Public Breastfeeding

The Babble Staff

When Babytalk put a breastfeeding woman on its cover, its readership (mostly mothers) threw a collective fit. The cover, which featured a nursing baby and some side-boob, was deemed inappropriate, even "gross," by some of the more than 700 readers who wrote letters to the editor. In many countries, public breastfeeding barely raises an eyebrow, but it's clear that in the United States, apart from a few crunchy enclaves, the issue is explosive. In some states, laws governing public nudity and indecent exposure make it illegal to breastfeed in public. In many others, the law protects a mother's right to nurse where she pleases, yet few mothers whip out their boobs on the subway. No doubt some of the discomfort many feel when seeing a baby suckling stems from the uneasy transition of the boob from sex object to feeding station. Judging from several articles on the subject, it seems that mothers who dare to breastfeed in public are often faced with snide comments from other women. Some say they support the right to nurse in public but urge it be done with "discretion." Yet as the La Leche League points out, if you plan to breastfeed exclusively, you will need to breastfeed in public and your nursing should not have to be confined to public restrooms.

The idea of breastfeeding in public makes many people feel uneasy. Unfortunately, as Katie Granju writes in her book, Attachment Parenting, "Surveys have revealed that far too many women are uncomfortable at the thought of nursing their baby in public and that this discomfort is a common cause for disruption of the breastfeeding relationship."

The main reason for that initial discomfort is probably the taboo against revealing one's breasts around other people. Ironically, most breastfeeding women reveal much less skin while breastfeeding than the average jeans commercial reveals.

In some people's minds, the physical and emotional intimacy of the breastfeeding mother and baby is sometimes connected with sexual activity. So, when people see a woman using her breasts for their most basic function, in an intimate relationship with her infant, they may consciously or unconsciously confuse it with something that's sexual and should be done in privacy.

The unspoken message is that breastfeeding should be kept behind closed doors and is inappropriate for public display, while displaying images of women's bodies to help attract customers is just fine.

They often show breastfeeding mothers dressed in darker hues or in nightgowns, and rarely looking at her infant. Yet images of feeding a baby with a bottle are portrayed with active, smiling, well-dressed women who are out in public and/or back to work. Once again, the unspoken message is that breastfeeding mothers should stay in the nursery and that once they return to "real life," they will leave breastfeeding as part of their private lives, not bring it out into public view.

But that option offers problems for the mother and baby that may be overlooked by the general public. First, it takes extra time and care to pump, store, and transport milk — time that may be precious, particularly in the early weeks and months. Babies receive fewer of the benefits of breastfeeding when they receive human milk that is not fresh from the source.

Another often suggested strategy for breastfeeding your baby when you are out is to take him to the restroom or toilet facility to feed him. However, no one would suggest that an adult eat his or her lunch in a public toilet.

Some shopping malls and larger stores are starting to offer a separate room that can allow privacy for nursing mothers.

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one person wrote. "I immediately turned the magazine face down," wrote another. "Gross," said a third.

These readers weren't complaining about a sexually explicit cover, but rather one of a baby nursing, on a wholesome parenting magazine — yet another sign that Americans are squeamish over the sight of a nursing breast, even as breastfeeding itself gains greater support from the government and medical community.

Babytalk is a free magazine whose readership is overwhelmingly mothers of babies. Yet in a poll of more than 4,000 readers, a quarter of responses to the cover were negative, calling the photo — a baby and part of a woman's breast, in profile — inappropriate.

Babytalk editor Susan Kane says the mixed response to the cover clearly echoes the larger debate over breastfeeding in public. "There's a huge Puritanical streak in Americans," she says, "and there's a squeamishness about seeing a body part — even part of a body part."

A mother nursing her child in public may currently be a rare sight, but if ProMoM (Promotion of Mother's Milk Inc.), a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness and public acceptance of breastfeeding, has its way you may see a woman breastfeeding on every corner.

During World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7, ProMoM will sponsor a "National Nurse Out" to encourage and mobilize more women to feel comfortable breastfeeding their children in public.

However, according to Regina Roig-Lane, BS, and Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) "fear of nursing in public is a main reason women choose not to breastfeed." Sarah Munoz, Executive Director of ProMoM notes: "The sight of a nursing mother is too unusual. We're hoping to make it commonplace; at least during this week, and help mothers feel more comfortable feeding their babies in public. The more people see it, the less conspicuous it becomes."

I was 24 the first time I was attacked for nursing my baby in public. Waiting in line to board a cable car in Stone Mountain Park, Georgia, I absentmindedly held my daughter to my breast while I stood chatting with a friend. Seemingly from nowhere, the irate face of a woman materialized inches from my own. Loud enough for everyone on top of the mountain to hear, she shouted, "Could you please go do that somewhere else, because my husband does not need to see that!"

Fast-forward five years. I was in a pediatrician's waiting room, and my two-month-old son was snapping at the air hungrily, working himself up into a roaring cry. I appraised the situation, counted the number of people in the room, and, for the first time ever, chose not to nurse — simply because I was in a semipublic place and wary of offending someone. By the time we were ushered into an examining room, my baby was wailing hysterically. It felt wrong to put him through that; I was ashamed that I'd allowed myself to be cowed into submission.

One explanation I considered was that my own family's attitude had finally worn me down. I remembered the first time I had ever nursed in their presence — in a hospital room, after the birth of my daughter. I had removed the top of my gown in an effort to better get the hang of nursing, and with my husband looking on, I struggled to support my newborn's orange-sized head while simultaneously trying to position my cantaloupe-sized breast. Then I noticed my mom and grandmother exchanging a glance. My grandmother said, "We're in mixed company here."

You, as a breastfeeding mother, have the right to lift up the front of your shirt exposing both breasts, remove your bra and let your children, regardless of age, nurse away.

Meanwhile, I have the right to feel uncomfortable, and possibly even let you know. Do not get me wrong, I do respect a woman's right to breastfeed in public. I just do not feel breastfeeding should be put on display.

I breastfed my kids discreetly. I personally breastfed two children over a period of three years. There were times when I breastfed in public. This usually involved unbuttoning my special nursing shirt with a horizontal opening beneath my breasts, throwing a baby blanket over the appointed shoulder and slipping the baby underneath so they could feed. I found it very easy to nurse in public without putting on a show.

Yes, it is just a baby eating, but does that mean when I am eating I should open my mouth so you can witness me chewing? It is just food right?