A Mother's Milk

[ArenaBoy]

Quite simply it's a matter of being discreet and it depends on the time and place. Making it look like the baby is just asleep and you're covered up with a towel, blanket, or an article of clothing that blends in? That's fine. I don't have a problem with nursing in public, babies need nourishment and you can't control their needs but I say one must be discreet. Why? Because some people while they may not be offended can be extremely squeamish about some things. This being one of them.

Just to restate it: I am not against breast feeding in public. As long as you are covered up and not making a big deal about it then that's fine. It's just whipping it out and then get pissed at somebody for looking or suggesting to be discrete (Man or woman) only to spray them with breastmilk (Like Banrion stated) that will be a problem.

[blas]

Maybe I'm a sick little turd, but if I saw some woman get disgusted at a man watching her breastfeed, and she put the baby back in its carseat, and whip out her boob and start violently squirting the offending man with breastmilk, I'd fall over laughing and then offer the lady a drink later.

[kibbles]

Maybe I'm a sick little turd, but if I saw some woman get disgusted at a man watching her breastfeed, and she put the baby back in its carseat, and whip out her boob and start violently squirting the offending man with breastmilk, I'd fall over laughing and then offer the lady a drink later.

And IMO, that would be exactly the type of attention getting woman that make it difficult for those just trying to feed their babies.

[blas]

It was just a joke I was imagining breastmilk shooting at 100 mph knocking the man over.

[kibbles]

LOL!!! Sorry 'bout that blas, I think it was the imagery that was giving me a complex. My bad.

[blas]

Gives new meaning to the term milkmaid

[kibbles]

LOL!!! Hey! What did I tell ya about giving me a complex? :P heheheh

[Broomjockey]

Gives new meaning to the term milkmaid

*blinkblink* That was a really weird episode of CSI.

[Seshat]

Quite simply it's a matter of being discreet and it depends on the time and place. Making it look like the baby is just asleep and you're covered up with a towel, blanket, or an article of clothing that blends in? That's fine.

Heck, I'd be happy with it being obvious to people who happen to look in that direction that breastfeeding is what's going on. And I'd be happy with a bright red scarf over a green shirt. Or a purple or yellow one. No need to try to 'blend in'. It wouldn't bother me even if the scarf had been dropped and the mother too busy to reach down and pick it up.

Just as long as the mother has made the attempt to meet social mores, and is doing the job just to do the job. The only breastfeeding mothers I have any problem with are the ones who are actively trying to get attention, and doing things inappropriately to do so.

That said, I do think it'd probably be more comfortable for the mothers and babies if large public places like larger malls had quiet rooms with couches and comfy chairs for them. I've heard of fussy babies who won't 'latch on' without persuasion, and other problems that can mean that trying to breastfeed in a public, noisy place is probably not going to work well.

[iradney]

I also agree that breastfeeding is a time for bonding between mother and child. Some kids aren' too fussed and will feed anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Then you'll get kids (like I was as a baby, if you believe what my mom says) where you try and do the nipple equivalent of "here comes the choo-choo!"

I'm pretty sure that having loads of people milling around and all sorts of noises doesn't help the baby concentrate on the nipple and think "oooh food!"
Plus, most of the mall benches I've ever sat on are horribly uncomfortable after about 5 minutes. I've never breastfed (or had kids) but wouldn't breast feeding take longer than 5 minutes?

[RecoveringKinkoid]

A lot of places are simply not accomodating to breastfeeding moms. People who have never done it probably don't appreciate the difficulty faced by women who are breastfeeding.

If you are out with your child, and it's time, well, IT'S TIME. Deny that very strong signal and you will at best, be in pain. At worst, you'll end up in a soaked shirt. You could go to your car, but for instance, in SC, it's hot a good part of the year. I personally preferred the quite comfort of the back seat of my van, but the heat of the day often made that impossible. You could go into a dressing room somewhere (which I have done), but some places have been in the news for trying to stop women doing that. I've been in large department stores and asked "I need to feed my baby, where would be a good place for me to go?" The number of idiots saying "The bathroom is over there." is appalling.

No, I have never fed my child in the crapper.

In fact, this same store removed all the benches from its fitting rooms. Coincidence? I don't know. But it felt a little hostile to me.

A lot of malls have wonderful women's lounges for this very reasons, and kudos to them. As a former breastfeeder myself, I cannot adequately express my appreciation for this sort of thing. You can sit in the quiet, maybe with other mothers, and relax on a comfy sofa with your baby in privacy. It's nice.

But when you see some mom sitting out in the open not appearing to give a damn who sees her, she just may be someone who tried to find a good place to go, was met with resistance and hostility, and finally just said "fuck it, I'm doing what I have to do." Don't assume she's an attention whore. It's a safer bet she would prefer the privacy but there is none to be had. If you want to get irritated at someone, get irritated at the stores that cater to women's bank accounts but not to their basic needs as women.

Oh, and yes, it takes longer than 5 minutes. It's more like half an hour or so. You might spend five minutes trying to get the baby latched on properly. Breastfeeding is not all that simple a thing. You'd think it would be, but it's not. I was shocked to discover this.