Nursing in public

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Every now and then, especially now that it's supposedly summer and people are out more, I come across women who nurs their babies in public. You know, at the mall, in the coffeeshop, in the park, just about everywhere.
And I find this really yucky. I know, I know, it's perfectly natural. But so is pooping and having sex, and we don't do that on the bus or at the table in a restaurant.
Is it really so hard to bring a bottle or ten when you intend to be out with the baby? Or am I the only one finding it gross, whipping out a boob in the grocery store?

everytime it's happened around me they cover them selfs up so it's not out in the open.
by that I mean they place something over them.

Dear EmberEyes, you are one hundred percent correct.

Every word.

Sylkat

Breast milk is more nutritious for babies than cows milk is. Cows milk is intended for baby calves, not humans. Therefore, I like to see women breast feeding as it shows a willingness to give their babies what nature intended for them.

I breast fed both my babies but I didn't pop my boobie out into the open.I wore a nursing bra and had a blanket.I never got a negative response,most people,especially the older ones were very positive.I think because they grew up seeing mammas feed their babies that way.A bottle has to be sterilized and kept at the right temperature and it's a burden.There are so many advantages to breast feeding,my babies never once had an ear infection or any serious health issue.Plus it's good for the mom,in countries where women breast feed mostly breast cancer is very low.And babies on the breast don't get colic so less screaming,and hardly any spit ups.And mom loses weight faster because of the calories used to produce the milk.

But you can feed breastmilk from a bottle. The bottle does not mean it's formula or cows milk or whatever. Just that the nutrients are stored in a bottle.

The way I see it is, the kid's gotta eat and they're just boobs. Of course I grew up seeing my own mother nurse all my younger siblings and so seeing a boob, especially when it's in the mouth of a baby, doesn't phase me in the least. BUT, about 99% of the time, the mom doesn't want you to see her breasts any more than you want to see them and covers herself up with a blanket or nursing cover while in public. There isn't always an easy place to do it where no one can see you. Being out with a baby can be difficult, especially if you have other children in tow, but you have to run errands and you have to feed a hungry baby. This is only an issue because people make it one.

Well that seems reasonable. Wanting a person to breast feed a baby from a bottle instead of from their naked breast. Personally, I don't mind either way. Each to their own I guess.

Oh, I didn't know of the health benefits, or the practicallity issues.

Also, even I, who have a fairly poor 'filter' when it comes to what things I can say using my 'outside voice' and when to use my 'inside voice' , know enough to not go up to someone and say 'Eeeew, what are you doing, that's disgusting!'. So, just because people are giving you positive feedback to your face, the negative feedback will probably be hidden behind a veneer of politeness.

But on the other hand, having a child, much less a gaggle of them, is (in the western world at least) a matter of choice. Just as breastfeeding is a choice. I did not choose to be exposed to women flaunting their stuff, but I have to accept it because it's 'natural'. So why then can't I squat down next to them and poop? Because it's creepy and disgusting!! !

Maybe. It depends on how visual and audible the child and mother are while nursing. Slurping and suckling noises are irritating to me - unless it's my wife and I "getting busy" in total privacy - so as long as it's discrete, I'm not bothered.

I've sat next to women in church and on the bus, and I had no idea what they were doing until they re-arranged their clothes and burped the baby. No worries.

Other times, I've been across the room from a woman who picks up the kid, flips out one of her mamae, and the kid starts sounding like happy hour at a Japanese noodle bar! EEEWW!

I think a lot of people aren't disgusted with breast feeding as a 'natural' action, as you describe, because it doesn't give off a foul odour as excreting faeces does and it isn't intimate like sex is which obviously would make people uncomfortable to be around. Sex is often engaged in whilst naked, whereas an exposed breast isn't quite as extreme, in my opinion, anyway. I can see where you're coming from though. Obviously people have different levels of tolerance to nudity from strangers who aren't interacting with them.

That's true, but I have seen (and smelled) plenty of infants getting their dipers changed next to me in the park or the beach or other public places...

I'm curious why some babies are noisy when nursing,mine never made slurping sounds.I wonder if infants that are noisy when feeding have something wrong their palate.You can get a whiny baby to shut up pretty quick with the breast.It's also possible the baby has a stuffy nose and is having trouble feeding and breathing at the same time.When my daughter was about one I caught a really nasty flu virus,she did not get it because of the antibodies in the breast milk.It's easier to go places with a breast fed baby,all you need are some diapers and maybe a change of clothes.There are some other studies on the benefits of breast milk and the brain,the development of bone structure(it's harder to get milk out of a breast than a bottle)and childhood obesity.And women usually don't ovulate when nursing so in places where it's hard to get birth control this is a real advantage.Also if clean water is not available you don't have babies getting sick from formula mixed with dirty water or dirty bottles.

The practically issues are definitely a big part of it.

I used to work in hospitality and talking to mothers, most of them said many places wouldn't heat up a bottle. Or sterilise it. Mostly because of insurance and legal reasons. Or because they did not have the stuff. Most of the time they just did not want to do it - or would take forever to do it.

If they did heat it up, it was in the microwave, which carries the possibility of someone doing it wrong, or simply not listening, which means it may be too hot and burn the baby.

We were one of the only restaurants with a bottle warmer for that specific purpose, but even so, plenty of the other girls I used to work with had no idea of the sterilisation issues, and often forgot.

Quite frankly, it's a massive pain in the ass like you have no idea for these mothers, so I'm not surprised they prefer to do it the easy way. All the women who breast fed in our restaurant always used a cover or light blanket, and it was never a problem.

It's considered indecent exposure when women are completely topless in public so it' seems hypocritical for women to be allowed to expose their breast in public when breast-feeding. What if an adult guy was sucking on her breast in public; why would that be considered sex when a baby doing it would be allowed; technically the adult guys is breast feeding as well. & btw why is it bad for women to be topless on beaches when it's acceptable for guys with breast to be like me I think most people would be more discussed by me being topless than the average woman. I'm not saying I think all this is bad or that it's all good but I want the standard to be the same.