Some years ago, I worked with a mother who was Muslim.  She wore a chador
with only her hands and face exposed.  When she nursed, no one could see a thing.
 She was told to leave a physician's waiting room by the office staff because
she was nursing.  She asked them why she was being asked to leave because she
was not exposing her breasts.  She was told that the reason she was being
asked to leave was not for exposing her breasts but because it was just the idea
of "it."

I believe exposure is not really the problem with public breastfeeding.
Women expose their breasts more at a public beach.  It is the act, the intimacy
between the infant and the mother, that unnerves so many Americans.  Since the
fifties, American women and men have been "exposed" to the Playboy image of
breasts.  Breasts have become sexualized to such an extent that young women
undergo surgery of their breasts in order to meet this American image.

If discreet nursing is taught to mothers, then I believe it should be taught
in the context of making the mother more comfortable about breastfeeding in
public not about making the public more comfortable about breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding mothers should not have to worry about their acceptability in public,
particularly since there is no law in the USA against public breastfeeding.

It is not a mother's job to educate the public.  Her job is to feed, love,
and enjoy her baby.  I believe it is up to health care organizations and the US
Government to educate the public on the health risks of not breastfeeding and
just as importantly that public breastfeeding is not just acceptable but
welcomed.  Frankly, if more breastfeeding laws had stiffer penalties for
discrimination against public breastfeeding, we might see some rapid changes in
attitudes.
Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC



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