It’s World Breastfeeding Week! To celebrate, each day this week I’m going to have a breastfeeding-related post.
In some ways, I feel militant about breastfeeding — or perhaps more accurately, I feel militant about my right to breastfeed, any where and any time. In Ontario, nursing in public is protected as a human rights issue.
I nurse Maia anywhere that she wants to eat. This means we’ve tried it in a sushi restaurant (which didn’t go over too well with her… I ended up having to take her out to the car, where it was quieter), at a festival (which was just lovely, out in the fresh air, music playing), in a stadium (she fell asleep here, despite the fact that we were watching my sister graduate from university and people were cheering and clapping all around us), and on the patio at a restaurant.
On the patio, there was a little boy, maybe two years old, beside us. When Maia snuggled against me and began to nurse, I saw the little boy watching us. I smiled at him and the two women he was with, then continued eating my nachos (pro tip: not a good food to eat with one hand and a baby). Later on, as they were leaving, one of the women came up to me and said, “He’s never seen a baby nurse before. I told him the baby was eating, and he was really interested in it.” Her broad smile left no question that she found it amusing and endearing, so I just laughed and said something about being happy that he was curious.
I know there are people who have issues with nursing in public, whether they’re a participant or a spectator. To the latter, I say “Look away!” but to the former, I want you to know that I — that all breastfeeding mothers and lactivists — support you doing whatever makes you comfortable. If that means you’re wearing a nursing cover, or facing away from people, or even going into another room, I’m fine with it; you need to be comfortable.
I have yet to see a public place where there’s a space dedicated to a nursing mother’s comfort — that is, an area with couches or chairs, soft lighting, maybe a quiet atmosphere. I’m picturing a corner shaded with gauzy curtains, fluffy couches, throw blankets and burp clothes folded atop a table, a changing area available… you know, someplace that, when you’re there, your husband is totally jealous that he’s sitting on a hard restaurant chair or an uncomfortable mall bench or whatnot. I do NOT want a nursing mother to be “confined” to that space, but I would like spaces to be available if a woman desired a bit more privacy or comfort while nursing (I would have loved something like this in that sushi restaurant, since my only options for a relaxed place for Maia to eat were in the washroom or outside).
What are your thoughts about nursing in public? Have you seen any sort of “nursing mother” areas in public places?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
There was a big huge mall that I went to often in NC that had “family rooms” which in theory were a cool idea, but in practice meant some people used them to try to START a family, which made me a little weary of whipping out mah bewbs and feeding my child in them. I was usually more comfortable on a cushy seat in one of the stores, or on a bench out in the mall.
Also, the BRU stores have nursing rooms with changing tables and soft seats. The awesome local baby consignment store had a REAL nice area for nursing. Plus the local farmers market/music series had this fabulous field that I typically could be found nursing G in during summer Saturday evenings.
I so miss nursing him. I can’t wait for the next baby I can nurse to come a long.
I was pretty militant too, I was very “out there”, almost daring someone to say something to me.
Even though I nursed my son till he was two and a half and am on my second baby now, I haven’t done it in public much. It’s hard for me to get comfortable without some kind of support. But my next goal is to learn how to nurse in a sling or carrier so I can take the older one places as he’s used to going and doing things and for now we’re mostly at home.
I hear Disney World has a great setup for nursing mothers, but I haven’t seen it. We’re going later in the year and in reality, I’d rather breastfeed my baby in a sling than haul it back to the entrance where the nursing room is every time he wants to eat, you know?
I whipped my boob out wherever I needed to and shockingly, no one ever said boo about it.
My breastfeeding days are way behind me but…I think I am more in the middle about this issue. Yes, it is beautiful and natural. However, it does make some people uncomfortable and I think as a society we do need to think about other peoples feelings. I always preferred to put a receiving blanket over my shoulder that covered what I was doing. I wasn’t embarrassed about it, but I did want some privacy. I guess to me, it depends on the situation. I could just picture my 13 yo neice walking through the mall with a boy, only to come across a breastfeeding mom, big ol’ boob just out for all to see…she would be so embarassed. Why would you intentionally want to make people feel uncomfortable? Arguements can be made stating if it were done more, nobody would be embarrassed, but I don’t think it will ever get to that. Boobs will always be considered sexual in nature, in this society.
My “baby” is no longer nursing, but when I did, I had NO problem nursing in pulic. I was discreet about it only because I didn’t want people GAWKING at my boobs. I had a cover, and in the beginning my daughter was tongue tied so I had to use a shield. Not fun when out in public, so I usually went into a family restroom or the car. But once we had it clipped and she latched on with no problems I would nurse where ever. I loved it. Wonderful!
I do nurse in public. Not to prove a point and I don’t do so in a “statement” kind of way, but just because the baby is hungry and that is what he/she eats. I do so discreetly (I think, or maybe I am so accustomed that I don’t notice) I don’t have fancy nursing wear, I normally just lift my shirt and fix it so that there is no exposed skin. I think no one would really notice. And it is wayyyy better than having everyone listen to a crying baby. Some malls in Ottawa have nursing rooms, like Carlingwood. Bayshore has one too..
To be honest, it sort of weirded me out at first. I think the first “public feeding” I saw was cousin Jennifer with…Gavin…yea, Gavin. Wayyy back now. Since then, seeing how it was just a natural occurance, and it was waaaaaay less mortifying than watching someone belch at the dinner table, it’s become sort of an “okay with me” kind of thing. If I don’t want to see a mom with her kid suckin’ away, I’ll just look at something else. I feel sort of…interested, I think is the word at the faces and comical nature of the kid going to town on a boob. Hey, whatever. I did it, (which…totally is a strange thought now. Breastfeeding on my MOM…woah) and people have been doing it since people were people. Whatever. Go boobs!
I nursed in public, but with a cover. I’m a fairly modest person, and while I support whipping out the boobies for feeding, I’m not the person to do it. Nordstrom has a really lovely sitting room outside the ladies room that is quite comfortable. Unfortunately, it just isn’t practical for the vast majority of businesses to have dedicated nursing rooms.
I nurse Lily in public all the time. In too many restaurants to count, in the car in the Target parking lot (I could have used one of those nice places like you described) and just about anywhere else we go. She nurses a lot.
I use a nursing cover, mostly to hide my tummy as I only have a couple official nursing tops.
I can’t imagine what a hassle it would have been to drag formula everywhere we go.
Oh yea I nursed Lily the other day in the car while she was strapped in her car seat and I still had my seat belt on and the car was moving. There will be a post about this soon.