Re: breast feeding in public
 

So is urinating and bowel movements but I wouldn't suggest that they be done in public. :p At the very least people go behind a bush to partially obscure the view of what they're doing.
In much the same way women should just use a small blanket or breastfeeding top to cover what they're doing with breast feeding rather than just getting their breast/s out. It's simply polite.

Not to mention that breast milk can be bottled anyway. There really is no need to do it public anyway.

As for people doing it in restaurants, well (a) they could always have got a babysitter if they wanted to go out for a meal and (b) there is the option of bottled milk which is less likely to put people off their food. Then again I'm not a fan of babies in restaurants anyway as they just whine, cry and ruin the ambience.

I've not got any issues with breastfeeding, people can do it around me all they like but I think they should at least take notice of their surroundings in certain situations and take appropriate steps to make sure it's appropriate and/or discrete.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Second to supermarkets :)

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

The reason i changed my opinion is becouse i took back my ealier statements and realised they where wrong.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Bringing back the argument of some mothers not wanting to use a bottle, or more the argument of nipple vs teet

But then there's the issue of how the baby gets fed, if the mother is against bottle feeding?

Breast vs Bottle..... again..

I can understand not enjoying babies in restaurants, what with the crying, and everything, but new mothers/ mothers of young children enjoy a good meal too.

Why shouldn't a mother take her child to a restaurant? especially a new born! I know very few mothers would be willing to leave there new born with a baby sitter just to go for a meal... I for one find that idea just plain scary!
I'm against bottle feeding unless absolutely necessary... as I have pointed out alot.
I don't want a bottle teat near my baby unless absolutely essential (see other posts for why) So if I want to go out for a meal, just for that little bit of escape and enjoyment, whats wrong with me (being as discreet as possible, without going against all I believe) feeding in public?


really a mother should try to be discreet (and I'm sure most are) but the general public who happen to witness a woman breastfeeding should be more understanding

If the mother chooses not to pump (pumping actually decreases your milk supply... it pulls the milk from your breast differently than an actual baby does), she shouldn't have to just so she can go out.

And if a mother has chosen for her baby to be an exclusively breastfed baby, the mother can't really leave the baby with a babysitter because what happens when s/he gets hungry?

TO ALL WHO ARE SUGGESTING PUMPING THE BREAST MILK AND TAKING A BOTTLE OUT: Some mothers choose not to use a bottle AT ALL. And if that's their choice, no one has any right to tell her that she should use a bottle to feed HER baby. If you're using that as an argument, it's a poor one. Some mothers choose not to use a bottle and that is that.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Ok, so I'm sure a bottle once or twice wont hurt the baby or force it to refuse to latch during breast feeding. From what I understand that's caused by pretty regular use of the bottle or at the very least by use which is more excessive that on very occasional situations. It's not as if going to a restaurant is a particularly common occurance. Why not take other customers into consideration and make a tiny little concession in order to avoid ruining their appetite. They can also leave a bottle of breast milk at home for the very few times where they will be leaving their child with a babysitter.

It's similar to the way I wouldn't go straight to a restaurant stinking of B.O. and covered in mud from sports. I'd go home and have a shower first, sure it may minorly inconvenience me but I'd do it because it would put others off their food for me not to do it. I'm not saying "Don't breastfeed in public" I'm saying use some common courtesy in relation to it.

I have to say the "if you don't like it, then DON'T LOOK!" argument leaves a lot to be desired. If I pulled my penis out in the middle of the street and took a piss people would be unsurprisingly upset and I'm sure my argument of "just don't look then" would be unpersuasive.

Again, I have no problem with breast feeding, I just realise that others do have an issue. Like a lot of other things it just needs to be done discretely and with consideration for others.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

One would hope that you would change your diet when you started trying to get pregnant (as it would increase your chances) or at the very least when you found out you were pregnant -- having a poor diet can lead to stunted development in the child and a host of other conditions and deformaties. When are pregnant you aren't making choices just for yourself, you're making choices for the health of your baby, and you'll probably find (and least I certainly HOPE you'll find) that you will want to improve your diet. If you chose to breastfeed it then wouldn't be hard to carry on. I could go on and say a health diet would encourage good habits in your children, but I'm going to hazard a guess you know all that.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

This goes right back to the fact that some women do not want their baby to have a bottle AT ALL. None. The only thing that enters the child's mouth until solids are introduced is the boob. That is all.

And I know that when I was breastfeeding, when I introduced a bottle at first, he got so frustrated because a bottle is different than the breast and he wasn't sucking hard enough to get anything out of the bottle. So he basically cried and cried even though I was trying to feed him with a bottle. So that doesn't always work.

Once again, saying that, in order to avoid breastfeeding in public, a mother could pump her milk and bring a bottle along is a bad argument because a lot of breastfeeding mothers see no need, use, or want to even introduce a bottle unless the breast milk unfortunately dries up (which can happen if she pumps rather than feeding her baby from the breast on schedule for EVERY feeding).

When I was breastfeeding, even after my milk supply was established and going strong... I pumped once... Just ONCE and my milk supply dramatically decreased. Lactation specialists will tell you not to pump unless you absolutely, absolutely have to.

Not only that, but even if the mother does pump breast milk before she leaves the house, it's only good outside of refrigeration for an hour at most. After that, you're supposed to dump it.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

I just have a point that I would like to put out there, a lot of people here are saying that women ONLY breastfeed their babies and while in public, if the baby starts crying they NEED to be fed there and then. Does that mean the mother has to be by her babies side up until they are over being breastfed? So for example if the mother had to go away, either to a funeral, back to work, or heaven forbid had to be taken into hospital for an illness, or had to travel overseas for whatever reason, what would happen then? The baby cannot possibly be breast fed there and then because the mother is away, and the father, or babysitter cannot do it! My friends mum had post-natal depression and hardly saw her baby for the first 6 months as she was SECTIONED in hospital? She couldn't breast feed!

And how about if the dad wants to take the baby out and it starts crying in public???

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Yes, women who only want to breastfeed their babies have to stay by their baby's side pretty much all the time. Usually as babies get older, they don't need to be fed as often, and then the mother can go out for a few hours etc. If a woman wants to go back to work or something like that, then I would assume that she doesn't mind her baby being bottle fed. Women who want to only breast feed their babies wouldn't go back to work until their baby was weaned. And women who are physically incapable of breastfeeding their babies obviously wouldn't be able to and they would have to be bottle fed. But the women who are lucky enough to have the choice to breastfeed and who want to do so just don't leave their babies for too long.

I'm not really sure what point you were making...

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

But they don't go away. They stay with their baby or they take the baby with them.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

You can't just wait 30 minutes to feed a hungry baby. An infant's stomach is much more sensitive than an adult's, and they can get large gas bubbles from crying for that long and be in pain for the rest of the day because babies also have difficulty releasing gas.

I should also note that especially newborns don't know that they are hungry until they get hunger pains. And THAT is the reason they cry. It is difficult for new mothers to see the signs of hunger before it gets to that stage, as that comes with practice.

So you would let a baby stay in pain just to spare you the awkwardness of seeing the baby being fed?

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

In every book, breast feeding, bottle feeding, midwife advised reading material I have read....
Yes just that one time can make all the difference.
Where is the consideration for the breast feeding mother?

I think its been made clear that a mother will do all she can to be discreet while out in public (personally I've never seen a woman remove her top to breast feed) and I'm sure if there's somewhere more suitable to go, the mother will go there. That's not to say she should avoid going out where people might get to see her feeding, just because she wants to be considerate of other people. Nore should it mean that she should have to take any action she doesn't want for her baby (i.e. bottle feeding) just to be considerate.

how is it ignorant for a mother to take her baby with her for a meal?
Its not a case of not having the money for a baby sitter, its more the fact that after carrying a baby inside you for 9 months, would you really trust anyone else with them? could you really tear your self away from your baby, who's the most important thing in the world to you?

I wouldn't consider breast feeding 'showing off' or 'indecent'.... I can understand 'awkward' and 'uncomfortable' and others like, but defiantly not indecent.

Yes the mother needs to be by baby's side all the time.
should the mother have to be rushed to hospital, or had to leave her baby for whatever reason... then there would be no choice than to start bottle feeding. Expectant and New mothers who breast feed or wish to, understand that in some cases breast feeding is impossible.
Should something happen that means I cant breast feed my baby then so be it, However if I CAN breastfeed I WILL.

and if dad wants to take baby out... we all go out

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

I don't think much of it.
I mean babies have to eat!
And they eat a lot, and all the time.
So I don't mind people breast feeding in public.
Most people need to get over it, they were breast fed at one point.
Really people.

As for me, i'd do it.
Butttt
I'd like a blanket over my boobage and my baby. =P
Just because i'd be a little weird for me ripping a tit out of no where to feed the baby.
But that's just me and my comfort zone.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Breast feeding is a natural process, GET OVER IT

Re: breast feeding in public
 

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Dont get smart.

I know that we have to control ourselves but thats for a different discusion

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

The difference is that what you said was irrelevant to this debate. Of course burping out loud is inappropriate in a restaurant, and of course peeing is inappropriate in public.

The difference is that those two things can be controlled and held off until one gets to the washroom or is in private. Feeding a hungry baby is not something that can be controlled. It needs to be done, and a mother is not going to make her baby wait to eat, as that would be cruel.

And this is off-topic, but do you have to use exclamation marks at the end of each sentence? It makes you come off as rather hostile towards other posters.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

I pointed that out ealier. I know its annoying

Re: breast feeding in public
 

If the mother can move discretely to another area then fine, there are baby changing units in most supermarkets, go there. As for in restaurants, I don't really think its the place to take a new-born baby, toddles etc fine as by that age they are normally on solids etc.

If you're going to a restaurant then i think the baby should be with a babysitter or other member of the family. Its not really the place. you could always go out when its not feeding time for the child, as usually people have a routine.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

So, you don't think that people with babies under the age of 6 months should be able to go to restaurants with their child? My husband and I couldn't afford a babysitter, and lived in a different city than our families, so we should never have been able to go out to eat? Can you not see how ridiculous this is?

Have you ever gone 6 whole months without eating out once?

Also, women who are exclusively breastfeeding can't just hand the baby off to a babysitter or a family member if they want to go out. They have to stay with the baby so it can be fed when it is hungry.

Most babies eat every 2 hours. That doesn't really give much time to drive the baby to a family member, go to a restaurant to eat, and come back to feed the baby. If a mother with a baby wants to go out to eat or spend the day out on the town, why can't she?

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

I agree with you there, but only when necessary. Completely cutting the mother off from the outside world for 6 months is not necessary. In essence you are saying that a woman cannot leave her home for 6 months, unless she knows that where she is going has a designated breastfeeding area. Most rural areas do not have shopping malls or large enough restaurants for that. In fact, for the first 6 months of my daughter's life we lived in a small town that didn't even have changing tables in any of the restaurant washrooms.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

No its not rediculous, yes your familys are in a different city, but surely you will have friends who can help out. I'm just saying I don't think its the place. Restaurants can get busy and crowded, I just don't think its the place. As I said before, you generally get into a routine with feeding, so you can feed before you go out?

Re: breast feeding in public
 

It wasent even me who brought the whole thing up...

Back to the topic... Breastfeeding is optional. Some Woeman do it, others dont. Its basicly personal choice for the Mother.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

I don't think there's anything wrong with breastfeeding in public, as long as you keep yourself covered... I just wouldn't want little kids pointing and staring.

The baby won't really care if he or she has a towel over their head. They've been in a dark place for nine to ten months, and as long as they can breathe they'll be fine.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Our friends were far too immature to be left with our daughter alone... But as I said before, babies eat every two hours. Its hard to feed your baby, get ready to go, drop of the baby at a friend or relative's house, go out for dinner, then come back and pick up the baby, then go home and feed the baby all in a two hour time-frame. It is just unreasonable for a woman to have to do that as opposed to feeding her baby where she is. It is much easier for you to avert your eyes or move to a different table if it bugs you than for the mother to change her whole schedule just because you are uncomfortable with seeing her feed her baby.

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Re: breast feeding in public
 

Okay, let's look at the legality of this issue. It is within a woman's legal right to feed her child. A store or restaurant owner can be sued if they force her to leave. This is because a person's right can only be disregarded if what they are doing infringes on another person's right to a higher degree. So how is a woman breastfeeding infringing on a restaurant patron's legal rights?