baby makes you uncomfortable, then look somewhere else. Babies operate on their own schedule. When they need to eat, they need to eat. I’m sorry, but any problem you have with that is your own.
And if you think that the woman should take the baby to a bathroom before commencing, well, I invite you to eat your next meal in a public restroom. Sound appetizing? If not, then you understand why most nursing mothers (and their husbands, boyfriends, or partners) don’t consider it to be a viable option.
Normally I’m cool with it. On occasion I’ve seen breastfeeding mothers make something resembling a production of it, as if they want everyone to see it.
That I have a problem with. Fine, do it where you are, but at least make a *reasonable* effort to be discreet. Fortunately, most do.
Tim: Yes! Turning it into a production is what’s a little ridiculous.
Like the Great Boobiethon we had at the Galleria a while back.
Great mothers, dragging their infants to a crowded, germy mall at lunch when it’s at its busiest, just so they could show some nipple to KTRK’s Deborah Wrigley and feel good about themselves and their social activism.
I don’t especially care about this issue, but it IS courteous to be discrete, and it is kind of silly to turn it into a civil rights crusade and use an infant as a cheap prop! Some mothers need to do some growing up.
Oh, indeed. Why, there are already a pair of boobs visible on this very thread. That’s OK, of course, but it would be nice if they were more discreet about it. 🙂
I just found this little site and I must say that to hear a man, Kev – that’s you right? talk about moms growing up and using infants as cheap props makes me want to go topless for the rest of the afternoon! It IS a civil rights crusade my friend and it is for the benefit of those infants we are crusading. Breastfeeding is mis-understood, under-valued and under-used. To bring it in to a public domain is very very important. And every woman I know tries to be discreet. If you see a woman making a big production of it (what a laugh!) she is probably doing her best. Infants don’t always cooperate. And finally, a germy mall is not a bad place for an infant. Children need to be exposed to life in public, that’s how they develop resistance to germs. I do try to keep mine out of the trash can however. (My children, not my breasts.)