breastfeeding in public
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Far out... dont come to Australian beaches then.0
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honestly, it is a great thing for mother and child to do, however, i totally agree that this should be done somewhere out of sight of the general public. my dad took my family to a swimming hole when i was 6 and my brother was 9, two chicks showed up and took their tops off and start sun bathing. we left. its not appropriate to whip out your boobs for any reason in public in front of children. we were to young to be seeing that, natural or not.
AND - everyone in entitled to their own opinion. we don't have to hate on one another just because we view things differently.
Are you aware that women don't have to remove their shirts to nurse?
Exactly. The two are hardly comparable and such a comparison demonstrates how tangled the view of breasts has become.
Also, seeing naked breasts by itself doesn't automatically damage children in some way - it's all cultural. I was raised in a more open environment and I saw naked breasts on women, as did my brother, but they were part of the body as a body - not purely as a sexual object. We haven't been psychologically damaged, nor were the kids we grew up with.0 -
I haven't read all of this but here's my take on it.
Babies need to be fed & when my baby cried out & was hungry I didn't care less about where I was. I NEVER exposed my breast in public, I got very good at being discreet. I'm a shy person who found it hard enough to pluck up the courage to risk someone seeing my breast but my baby came first.
Those of you who find it disgusting-don't look! It's the simple act of a mother providing nourishment to their child. I've never met a mother who got off on flashing their breasts, they were too busy focussing on soothing their baby!0 -
honestly, it is a great thing for mother and child to do, however, i totally agree that this should be done somewhere out of sight of the general public. my dad took my family to a swimming hole when i was 6 and my brother was 9, two chicks showed up and took their tops off and start sun bathing. we left. its not appropriate to whip out your boobs for any reason in public in front of children. we were to young to be seeing that, natural or not.
AND - everyone in entitled to their own opinion. we don't have to hate on one another just because we view things differently.
Are you aware that women don't have to remove their shirts to nurse?
yes, i am aware. i said that you don't need to whip your boobs out in public. if it is covered up, then that would be apart of the "out of sight of the general public."
Honestly, in all the time I breastfed and as many mothers as I know/knew who did it, I never encountered one of these mythical mothers that just sat there topless while they nursed, nipples flappin' in the breeze.0 -
Making some low fat air-popped popcorn. I'll sit back and watch the anvils fly past.
it is definitely one of those topics!
the reason i posted this is because i'm against it in public. i understand it's natural and it's the best for your baby. i am a nursing student so i've been taught that over and over. i don't think it should be done in public however. it's not because it's sexual at all, it's just because it should be a private thing between you and your baby. i don't care to see you take your breast out in public and have your baby latch onto it. if i'm in your hospital room or your house, i have no problem with it. but i dislike seeing it in public. i also know i will not breastfeed my future children so that might also have something to do with it as well.
While I agree that women shouldn't just be whipping our their boobs for everyone to see there should not be an issue about whatever method a mother uses to feed her baby. Breastfeeding is no more intimate than bottle feeding. The same bonding can occur and frankly, saying that breastfeeding should be a private act between a mother and her baby is highly discriminatory. It may be up to each mother to decide how to feed her child, but the general public should have no say in which method is appropriate in public.0 -
We're going into 2012. The fact that this sort of thing is even an issue anymore should confirm to humanity that we are the most unintelligent beings on the planet.
Breastfeeding - it's what's for baby's dinner! And snack! And breakfast!! I think a woman should be able to feed her baby anytime, anywhere - and covering up should be at HER discretion. Personally, when I had a shopping cart full of groceries and my son decided it was feeding time, it just became an everyday commonplace thing to find a bench in the store or out in the mall - wherever there was convenient seating - and I would feed my baby. I found blankets, towels and those other silly boob-and-child coverings to be too damn tedious, especially when out grocery shopping carting around a million things, so I didn't bother.
Just because other people might have weird sexual hangups is not my concern. I don't go to put on mitts when it's cold out and start thinking later that someone out there might have a glove fetish, so I should "cover them up". That's about how preposterous I find it when people think that breastfeeding mothers should cover up. People used to think women's exposed forearms and ankles were too scandalous, so let's all just wear snowpants and parkas all year round. See? Silly.0 -
After reading some of the comments on here I am so glad that the law protects me and my baby instead of people looking for something to be offended over.
IMO if you ever see something inappropriate while I'm breastfeeding you're looking entirely too hard.0 -
My mom and I were just discussing this... I breast fed all of my kids until they were about a year old. I did it in public but always discreetly. I had a nursing shawl I used or a special sling I could nurse in without being visible. The only negative feedback I got was from my own family. They are super conservative and felt it was gross. My mom, to this day, feels breast feeding is somewhat of a sexual thing. She can't quite explain it to me in a way I can grasp. But anyways.... I was always asked to leave the room when I needed to feed the babies around them. I honored their wishes for their comfort as I felt it was the easiest thing to do. However, I would flat REFUSE to sit in a bathroom for anyone. I'd challenge any of you to sit in a public bathroom for the amount of time it takes to feed a baby. Let alone eat a meal there. I can barely use one without sanitizing myself off afterwards.0
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Seriously, if someone finds THIS offensive you need psychiatric help:
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After reading some of the comments on here I am so glad that the law protects me and my baby instead of people looking for something to be offended over.
IMO if you ever see something inappropriate while I'm breastfeeding you're looking entirely too hard.
I so agree, I can't even beleive this is an issue. My daughter had a woman call security on her for nursing on a bench by the play center while her other 3 children played (and I KNOW my daughter is descreet, she is very shy) Luckily the woman that complained got asked to leave and the security guard apologized for the hassle!.
Funny my daughter noted on the same day there were a group of teenagers wearing bikini tops and short shorts (you know the ones that are stamped sexy or cute on the back) with thong showing through ... she wondered if the lady tried to get THEM kicked out of the mall too! They sure were showing a lot more than she was!0 -
Far out... dont come to Australian beaches then.
^^This!
In fact, most beaches outside of N. America have a good chance of offending the prudish!:laugh:0 -
Seriously, if someone finds THIS offensive you need psychiatric help:
Love it!!! Beautiful!!0 -
After reading some of the comments on here I am so glad that the law protects me and my baby instead of people looking for something to be offended over.
IMO if you ever see something inappropriate while I'm breastfeeding you're looking entirely too hard.
I so agree, I can't even beleive this is an issue. My daughter had a woman call security on her for nursing on a bench by the play center while her other 3 children played (and I KNOW my daughter is descreet, she is very shy) Luckily the woman that complained got asked to leave and the security guard apologized for the hassle!.
Funny my daughter noted on the same day there were a group of teenagers wearing bikini tops and short shorts (you know the ones that are stamped sexy or cute on the back) with thong showing through ... she wondered if the lady tried to get THEM kicked out of the mall too! They sure were showing a lot more than she was!
I've only been hassled once about it in a resturant. The server asked me to go to the bathroom. I picked out a woman who had the skimpiest dress on I've ever seen in my life, pointed to her and told the man politely that I would go to the bathroom to hide when she did. He then proceeded to STFU :laugh:0 -
Breastfeeding Baby > Shrieking Baby.
It doesn't bother me to see it in public, but I wouldn't say it's particularly "beautiful" either.0 -
Women should be able to feed their babies in public without harassment from ignorant people. This should be a non-issue. If someone has a problem with it, that says more about them than anything. Breasts are made for feeding babies. And, even so, I have seen adults consuming food in a way that "grossed me out" and I didn't ask them to go in a dirty public bathroom to eat lol.0
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Seriously, if someone finds THIS offensive you need psychiatric help:
Nawww
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I'm 22 and plan on having kids with that special someone someday. I do plan on breast feeding but I will be wearing a sling or trying out the tank top idea I saw on here (I would like to be covered).
While it's not for everyone I'm really excited to have that bond with my future children because of all the stories I've heard from older friends. I love the fact that it's legal to breast feed your child in public and completely agree. I can see how some conservative people might not appreciate this but you don't necessarily have to look. I can imagine if someone was staring at the woman breast feeding it might be uncomfortable for her too.
Another thing is that I'm also from Austin, TX and that is one very liberal city. I don't see myself having issues breast feeding in public over here (thankfully). There might be the occasional conservative here and there but it's not like they'll have to worry about seeing anything. As a person trying to lead a healthier life I would like to provide my future children with that little boost and give them the chance to bond with their mother. Honestly, I've seen women breast feed out here in parks, stores, etc. all the time and I've never seen anything. Normally they have blankets, slings or shirts layered.
I can understand if some girls don't want to breast feed and that's fine - it's not for everyone. My mother didn't (maybe that's why we argue so much, lol jk) and neither did my sister or other women of my family. I'm going to though because that is my preference. To each their own - I'm not one to judge because I wouldn't want to be judged either. 0 -
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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No there's a huge debate here in the UK too. I'm all for breastfeeding!
And as for the ahem, man, who said that just because its natural you don't have to do it in public, the things you mention as your argument are things we, as adults, are able to control. Urination, picking your nose etc, we know not to do that coz society has decided its not right and we're trained not to. Getting proper nutrition though should not be an issue! Besides if she doesn't feed the baby, its gonna scream. I think you'd complain then too...
Personally I feel women should be praised and feel proud that we can support an actual life, just with what our bodies can make. How awesome is that!! Men are just jealous
xx 0 -
People eat in public all the time, babies are people and if they happen to be in public when they get hungry they too should be allowed to eat. However... The female breast a body part that is still considered a "private" part and reasonable care should be taken to keep them private. BTW, I breast fed my children.0
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I breastfed my son and you couldn't see more than a quarter inch of skin, if that. I wouldn't go into the toilets, I wouldn't hide out in the car but I also wouldn't go out of my way to do it somewhere very public. Babies past a few months get distracted easily so it would only stop him feeding if I chose a busy thoroughfare.
It's funny how this has become so controversial when it wasn't long ago that bottle feeding was even an option. I once had an elderly gentleman tell me how wonderful it was to see mums breastfeeding again. In his generation, everyone did it and doing it in public was a non-issue!0
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