We do not realize how quickly attitudes toward breasts have changed.  My
grandfather was born in 1903.  He told me many times that when he was a boy
growing up in Brooklyn, women would sit out on their stoops (steps leading up
to the front door), breastfeed their babies, and converse with their
neighbors.  Some women did not wear a shirt at all.  Grandpa was totally
comfortable with breastfeeding, he was the only person in the family who never
asked me when my kids were going to wean.  He was a welcome guest at nursing
mom's playgroups, which were often held in our yard!
        By the way, Grandpa was homeborn and breastfed, and lived to be 89,
and was healthy all his life.  He even survived having diptheria as a child.
His brother was also homeborn, but was given some special prescription 'baby
food' that his mother had to pick up every few days from a pharmacy in Coney
Island (a subway ride away) as well.  His brother died of a massive MI (heart
attack) before he was 50.  Both had similar health habits- diet, activity
level, weight, caffeine intake and smoking.  Grandpa did quit smoking after
his brother died...
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  NYC  [log in to unmask]