To public nurse or not? That is the question
Some point during or after the holiday season with the big green tree & blinking lights there was a controversy brewing over at Mecca Mom aka Target over some breastfeeding Mom.
My husband was the one who actually brought the thing to my attention & after reading it I thought Target acted unfairly & that had I had a nursing baby of my own I may just make a trip to Target to protest with the masses. Until a week or so later when I came across this article & picture about the sitch & had a slight change of mind.
I am a huge, huge, breastfeeding advocate. Liquid gold all the way baby. I cried when I started, I cried when I was told I couldn’t breastfeed, I cried when it felt like there was a lighter running over my nipples & I cried when I stopped. It was truly the most, blah, blah, magical moment ever.
I have always been a supporter of women being able to take care of their starving & screaming baby when the time called. And when I first read the story of the Texas Target mom I thought that Target made a big no-no. Here you have a mother sitting in Starbucks with her feet propped up on a chair nursing a bottle of water & an infant with her Hooter Hider…wait…or maybe not. And I changed my mind.
I don’t think I can support the notion that a woman should be allowed to nurse her child in public with her breast hanging out like in this picture. I just can’t.
Yes, if you are a nursing momma & the time calls to whip those puppies out you do the damn thing girl, but let’s do it with a modicum of respect for the other people around you. Would I be quick to call it gross or disgusting or unsanitary if I saw this? No, but would I think it was & a tad bit inappropriate/rude, to be enjoying my hot chocolate & biscotti while having to take in some womans areola? Yes I would.
Just because one of the functions of a breast is to give life & nutrients to your child doesn’t mean you have to put it on display. My vagina also has a life-giving function. Next time I’m at Red Lobster {which is never} should I prop mine up?
Everyone has the right to eat, but its rude when diners around you eat with their mouth open.
And also as I read the comments on this post & see that the original mother had 4 kids with her & was sitting in the middle of the floor I take back my “I’d support it” comment. If my 3 year old needed lunch I wouldn’t sit him in the middle of the aisle with a Happy Meal. Common decency.
What are your thoughts on breastfeeding in public?
[...] about a mom publicly nursing her baby at Target. I read all the stories during that time & wrote out my own opinion here on BTBW. But now I have to come to you my dear friends & retract by original post. I’ve done [...]
Twitter: dominiquegoh
says:
I do personally nurse my baby in public but I always use a nursing shield. It’s easy and more convienient then looking for a nursing room which may not be available around. I too agree that it’s proper decency to cover up when one is out.
Twitter: justbooks4kids
says:
Honestly, I don’t see a problem with what that lady did. I guess I’m pro-boob-choice and if you got the balls to let it all hang out so be it.
I breastfed for 19 months and I’m sorry to say I just didn’t have the courage to be like these women. Nursing covers didn’t work for us because my son would get agitated by them and wouldn’t latch or stay latched. And being on the large side I really had to whip it all out for him to latch b/c I had to support myself with one hand.
So I took to hiding and staying home or altering my schedule around his 1.5-2 hr feeding schedule. And sometimes supplementing with formula. It really sucked and wasn’t good for my new-mom state of mind. But I let society and my prudishness dictate my choices.
Ultimately, the last paragraph in the linked post really brought it home for me though:
“an LC and midwife … cracked me up when she called breastfeeding covers “boob burkas.” I had to also point out that, well, I often don’t expect to see a butt-crack sticking up out of low-rise jeans, but when that happens, I don’t act offended and tell the person to cover up. I bite my tongue and go about my day, because it doesn’t really make a difference, and I don’t have the right to object.”
Same thing with your vagina analogy too. I don’t want to see anyone’s bits but have say if I was at Red Lobster (which is also never) and your vagina was performing it’s life giving function – giving birth in an emergency situation — would totally understand why it was propped up on the table even if I was inwardly freaking out.
Twitter: MBMomBlogger
says:
I support everyone’s right to breastfeed. Just cover it up, will ya? Don’t ruin it for everyone else. Geez.
Nursing worked out well for us- but it doesn’t for everyone for so many reasons. I heard about the nurse-in and had posed the question on my facebook fan page about it- most moms didn’t know enough about the story to participate. I really don’t like the photo of the mom in the shopping cart. I think the main reason I don’t like it has little to do with exposure of her breast. I don’t really care about that, especially after living in Europe where many women bring it out of their shirt and no one seems to really care. But, the child is being used as a prop in the photo and it’s not an image I would want to be viral when my child grows older.
Breastfeeding in public is pretty normal in Europe, and most are very modest about it. I don’t think that it should be restricted to privacy because that means most moms have two options: stay at home most of the time (can make postpartum depression and other issues worse), or use formula more (less healthy for baby, and also a lot of hassle for the mom).
If some institution doesn’t like Bf, they should provide a nursing room, and that’s that.
Twitter: NorthOnHarper
says:
I can’t even believe this is a debate—
Of course mom’s should be able to breastfeed in public— WITH a level of modesty.
Seriously don’t understand what the conversation is about. But hey, I am not a mom!
Twitter: OneSuburbanGirl
says:
Yeah I am not a public breast feeding fan. I find that it should be done in private. I am way too conservative for it. I don’t think its appropriate. I know a lot of people support it and are like “LACTIVISTS” but I am not one.
Totally support breastfeeding in public… when measures are taken for modesty. No one needs to see my boob all out there. And doesn’t my child deserve a little quiet time for snack?
I haven’t used an official “hooter hider” or anything like that… but a good, old fashioned receiving blanket covering my top half worked very nicely back in the day (and likely in the days to come)