Does anyone else have the impression that people are way more concerned
about breastfeeding in public than they were 15-20 years ago?  That we're in
an age of new puritanism?  When I breastfed my kids (now 18 and 15), I nursed
everywhere and anywhere and never worried about it and so did everyone I knew
and none of us every got any negative reactions.   Of course we didn't just
"whip it out", wore clothes that allowed some modesty,etc.  I never heard of
anyone using a blanket to cover themselves while nursing until years later.
   And this was not just in California, but also while traveling in other
parts of the country, on airplanes, etc.  Is it perhaps because women are
breastfeeding now who would not have considered it at that time?  I know it
is a big obstacle among some of the mothers I work with.  In my breastfeeding
mothers' drop-in group at the hospital,  I always ask the moms how they're
doing at breastfeeding away from home and get varying reactions.  To some
moms it's not an issue at all, to others it's a huge big deal.  How
depressing that we have not only not progressed, but have gone backwards in
our acceptance of the human body and normal body functions!

       By the way, can any French Lactnetters explain to me why, in a total
of two months in France, I never saw a baby being breastfed, saw many babies
with bottles or pacifiers, yet topless sunbathing was commonplace and
accepted?  It seems like something different must be going on, since
obviously the culture is more comfortable with the human body in general.
     Miriam