This from AOL's Mom Online area:  <<The results are in from our Breastfeeding
poll!  You seem to be divided between entusiastic open-air feeders and
discrete public nursers.  Really, these two responses are just two sides of
the same coin.  The majority of you, 54%, said that "Breastfeeding in public
should be allowed, but I think that nursing women should be careful not to
expose their breasts to public view.  They should throw a shawl or blanket
over baby when nursing.  I do not want to have to see or to avoid seeing
someone's breast in public."

A close runner-up, at 39% of the polled responses, was "Breastfeeding openly
in public is just fine by me.  Breasts and breast-feeding are natural,
beautiful parts of life.  I don't expect a nursing Mom to closet herself
whenever she breastfeeds."  Both answers reflect a pride and comfort with the
act of breastfeeding.  The response that most of you chose, however, may be a
nod to the conservative people you run across when you're in public spaces
and to the discomfort they might feel or make you feel with their
disapproval.

Only 1% of you said that women should confine themselves to private spaces
when nursing, and none of you chose the poll's most extreme option which
equated nursing with indecent exposure.

This Making Census was a popular topic, and it has been interesting to watch
the message boards and the chats to see what people have been saying about
breastfeeding.  What seems clear is that most moms are comfortable with
breastfeeding themselves, but dislike the attention they receive while they
are feeding their child.

There are so many emotional issues surrounding breastfeeding, and attitudes
towards breastfeeding have changed radically, even in the last twenty years.
With more and more women taking an active role in work, local communities,
and politics, ideas about breastfeeding in public are bound to alter.  As
women make their presence felt in public life, it only follows that their
babies will be seen more and more frequently with them.  If you're one of the
moms that feel that breastfeeding in public should be as mundane as blowing
your nose or eating an ice cream cone, then it seems you are in luck.  The
more women that do breastfeed in public, the less remarkable it will become.

The right to breastfeed is protected by the U.S. Constitution.  This was
determined in the 1981 case Dike vs. Orange County School Board.  Since then,
more legislation has been enacted to protect a woman's right to breastfeed in
public.  Ten states in the past three years have passed such legislation, and
in 1995, the U.S. criminal statuates were amended to say that breastfeeding
is NOT an act of public indecency.


hum...


Sharon Terry