Public Breast Feeder
 

I saw this for the first time ever at BWI yesterday.

Of course I stared! When I caught myself, I tried not to.


How was I supposed to respond to this?
How would you all respond to this?

ADMIN: Please add the word "PUBLIC" in front of the title to my thread, if you can....

Re: Breast Feeder
 

Uh, c'mon Jermyn...

Do women not breast feed their babies where you are from? They've been doing it for milleniums!

They call it the La Leche League!!

For your information... Women are plumbed different than you and I. They got portable bottles that they, at any time, can feed those little grublets that they gave birth to. Just FYI.

Any questions you feel free to ask us veterans. Got six grubs of my own, I ought to know!

TJJJ

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Sounds like she didn't have herself covered up very well.

The times that I've noticed it the mother usually has a blanket thrown over her shoulder even covering up the child too.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I have no problem with a mother nursing her child in public, as long as she's well-covered. There's no need, in my opinion, to bare all. It's extremely inconsiderate to those around you, in our particular culture.

How I would respond to it.... I would look the other direction. ;)

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

While I don't necessarily disagree....

I didn't nurse in public very often because of my children. Crazies didn't like to be covered up, and a few of them didn't like my shirt touching their faces. One or two of them also liked to smile at everyone who walked past. :blush I did everything I could...but sometimes......

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Ok, this thread title made me envision some new machine invention, distantly related to those groadie drinking fountains from public schools when I was a kid only for...

carry on, been a long day...

Opinion... keep them there mammaries covered for everyone's sake!

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I never nursed in public either. It made me very uncomfortable. But I don't have a problem with others doing it.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I think it should be a private thing.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Does a womans breast really bother you guys? As long as I am not having a conversation with the mother can't we all just look away.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

This is kind of what I'm thinking. Women have breasts. Not news to anyone here, I'm sure. lol

And they feed babies. That might be news.. Unfortunately, a lot of people do grow up in America without really understanding that that's a big part of what they're there for.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

1. I think it's a shame that women have to be worried about covering themselves completely when they're nursing a child.

2. In our culture, female breasts have been sexualized to the point it is nearly impossible for men (or other women) to view them differently. You can respond to that existent culture in one of two ways: Cover up so men won't run into trees, or bare all in an effort to rebel against an unreasonably sexual culture, and bear the stares. And criticism.

I nursed all my babies, and when I was in public, I made sure I was modest. The easiest thing is to find a nursery or bathroom that has a seating area so you don't have to cover up--babies really don't like having their faces covered. Most of the time, though, if we were having an outing, I just planned around it.

It really can make you mad to read some of the comments made by men in regard to breast feeding on secular sites. Ranging everywhere from being disrespectful to women in general, to implying that nursing is a sexual act between mother and child. So I really empathize with the groups of women who are trying to normalize what is already a natural act.

It doesn't make me uncomfortable to see a mother breastfeeding a baby, unless there's a man in the room who I know is feeling some discomfort. Then it's just awkward altogether.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I would have to see the video footage before I could render an opinion... :)

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

:smack

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I think breastfeeding in public is fine and a woman should not have to cover up. How many of you eat with a blanket over your head? The child covers most of the breast anyway.

As for how to respond, "I think it's great that you're feeding your baby. We need to see more of it so it becomes normal and expected."

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Wow. I must admit I'm surprised. So let me get this straight. The skirt must come below the knee. But it's OK to have a breast exposed?

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Well, I don't believe skirts have to come below the knee either.

Modesty has context. If I wasn't feeding my baby, my breast shouldn't be exposed. But I shouldn't have to stay home all day or hide in another room, because my baby has to eat.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

That must be one hungry kid! :ursofunny

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I am a prude when it comes to matters like this & believe convering oneself with a blanket or coat or other garment is the decent way to go.
I have 3 kids & all 3 were breast fed by my wife & was breastfed in public many times, but was always covered.

A women that is breast feeding is neither a turn on or are overly attractive so the issue isn't "sexiness" but rather "decency."

Going to the bathroom and picking one's nose is a natural function of our body, but I would rather not watch others do so & prefer that they exercise some "decency" in such an act.

I am also one of those who don't go for letting the little ones (5-6 & under) running around in the summer without any clothes on.

Decency is a word that has been redefined in recent years I am afraid!:(

Signed,

An old prude!:thumbsup

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Babies nurse a lot. There are a lot of reasons, most of which you are probably extremely uninterested in. lol It's just the way it works.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Well it was certainly true for me in the first few months. To establish a good milk supply you have to feed frequently. Breastfed babies can't be on a schedule like bottle fed babies.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

And if you see a mother feeding her child, you don't have to look.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

NO Comment!

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

That is true & if she has any decency she would exercise some modesty!:thumbsup

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

This I know as I am a mother who nursed three. I always did so privately and personally I would have been uncomfortable in public.

It just strikes me odd in the "pentecostal" circle that so many would think it is OK to expose the breast. I have no problem with looking away, the same as I do when I see "plumber crack". LOL.

So carry on... To each his own.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I've seen public breast feeders in public places,I just try to look away as not to stare.
If someone is covered up then it would be ok.
Public breast feeding can be done discreetly.
They make a product,that one can drape overselves where this can be done modestly if you will,where no-one can really tell what one is doing.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Well, I consider myself to have decency and have breastfed uncovered in restaurants, parks, at the zoo, almost everywhere I go.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Well Sis, I respectfully disagree!:thumbsup

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

My wife did breast feed my oldest child,but she never did it in public.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Eh, well I'm not quite as pentecostal as some here.

But no, I don't have a problem with a mother breastfeeding her child where and when the baby needs to be nursed. It's normal..and usually everything's covered up anyhow. The occasional flash isn't enough of a reason for a mom to go hide in another room or just stay home all the time. It's what they're made for...and it's most certainly not sexual in any way. IMO, and speaking only for myself, it's not that it's ok to expose a breast, it's that it's ok to meet the needs of the infant in the way God designed for them to be met. Exposure that happens as a result of parenting an infant is one of those "such is life" things. Kind of like when I didn't wear elastic waist skirts for a *long* time after my then 3 year old got ahold of one I had on...... It wasn't *ok* to flash the world..but it sure wasn't not ok either. It was one of those moments. :blush

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

It probably depends on your geographic region, but where I live it's perfectly normal to feed your child when s/he needs to eat and I've never had anyone look at me funny.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I think this is a very inconsiderate thing to do. No, breasts should not have been sexualized as much as they are, but they have been. So it's best to cover up, imo. It's very inconsiderate to men and boys who are trying to keep their thoughts pure.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Except for the fact that the product or blanket used to cover mom gives away what's being done. lol

That and my babies HATED those things. I desperately wanted to use them, but it was far less modest for the baby to rip it off while screaming (thus leaving everything else exposed!) than to just nurse the baby with the shirt covering anything... Sure people could figure out what I was doing, if they were nosy enough or knew what to look for. I've seen pictures of myself, and seen other women doing this though, and it usually just looks like you're holding a baby.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I think there's a difference between not covering up and baring all. My shirt covers everything except where the child is actively nursing. Most people don't even notice.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

It's called breast pumps and expressed milk for outings. Same as non-nursing mothers do. Surely not as easy as popping a boob out... but definitely more acceptable. IMHO

And for the record, my kids all nursed SOLELY - no solid foods - until age 5 mos. So I really do understand the hungry-all-the-time breastbaby.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Geographic region plays a huge part in how normal it's viewed. I think where you're at, it's pretty typical. When I was in Florida, everyone nursed their baby! For 4 to 6 weeks. Oh the looks and comments I got!

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

My baby wouldn't take a bottle and I was never able to get much milk with a pump anyway. God didn't make bottles and pumps to feed babies, He made breasts.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

I'm still nursing my 2 year old. And I still don't get funny looks. Granted, she is on the small side.:)

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

My wife tried to breastfeed my youngest daugther but health reasons forced her to quit.

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

Mine wouldn't take a bottle either at first. So to be honest, I did probably stay home most of the time during my first 3-4 months. It was just easier. But then I had to go back to work, and had to leave expressed milk for the babysitter. So they HAD to learn how to handle a bottle. (It was hard, tho. They wouldn't take it from me at all, because they wanted the real thing. But finally, they came around.)

My sister breastfed in public all the time. It made me uncomfortable, but it didn't bother her. And you're right...you really couldn't see anything, it was just knowing that it made others uncomfortable that bothered me.

If the choice were breastfeeding in public or bottle feeding, then I would DEFINITELY go with the breastfeeding in public. For the kid's sake!

p.s. I had one that breastfed for 19 months. LOL! Now that's another thread!

Re: Public Breast Feeder
 

You got me beat! Although one time my 19 month old said in a nice clear voice, "Gimme the udder one mommy. This one is empty." :ursofunny