Breast Feeding in Public

Cedrus

girl2 wrote: »

Hello all - am sure this has been done before - didnt even do a search, so just created a new one.

Strictly speaking I should have stopped reading here But,

Breast feeding IS normal, it's what breasts are for and breastmilk is inarguably the best babyfood for the smallest of us, it's not always easy, but there's no reason to put up false obstacles. The average babies head is bigger that the average breast and anyone who who sees more than they want is just staring inappropriately.

woodoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOfI48IWESo

billybudd

In the industry i work in it is common place to see mothers breastfeeding, ive never actually seen the breast, why? because who the **** stands and stares? so in reality its not really an issue visually just dumb peoples mentality.

mauzo

Also, pumping breast milk into bottles just wouldn't cut it for a lot of mothers, a lot of them do it for bonding as well as the nutritional values that breast feeding offers.

Brutal Deluxe

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

But to a lot of people I think they pretty much imagine a woman taking her top and bra off and that's it. .

This is the picture the anti breast feeding crew try to paint but it's a fallacy.

Tombi!

Deleted User wrote: »

This is the picture the anti breast feeding crew try to paint but it's a fallacy.

Just so I'm understanding this fully:
My opinion is that it's fine for a woman to breast feed so long as she does it with a bit of modesty (in otherwords she won't "whip them out") by trying to cover up a bit.
Would you agree that most women that breast feed in public would try to cover up so she wouldn't have people staring like gombeens?

I'm well aware that you won't stop people from staring completely but hopefully you get what I mean.

Chucken

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

Just so I'm understanding this fully:
My opinion is that it's fine for a woman to breast feed so long as she does it with a bit of modesty (in otherwords she won't "whip them out") by trying to cover up a bit.
Would you agree that most women that breast feed in public would try to cover up so she wouldn't have people staring like gombeens?

I'm well aware that you won't stop people from staring completely but hopefully you get what I mean.

Theres really nothing to be staring at.

A babys head will cover most of the boob.

EDIT: PIC.http://cache.tcm.ie/media/images/b/breastfeeding.jpg

Tombi!

Chucken wrote: »

Theres really nothing to be staring at.

A babys head will cover most of the boob.

Well yeah I get that breast feeding is usually having the boob covered. What I meant was (I honestly am just trying to picture it in my head so bear with me) is that the boob the baby isn't being fed from is covered up.

I've never seen it apart from in a film or tv show really so I'm trying to picture what it'd be like in person. I just imagined the ideal scenario in my head would the one boob out and the baby feeding on that and it being covered pretty much and that's that really.

mauzo

Chucken wrote: »

Theres really nothing to be staring at.

A babys head will cover most of the boob.

Yeah it will, but we also have to stop to burp said baby, switch breasts, stop and start...its harder than it looks!!

Switching breasts being the hardest one there, you get looks....trust me. Maybe I was just paranoid, but people stare, old or young, male or female.

Tombi!

mauzo wrote: »

Yeah it will, but we also have to stop to burp said baby, switch breasts, stop and start...its harder than it looks!!

Switching breasts being the hardest one there, you get looks....trust me. Maybe I was just paranoid, but people stare, old or young, male or female.

That's what I was always wondering.
I mean when I picture it, I picture something like the photo Chucken showed which is fine. But you'd be lifting your top on the opposite side.
Obviously it's fine and all but it's just weird that you'd get looks assuming you did it like the woman in the photo (or really anything like how she looked).

Chucken

mauzo wrote: »

Yeah it will, but we also have to stop to burp said baby, switch breasts, stop and start...its harder than it looks!!

Switching breasts being the hardest one there, you get looks....trust me. Maybe I was just paranoid, but people stare, old or young, male or female.

I fed both my children (13 months between them)

I remember it well

I was discreet. Jasus I didnt want anyone looking at my bits either.
I remember my nephew screaming to his mother once that "the baby is eating auntie ****.

I can honestly say it didnt cost me a thought about what others were thinking.

That was the 80s btw. One of those babies is now having her own baby and I swear if anyone looks sideways at her feeding her child, I'll be dug out of them

mauzo

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

That's what I was always wondering.
I mean when I picture it, I picture something like the photo Chucken showed which is fine. But you'd be lifting your top on the opposite side.
Obviously it's fine and all but it's just weird that you'd get looks assuming you did it like the woman in the photo (or really anything like how she looked).

I can't see the video, on my phone right now. But I'd take take the baby off my breast, put my boob back in my bra, pull up my top, all the while the baby is blocking people from seeing what I'm doing. It gets harder the older the baby gets!!

Once people know what you're doing they get inquisitive....i only experienced one person staring at me thank god, but that was enough.

My sister in law had both out while feeding, even I was a bit shocked..no need for that. But we all do it differently

billybudd

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

Just so I'm understanding this fully:
My opinion is that it's fine for a woman to breast feed so long as she does it with a bit of modesty (in otherwords she won't "whip them out") by trying to cover up a bit.
Would you agree that most women that breast feed in public would try to cover up so she wouldn't have people staring like gombeens?

I'm well aware that you won't stop people from staring completely but hopefully you get what I mean.

It shouldnt be an issue either way, its not like she is there being an exhitionist she is providing her child with what nature intended so its not the mother with the issue its the person who cant understand it that has the problem.

Tombi!

mauzo wrote: »

I can't see the video, on my phone right now. But I'd take take the baby off my breast, put my boob back in my bra, pull up my top, all the while the baby is blocking people from seeing what I'm doing. It gets harder the older the baby gets!!

Once people know what you're doing they get inquisitive....i only experienced one person staring at me thank god, but that was enough.

My sister in law had both out while feeding, even I was a bit shocked..no need for that. But we all do it differently

It's a photo. Basically the woman has her boob out and the baby is feeding. The baby and the woman's hand is blocking the majority of the boob.

But yeah, I imagined it just like you said. The weird thing is that I picture it like you say and it seems completely normal to me. I mean I might do a double glance the first few times since I don't see it much but the gas part is you'd think the women are going to put on a show or something the way some fellas stare.

Tombi!

billybudd wrote: »

It shouldnt be an issue either way, its not like she is there being an exhitionist she is providing her child with what nature intended so its not the mother with the issue its the person who cant understand it that has the problem.

I bolded the bit that my point was on about. I don't really care if a woman wants to go around breast feeding but if she does try to cover up, I'm happy. If she's basically trying to parade around with her chest on show because she can since she's feeding a baby that I'd get annoyed by.

billybudd

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

I bolded the bit that my point was on about. I don't really care if a woman wants to go around breast feeding but if she does try to cover up, I'm happy. If she's basically trying to parade around with her chest on show because she can since she's feeding a baby that I'd get annoyed by.

So your againt topless sun bathing?

Tombi!

billybudd wrote: »

So your againt topless sun bathing?

Er... not since the invention of camera phones that don't make noise when you take photos. :pac:

mauzo

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

It's a photo. Basically the woman has her boob out and the baby is feeding. The baby and the woman's hand is blocking the majority of the boob.

But yeah, I imagined it just like you said. The weird thing is that I picture it like you say and it seems completely normal to me. I mean I might do a double glance the first few times since I don't see it much but the gas part is you'd think the women are going to put on a show or something the way some fellas stare.

Yeah I got a few double takes, but then they'd give a little smile as if to say oh its a newborn....

Just saw the photo, that's exactly how it is, I fed from the top, she's feeding from the bottom. You wouldn't even notice unless you were looking. I only switched to using a towel over us because of the creep I had looking.

ANyway, it looks fine and natural

I study midwifery and advocate breast feeding where possible, I subscribe to lots of mothers on YouTube, they would be big into breast feeding and natural birth...always posting videos while breast feeding, some of the comments on it are just nasty.

It's on wonder many young mothers don't even consider breast feeding.

billybudd

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

Er... not since the invention of camera phones that don't make noise when you take photos. :pac:

Ha!:pac:

Im not being smart just trying to see your rationale regarding breast feeding and sun bathing topless and what is the difference? is it less provocative to show your breasts on a beach than to show a breast when feeding a child who needs it?

Tombi!

mauzo wrote: »

Yeah I got a few double takes, but then they'd give a little smile as if to say oh its a newborn....

Just saw the photo, that's exactly how it is, I fed from the top, she's feeding from the bottom. You wouldn't even notice unless you were looking. I only switched to using a towel over us because of the creep I had looking.

Anyway, it looks fine and natural

I study midwifery and advocate breast feeding where possible, I subscribe to lots of mothers on YouTube, they would be big into breast feeding and natural birth...always posting videos while breast feeding, some of the comments on it are just nasty.

It's on wonder many young mothers don't even consider breast feeding.

Go right back to the start. You would have fed your baby the same way like the girl in the photo and you felt the need to use a towel or something to cover yourself? I could understand if you were filled with people already paying attention but your man was a right pervert for leering at you.

I can imagine a lot of them are horrible alright but some people are just idiots.

If you're going to basically flash your chest, expect nasty comments but jeez, if you were really like your one in the photo then your man that was staring was bang outta order.

Tombi!

billybudd wrote: »

Ha!:pac:

Im not being smart just trying to see your rationale regarding breast feeding and sun bathing topless and what is the difference? is it less provocative to show your breasts on a beach than to show a breast when feeding a child who needs it?

What I was getting at is if I was a beach or something and you're changing from your swimming trunks into your clothes and the towel falls down or something, it's grand. Or if you're sun bathing it's grand since you sort of expect it.
Whereas breast feeding is natural. On the other hand, a woman showing her boobs in public in Ireland isn't natural.

But you wouldn't expect a woman to get topless in the middle of a park or a restaurant or something.
And yes, please don't tell me how stupid my point is about sunbathing at a beach is different to doing it at a park. But hopefully you get what I mean.

Greentopia

I have no problem whatsoever with it. No kids myself, but if I did I wouldn't hesitate to breastfeed in public. If anyone had an issue with it, well that's their problem, not mine. I wouldn't let anyone prevent me from performing such an important beneficial health giving activity for my child. Anyhow breastfeeding in public is protected by law here I believe.

And I think the more women breast feed in public the easier it becomes for the next pregnant woman to do so as it helps makes it the social norm.

mauzo

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

Go right back to the start. You would have fed your baby the same way like the girl in the photo and you felt the need to use a towel or something to cover yourself? I could understand if you were filled with people already paying attention but your man was a right pervert for leering at you.

I can imagine a lot of them are horrible alright but some people are just idiots.

If you're going to basically flash your chest, expect nasty comments but jeez, if you were really like your one in the photo then your man that was staring was bang outta order.

Yeah, I was young and almost embarrassed to breast feed in public. I was being as private as possible and ashamed almost.

Looking back on it now I wish I didn't, I'm the first one to advise young mothers on the benefits of it and how natural it is.

Creeps like that guy are the ones that need educating.

I do know mothers who take it to the extreme though, I don't know what to think about that. I genuinely feel that every mother has a right to breast feed wherever she wants, but pulling your top down and having both breasts exposed is a bit much IMO

billybudd

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

What I was getting at is if I was a beach or something and you're changing from your swimming trunks into your clothes and the towel falls down or something, it's grand. Or if you're sun bathing it's grand since you sort of expect it.
Whereas breast feeding is natural. On the other hand, a woman showing her boobs in public in Ireland isn't natural.

But you wouldn't expect a woman to get topless in the middle of a park or a restaurant or something.
And yes, please don't tell me how stupid my point is about sunbathing at a beach is different to doing it at a park. But hopefully you get what I mean.

Yeah i understand where your coming from and to be honest its what a lot of people in Ireland think, i just find it strange that sun bathing topless is less frowned upon than breast feeding. neither is wrong in my opinion.

Tombi!

mauzo wrote: »

Yeah, I was young and almost embarrassed to breast feed in public. I was being as private as possible and ashamed almost.

Looking back on it now I wish I didn't, I'm the first one to advise young mothers on the benefits of it and how natural it is.

Creeps like that guy are the ones that need educating.

I do know mothers who take it to the extreme though, I don't know what to think about that. I genuinely feel that every mother has a right to breast feed wherever she wants, but pulling your top down and having both breasts exposed is a bit much IMO

I agree with you completely. Don't get me wrong, I would more than likely do a double glance or something but yeah being "embarrassed" is a load of bollocks. It's not as if you were trying to draw attention to yourself. And even though you were new to it and even if you did it wrong, it doesn't matter.

The important thing is that you realized your man was a creep and that you're better off now.
I have zero idea of the advantages to breast feeding though but at least you're help other mothers.
But yeah the extreme thing would bother me. It seems less of a "I'm a mother and I want to feed my baby" and more like "I have boobs, I'll get them out so stop getting uncomfortable". But that's sort of a different topic

Tombi!

billybudd wrote: »

Yeah i understand where your coming from and to be honest its what a lot of people in Ireland think, i just find it strange that sun bathing topless is less frowned upon than breast feeding. neither is wrong in my opinion.

Well I suppose you can sort of "expect" one (the topless bathing part). I think the problem with people complaining about breast feeding is that they're more uncomfortable than the women doing it.
But like mauzo said above, some women take it to the extreme and that would bother me a lot.
For me at least, a mother feeding her child is just that. Sun bathing topless is trying to get a bit of colour on your boobs and that's it. There's a difference between being topless and getting colour and being topless and feeding a baby in the middle of a restaurant.

Chucken

I think its actually women who seem to have the problem with other women feeding their baby in public

billybudd

Brutal Deluxe wrote: »

Well I suppose you can sort of "expect" one (the topless bathing part). I think the problem with people complaining about breast feeding is that they're more uncomfortable than the women doing it.
But like mauzo said above, some women take it to the extreme and that would bother me a lot.
For me at least, a mother feeding her child is just that. Sun bathing topless is trying to get a bit of colour on your boobs and that's it. There's a difference between being topless and getting colour and being topless and feeding a baby in the middle of a restaurant.

Ive never seen that happen in Ireland, in Africa yes and parts of south America its quite normal, but again who cares and why would it bother anyone? i think you are simplifying the reasons why sun bathing is harmless and exposure of both breasts when breast feeding is not and its somehow an attention seeking thing.

A reason to explain being topless while breastfeeding is that sometimes a mother has to alternate breasts if one she tries is not producing milk.

Tombi!

Chucken wrote: »

I think its actually women who seem to have the problem with other women feeding their baby in public

I sort of liken it to the "minority is too vocal".
I'm sure there is at least one logical reason why breast feeding is bad.
But I would wager that a lot of is scaremongering. Because (as I just found out tonight :P) you're a woman and you'd probably feel "ashamed" at the fact that by feeding a baby, you'd have to deal with the fact some man might see your boobs.
And let's face it, women will and probably always will have more understanding of breast feeding. Not to mention that men don't want to be seen as a perv so if they start talking about breastfeeding mothers well, they're clearly pervs and all this rubbish.

But at the end of the day, once you're not parading around with your boobs on display in a public place, then I don't care. Feed away and more power to you.

Aodh Rua

Deleted User wrote: »

Boobs are for feeding babies. That's their primary function.

Uh-uh.