Should breastfeeding in public be allowed?

well i'm pretty sure the sucking noise from their asshole was probably irritating the baby, so they're even.

 

Of course women should be able to breastfeed in public. There is no better gift that a mother can give a newborn.

 

A rich, near dead father.

 

I bet they would have taken their time if she was hot. Did they throw a sheet over her?

If they don't like it they probably should get their ear off the other tit.

 

I think I remember that youtube video of which you speak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJBqrYJ8tY0


Hotwater

 

Its not good to starve babies. Anyone who sees anything else in this debate should be removed from society and placed into a mental asylum.

 

You know, it's something you can be discrete about, you can't exactly keep a baby covered up either or they can get too hot... but you also don't have to walk around with a baby swinging from your nipple.

With this society it's expected that people will get offended because more of the population seems to be ignorant and closed minded...

Anyone see it sexual or discusting on a nature channel in come camp in Africa?

...more then likely not.

If it wasn't supposed to be done we wouldn't lactate in the first place....

OH, and about the comment on the 'sucking noise' sounds like someone was standing way to close, baby was hungry, it wasn't necessary that he stand that close.

 

yes i breastfed in public with both of my kids and I didnt care if people stared.

 

I say we adopt the same rule as my tenth grade electrical shop teacher "eat whatever you want in class....as long as you share with ME"

 

LOL

 

Are there actually laws against breastfeeding in public?

 

Bizarre to say the least


Hotwater

 

in some parts of the us at least, yes. it usually falls under laws regarding public indecency, though in some other areas these laws have been redefined to exclude the female breast from being considered indecent to expose to the public, on the grounds that there is nothing there women have which men do not, and it has pretty much never been considered indecent for a man to work outside shirtless, to mow the lawn, go swimming or lay in the sun, or do pretty much anything else while exposing his nipples.

as far as i'm concerned, this is the most reasonable outlook on it. exposure of anything above the waist should be legal, regardless of what kind of body you have. on the other hand, if left up to me everyone would be allowed to go stark naked if they felt like it, just like BSR mentioned. it harms nobody. but that wouldn't fly.

 

i used to whip my titties out anywhere any time my kid needed a boob.

 

i just laughed so hard i cryed.

no lie.

 

please feel free to submit to the "best quote of the year" sticky thread, I appreciate your votes.

 

yea, If someone complains, ask them this,do you want it quiet or a scream that will break the sound barrier

 

I voted yes.

But with some restrictions.

Beach, park, etc yes.

Supermarket? Resturant?

..... Awkward :leaving:

 

no

 

Breastfeeding and the law

Basically breastfeeding in public IS legal in the United States, though sometimes people simply don't know it and therefore might complain about it. This means you can nurse your baby anywhere that you are allowed to be with the baby. About 20 states have additionally passed a law that explicitly states that fact. Note: These laws exist to clarify the legality of breastfeeding. If a state does not have such a clarifying law, breastfeeding in public is still legal. See A Current Summary of Breastfeeding Legislation in the U.S. , or 50 States Summary of Breastfeeding Laws for more details.
If someone seems to be bothered by you nursing, or asks you to leave, you can kindly remind the person that breastfeeding is legal, normal and the best nutrition for the baby, or other facts about breastfeeding.
But it may still happen that they "oust" you out. If you have had problems with public breastfeeding and have been asked to leave malls, pools, restaurants, etc., or to go to restroom to nurse, or if you have had problems at workplace, you can report it to FirstRight. FirstRight takes every reported incident of discrimination seriously, aiming to establish a correspondence with the organization in question, and discuss to implement a breastfeeding friendly policy.
You can also report it to National Alliance of Breastfeeding Advocacy (NABA). NABA advocates breastfeeding at the state and federal levels, and collects information about breastfeeding discrimination incidents for statistical purposes.
Besides nursing in public, other issues with legislation include a woman's right to express milk at work, and receive an exemption from jury duty. Some states mandate that employers enable women to breastfeed. Even if you don't have legislation behind you, you can do a lot to facilitate pumping breast milk at work. Breastfeeding.com's page for working moms has lots of information about pumping milk at work, including breast pump info, dealing with the boss and milk storage.
Another possibility is to introduce your employer to Mothers at Work program from LifeCare, Inc. Mothers at Work is the worlds leading workplace breastfeeding program that helps organizations create a supportive work environment, and recruit and retain valued employees. It offers 24-hour pre- and postnatal lactation counseling, access to high-quality breastpumping equipment, educational materials, on-site breastfeeding classes, and other tools to support breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.
Also, United States Breastfeeding Committee has published a free issue paper Workplace breastfeeding support that explains to businesses as to how to make the workplace brastfeeding friendly.


Cases of public breastfeeding

One person can make a difference! Individual women and activist groups have had many victories in defending women's right to breastfeed in public.

• <LI style="MARGIN-LEFT: -20px">For example, Kerry Madden-Lunsford filed a lawsuit against a bookstore whose clerk had told her she couldn't breastfeed and had suggested the rest room. The suit was later settled in an encouraging way: the company educated its employees aboutn breastfeeding and even posted notices in store windows saying that breastfeeding moms were welcome.
  Breastfeeding Mom's Bill of Rights by Katherine Kam <LI style="MARGIN-TOP: 24px; MARGIN-LEFT: -20px">Amy Swan from Kansas was breast-feeding her 6-month-old daughter in a health club in 2003 when a man told her he didn't want his son exposed to the sight. After that incident, lobbying by common women and mothers led to the passing of a new bill in Kansas in early 2006 that reaffirms that mother has a right to breastfeed in public. Read a news article: Moms' Effort a Success. <LI style="MARGIN-TOP: 24px; MARGIN-LEFT: -20px">Brooke Ryan was approached by a manager while breast-feeding her 7-month-old baby in June 2007 at Applebee's restaurant in Lexington, Ky. Ryan said the manager told her breast-feeding was "indecent" and asked her to cover up. Ryan organized a nurse-out, and fellow supporters in other parts of the country did the same. Afterwards Applebee's said management is working with employees to "ensure we're making nursing mothers feel welcome."
  Applebee's Cooking Up Breastfeeding Trouble. <LI style="MARGIN-TOP: 24px; MARGIN-LEFT: -20px">(August 2008) New mom Manuela Valle was asked to go into a changing room at H&M's because she was "offending other customers and there were children around".
  Breastfeeding moms fight back with protest at H&M's Vancouver store <LI style="MARGIN-TOP: 24px; MARGIN-LEFT: -20px">Maddie Reynolds, 27, was asked to leave a McDonald's restaurant in Bournemouth, UK. She returned with six of her friends - who all joined in. The restaurant later apologized.
  McDonald's apologises after group of mothers staged sit-in over breast-feeding ban
• A mother was asked to breastfeed in the bathroom or cover her child with a blanket at a Maryland Starbucks store in violation of Maryland law which protects the rights of mothers to breastfeed in public. When the mother protested, the store responded with an apology to the mother and by informing its employees about Maryland law. But from this has grown a whole movement Nurse your baby at Starbucks that aims, using public nurse-ins and letters to Starbucks, to get the company to publish a national policy allowing breastfeeding in its coffee stores. >

Nursing discreetly

The term 'nursing discreetly' refers to covering up the breast and especially nipple while breastfeeding in public. Some women use a blanket to cover the whole situation including the baby.
The need for discreet nursing stems from the idea that seeing exposed breast supposedly arouses sexual feelings. Indeed it does so in some men, but only because of the way they have been raised and influenced to think in this society that is so obsessed by woman's breasts. In many other cultures, no one thinks twice about a nursing mother and there is no need for covering up while nursing. Read for yourself comments we've received from people from all around the world about nursing in public in their country.

It is good to be discreet in presence of others if you know they might be offended by your breastfeeding - which is true if you are nursing in public. But it is worth considering which really is being more discreet and getting less attention: a blanket set-up might only point out in big letters that you are breastfeeding, whereas lifting your shirt quickly and just enough to let baby latch on is probably much more unnoticeable. And when people don't notice or pay mind to your nursing, you are being very discreet. (In fact, the older baby might plain refuse to nurse underneath a blanket or it might sometimes be dangerously hot to nurse with all covers on.)
Also, for the laws' sake you do NOT need to cover yourself up totally with a blanket. There is nothing in the legislation stating that a nursing mother would need to only show x amount of bare skin/nipple. It naturally takes a little time to get baby to the breast, and is very common for older babies to sometimes let go of the nipple to see what's going on.
So don't be overly afraid if your nipple shows for a LITTLE while while getting baby on breast - it is just part of the normal breastfeeding experience and people should understand that. Many moms find that people in general don't stare, and after a while they become more comfortable with nursing in public and don't anymore think much about it.

As far as men staring at the partially bare breast are concerned, some men indeed might get aroused by the sight, but many probably just try to not pay any mind so that you wouldn't feel uncomfortable. Also, many men are simply curious about female breasts and breast-feeding since the society has made it a taboo. They are not necessarily wanting to look at you with lust, but are simply interested since it is something they may have not seen. It is well known that if you make the taboo available and expose it (whatever it might be), then it gradually loses its attractiveness. At a certain time woman's ankle was a fetish - today men are not turned on by seeing womens ankles. Covering up makes it 'something forbidden', which produces feelings of curiosity.
It is noted among naturists and nudists that they have lower rate of teenage sexual relationships. Why? Because to those teens the human body is not a taboo; they know what it looks like and are not obsessed by bare skin.
Similarly, the more women breastfeed out in the open, the more everybody and especially men get to see the normal breast fulfilling its natural function of feeding babies, the less taboo the breast becomes, and the less obsessed men will be by it. So by nursing in public you can actually help those poor fellows whose thinking has been turned backwards by media and society.
One of the main things affecting how the general public feels about breastfeeding in public is how much mothers do so! Just imagine, if practically all mothers nursed their babies, then it would be commonplace to see nursing infants and older babies in public, too. Then women wouldn't have to be embarrassed by it, nor would others present pay much mind to such an everyday occurrence. And though it might be difficult, nursing mothers can change other people's views about breastfeeding. So be encouraged to nurse in public places - you are making it a little easier for all the other moms, while at the same time you can let men and boys see the real purpose of breasts.
Our society is desperately in need of mothers nursing their babies in public openly. We also need books and TV programs featuring breastfeeding mothers. Our children need breastfeeding dolls, not bottle-feeding ones. If a girl grows up thinking that breastfeeding is the normal way to feed a baby, she will be much more likely to try it, and knowing that a lot of women can do it with no difficulty, she'll have more confidence in herself as a nursing mother.
Bottle-feeding culture at Childfun.com


Sources and resources

FirstRight.
FirstRight is a national breastfeeding advocacy group committed to ensuring freedom from discrimination for breastfeeding children and their mothers. FirstRight takes every reported incident of discrimination seriously, aiming to establish a correspondence with the organization in question, and discuss to implement a breastfeeding friendly policy.
NABA Feedback Form
for breastfeeding in public or workplace/employment problems
Public breastfeeding In Your Face
Author Sherry Colb argues that it will take an "in your face" approach - exposing the people to it - for public breastfeeding to become widely accepted.
Breastfeeding and the Law - Comprehensive articles about different breastfeeding issues from La Leche League
Breastfeeding in public
A well-thought article from La Leche League
My NursingWear.com - a line of fashion breastfeeding clothes to encourage moms to nurse wherever they go.
We hope women will get to where they're comfortable with nursing in public but if you don't, or don't quite yet, there exist lots of privacy-related products for nursing moms, such as The Carmeleon — a mom-invented privacy shield for your car. It also acts as a sunshade.
Women's stories on breastfeeding in public:

• Africa
• Asia
• Australia
• Europe
• North America
• South America