breastfeeding in public
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People make it their business by choosing to take offense to something they don't have to look at. Nobody is holding your face 3 inches away from the breast, making you watch, so look away or walk away.
Actually, if it isn't done in public, it's none of anyone else's business. You do it in public, you make it everyone else's business.SHUT UP!!!
If the kid didn't come out of your body, its none of you damn business.0 -
I have to say, while your sister's employer isn't being particularly nice, they are accomodating her more than many companies do. Even the states that have laws to protect pumping/breastfeeding in the workplace usually only address "reasonable accomodations and time"...nothing about compensation. It sounds like they have a place other than a bathroom for her to use and are allowing her to take the time. Would it be nice to pay her? Absolutely. But I completely understand it from a business point of view and managing expectations in the workplace. She is paid for the time she is working. While there are a number of devices and gadgets for hands-free pumping...it is still distracting. I participated on many a conference call when pumping...but I couldn't possibly have run a meeting!
I understand not rocking the boat, but I would challenge them on the actual timekeeping. Are you saying that she is docked for (2) 15 minutes breaks when she is only using 20 minutes? I would take that up with the labor/workforce organization...if nothing else than to clarify the legality.
Even though I live in the US, I am very fortunate to work for a Swedish company where the head of HR breastfed her children. We have a nice little lactation room to use. However, during the year that I pumped during work hours, I noted a number of instances where mothers on hourly compensation took advantage of the fact that their pay wasn't being docked for the additional time that they needed to pump their milk. I'm not saying that I never took a few extra minutes, but I also was on salary and travelled so I regularly exceeded 40 hours a week without additional compensation. It also isn't to say that I never had to defend the time it took or be flexible about it.Breastfeeding is a legally protected right in every state of the union. No woman can be legally asked to leave just because she's breastfeeding.
Employers, however, need some serious education. I am very proud of my little sister who has chosen to breastfeed her son. But when she went back to work and needed to pump several times a day, her employer insisted on docking her pay. Yup, you read that right.
They won't let her pull out the pump and do it discreetly at her workstation (for the record, she works at a customer service call center, talking on the phone all day, so it's not as though any customers would see her doing it). They have told her she must find a private conference room or go into the bathroom, and do it on her own time, not while working. So she has to wait until her scheduled break or lunch times. Her 30 minutes for lunch works fine. But it takes at least 20 minutes to pump, so when she uses her break times for pumping, she always goes over her scheduled 15 minutes of break time and is docked pay for being late back to her shift. They count time in 15-minute intervals, so basically she's working an 8-hr day and only getting paid for 7.5 hrs, just because she's committed to giving her baby the best nutrition and her employers are a bunch of prudes. When she spoke to HR, she was informed that she should just be grateful she's not receiving disciplinary action for taking such long breaks. She won't rock the boat, because her husband has been unemployed for the past three years and this crappy job is all that keeps them afloat, she's terrified of losing her job. But being punished for being a nursing mother is just wrong.
The majority of companies clock hourly employees by 15 minute intervals whether you know it or not. By law, the "15 minute intervals" are rounded. Which means she could use 17 minutes on a break and only get clocked out for 15 minutes. If she takes 23 minutes or more, she is getting clocked out for 30 minutes. It averages out to exactly what she works in over 90% of timecards across the U.S. From an employers perspective, why should they pay her for doing things that do not benefit or increase productivity for the company? Please know that I am not bashing her pumping! I am just saying that she is actually not bad off in terms of her compensation while pumping.
On the "formula is child abuse note," I'd like to know how many of the breastfeeding moms who say formula is terrible for your kids & don't provide all of the nutrition that breast milk provides have had to give your babies iron supplements around 9 months? Unless you are in the extreme minority of breastfeeding mothers, you have. Formula fed babies don't have to take the extra supplements that breastfed babies have to because the formula really is PERFECTLY created for their nutritional needs. Also remember that whatever you ate during breastfeeding goes to your baby...so all that junk food that you ate....straight to the baby. Fantastic nutrition in those chips & cookies...too bad all that crap is missing from formula. PLEASE stop bashing moms who choose to bottle feed whether or not they ever tried breastfeeding!0 -
I'm currently still breastfeeding my baby girl. If we're in public, I make sure to cover everything up. I know that not everyone is comfortable seeing someone breastfeed for whatever reason and I don't want someone (namely a kid) walking by and saying, "mommy, what is that lady doing to that baby?" I also don't want to just flip a boob out in front of everyone - I'm a little self-conscious I guess.0
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I'm currently still breastfeeding my baby girl. If we're in public, I make sure to cover everything up. I know that not everyone is comfortable seeing someone breastfeed for whatever reason and I don't want someone (namely a kid) walking by and saying, "mommy, what is that lady doing to that baby?" I also don't want to just flip a boob out in front of everyone - I'm a little self-conscious I guess.
Why shouldn't everyone know what breastfeeding is? Shouldn't children know what it is so that THEY aren't weirded out by it like everyone else seems to be?0 -
This is a touchy subject...obviously!
I am huge on breast feeding! I breast fed both of my kids but I NEVER did it in public...and to be completely honest it is NOT natural that is why you have to "teach" your baby how to latch on and so forth. I learned that from my lactation consultant.
I always pumped when my babies weren't hungry so that I had milk ready when we were out and about and so that my husband could share in the feeding duties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjDQN9keKQk
No. It IS natural. It isn't because baby needs to learn anything. Baby knows EXACTLY what to do-even if the mom is not confident enough to get that... Your LC didn't "teach" you that. There isn't an LC in the freaking world that would say that BF isn't natural. You misunderstood what she said. Just because it's natural doesn't mean mom doesn't have some things to learn.
Not everyone CAN pump. It's a fact that baby is better and more efficient at emptying a breast than a pump. I can nurse my baby into a little fatty, but can only squeeze maybe half an ounce with a Medela pump in style. I'm not putting myself through that for anyone when I can plug baby into the tap and be good to go. Pumping also degrades some of the natural properties in the breastmilk that don't survive. Also, when there is a saliva transfer, anything that baby may have come in contact with in recent MOMENTS are transferred through the receptive tissue of the areola and immediately sent up to your immune system to begin making antibodies-this response takes approximately 15 minutes to complete! You don't get that with a pump.
I have BF my babies, and my husband is bonded with the babies just fine and dandy even though he never once fed them their milk. There are other ways for daddies to bond with babies. It's a fact.
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I'm all for women breast feeding. Only in America (the issue was a Target in Texas and also in the Midwest where the "bible belt" is) is it usually an issue. Anywhere else around the world it's not uncommon.
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ahahaha, we're not prudes here. the employee offered the mom a dressing room and she flipped out and said the employee invaded her privacy.... um... ok. personally, so not to make myself or others feel uncomfortable, i always did it in a bathroom stall if i had a hungry baby and was out and about. (yes, my own babies...)
My understanding is she was not "offered" a dressing room to use; she was asked to use a dressing room instead. There is a difference; one is an attempt to make the mother more comfortable at the expense of the store and the other is an effort to make the employees/customers more comfortable at the expense of the mother. My 3rd son will be born in Feb, he will be fed by his mother when and where is necessary, regardless of how uncomfortable it may make others... I love bewbs too; but there is nothing sexual about breastfeeding.0 -
They should not do this in public. They should pump ahead of time. Being a mom is not easy by any means. It cant be good for your child to be rushed in a target store breastfeeding your child. Think about the baby and plan or dont go out. If women can control it at work than women can control it in public!0
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On the "formula is child abuse note," I'd like to know how many of the breastfeeding moms who say formula is terrible for your kids & don't provide all of the nutrition that breast milk provides have had to give your babies iron supplements around 9 months? Unless you are in the extreme minority of breastfeeding mothers, you have. Formula fed babies don't have to take the extra supplements that breastfed babies have to because the formula really is PERFECTLY created for their nutritional needs.
Interesting statement there about iron supplements. I would like to see a credible source for that information. My wife breastfed both of our sons, and they never needed iron supplements. The brief reading I just did on the subject suggests that iron in breast milk is actually more readily absorbed than from other sources. Unless the mother has a problem with anemia, I don't see why it would be an issue.0 -
Some Mom's don't have the option of breastfeeding. I personally would have loved to breastfeed my kids but my milk was not there. My mother wasn't able to breastfeed either. Some women can't, that doesn't make them abusers, just mothers that can't.0
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Oh, come on. Thats like saying they should see sex so they arent weirded out about it. Sex is just as natural as breastfeeding... No children shouldnt see either one without their parents approval. Parents have this right, not strangers in public.I'm currently still breastfeeding my baby girl. If we're in public, I make sure to cover everything up. I know that not everyone is comfortable seeing someone breastfeed for whatever reason and I don't want someone (namely a kid) walking by and saying, "mommy, what is that lady doing to that baby?" I also don't want to just flip a boob out in front of everyone - I'm a little self-conscious I guess.
Why shouldn't everyone know what breastfeeding is? Shouldn't children know what it is so that THEY aren't weirded out by it like everyone else seems to be?0 -
Oh, come on. Thats like saying they should see sex so they arent weirded out about it. Sex is just as natural as breastfeeding... No children shouldnt see either one without their parents approval. Parents have this right, not strangers in public.I'm currently still breastfeeding my baby girl. If we're in public, I make sure to cover everything up. I know that not everyone is comfortable seeing someone breastfeed for whatever reason and I don't want someone (namely a kid) walking by and saying, "mommy, what is that lady doing to that baby?" I also don't want to just flip a boob out in front of everyone - I'm a little self-conscious I guess.
Why shouldn't everyone know what breastfeeding is? Shouldn't children know what it is so that THEY aren't weirded out by it like everyone else seems to be?
You're pointing out the same thing that we are trying to seperate from breastfeeding. Breasts are for feeding babies. That's what they were made for. Not sex.0 -
On the "formula is child abuse note," I'd like to know how many of the breastfeeding moms who say formula is terrible for your kids & don't provide all of the nutrition that breast milk provides have had to give your babies iron supplements around 9 months? Unless you are in the extreme minority of breastfeeding mothers, you have. Formula fed babies don't have to take the extra supplements that breastfed babies have to because the formula really is PERFECTLY created for their nutritional needs.
Interesting statement there about iron supplements. I would like to see a credible source for that information. My wife breastfed both of our sons, and they never needed iron supplements. The brief reading I just did on the subject suggests that iron in breast milk is actually more readily absorbed than from other sources. Unless the mother has a problem with anemia, I don't see why it would be an issue.
I'm not a formula-basher, but nobody knows better than Mother Nature what a baby needs. I have never heard of a nursing mother having to give their child iron supplements. The iron in formula is actually less readily absorbed than the iron in breastmilk. The only supplement I've ever heard of a "majority" of nursing mothers "needing" to give is vitamin D, but that's not because of anything inferior in breastmilk -- it's because vitamin D is not naturally found in foods and you're supposed to get it from the sun, but people don't take their babies outside because they have been brainwashed into thinking that the baby will freeze even if it's 70 degrees out.0 -
I breastfed my son everywhere until he was about 5 or 6 months - resaturants, malls, sitting by Niagra Falls, hockey games, ball games, airports, in the car wherever he needed fed and thankfully did not come across any ignorant people or comments! There are things available on the market that allow you to do it without showing any body parts but still allow the mother to see the baby. I don't see any issues with breastfeeding your newborn anywhere! I'm not a fan however of seeing a child walk up and ask for it - IMHO that could probably wait for another time!0
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Hahahaha! Seriously, that's hilarious!0 -
Good point, but sex is how we create the baby. Its for the baby too. Sex is not suppose to be for pleasure only.Oh, come on. Thats like saying they should see sex so they arent weirded out about it. Sex is just as natural as breastfeeding... No children shouldnt see either one without their parents approval. Parents have this right, not strangers in public.I'm currently still breastfeeding my baby girl. If we're in public, I make sure to cover everything up. I know that not everyone is comfortable seeing someone breastfeed for whatever reason and I don't want someone (namely a kid) walking by and saying, "mommy, what is that lady doing to that baby?" I also don't want to just flip a boob out in front of everyone - I'm a little self-conscious I guess.
Why shouldn't everyone know what breastfeeding is? Shouldn't children know what it is so that THEY aren't weirded out by it like everyone else seems to be?
You're pointing out the same thing that we are trying to seperate from breastfeeding. Breasts are for feeding babies. That's what they were made for. Not sex.0 -
Actually, if it isn't done in public, it's none of anyone else's business. You do it in public, you make it everyone else's business.SHUT UP!!!
If the kid didn't come out of your body, its none of you damn business.
If I caught someone "making it their business" while I'm sitting and nursing my baby, I'd squirt them for it. Seriously. If you are so intent on my boobs that it has suddenly become your business that my child is eating, you are looking a lot too hard and need a good squirting/lashing to get the hell away from my child and me....
Seriously, though... 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of all nursing moms are simply trying to get their baby satisfied so that they aren't screaming their fool heads off so that they can go about their errands and finish things up after having a near-sleepless night and a lot of crap to do before they get to lie back down for another near-sleepless night of nursing around the clock. We aren't going out in public just to force everyone to stare at our breasts. We have things to do just like the rest of the world.
GET THE EFF OVER IT, people. You're adults.
My children are no more offended at the sight of anyone's breast than they are a foot. Because I am not raising a bunch of crazies that are fixated on sex and sex acts.0 -
They should not do this in public. They should pump ahead of time. Being a mom is not easy by any means. It cant be good for your child to be rushed in a target store breastfeeding your child. Think about the baby and plan or dont go out. If women can control it at work than women can control it in public!
Not everyone can pump. Read my above post.
PS. Not all women work outside of raising children. I work DAMN hard-at home. Raising babies. Breastfeeding babies. I have a pump that didn't do a bit of good. My taps work better, are more effective, put baby to ease better, and offer better nutrition than pumped milk... YOU don't get to choose whether I have to take extra time to pump unless you are splurging for a hospital grade pump for every nursing mom in the country. 0 -
Oh, come on. Thats like saying they should see sex so they arent weirded out about it. Sex is just as natural as breastfeeding... No children shouldnt see either one without their parents approval. Parents have this right, not strangers in public.I'm currently still breastfeeding my baby girl. If we're in public, I make sure to cover everything up. I know that not everyone is comfortable seeing someone breastfeed for whatever reason and I don't want someone (namely a kid) walking by and saying, "mommy, what is that lady doing to that baby?" I also don't want to just flip a boob out in front of everyone - I'm a little self-conscious I guess.
Why shouldn't everyone know what breastfeeding is? Shouldn't children know what it is so that THEY aren't weirded out by it like everyone else seems to be?
My thoughts exactly! Although BF is natural so is the act of conception but we don't do that in public. I chose not to BF my 2 who are now 17 and 20 years old and perfectly healthy. I don't bash anyone for BF but you aren't a public filling station so be discreet, please and don't bash the bottle feeders.0 -
I'm a woman and I'm all for breastfeeding. I think they should throw a blanket over at least. I don't prefer to be walking through a store and see someone's breast hanging out.0
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People are again confusing the issue. The sex act is not done publicly, but the act of NOURISHING LIFE is done publicly all the time: pregnancy is nourishing a life. Breastfeeding is nourishing a life. Bottle feeding is nourishing a life. Sitting and eating in a restaurant is nourishing a life. Those things are all legal. Sex in public? Not nourishing a life. Not going to kill you if you don't do it. Illegal in public. See a difference in those itty bitty brains yet folks?0
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