Hello Justin,
NO, there are no situations in which a mother should not BF in public for
the regards of others, and YES, those who prevent a mother from feeding her
baby are violating the rights of the mother and her baby. Unless she is
forbidden to feed artificially, she should not be forbidden to BF.
The furor over public BF comes from our mistaken notion that women's
breasts are ONLY sexual objects, and therefore should not be seen or used in
public. It comes from our cultural fear of the intimate bonding of mother
and baby (look at all the baby products designed to keep baby content alone,
and all the emphasis on moms getting "away" or getting "a break" from the
baby, etc...) and our mistrust of the ability of a woman's body to function
correctly. It also comes from our cultural distaste for the body's natural
functions; we think of women's bodies as inherently "unclean" on many
levels. Finally, we fear powerful women; what is more powerful than
sustaining another person's life?? Not to mention a woman sufficiently
comfortable with her body's function to rely on it for that purpose?
Dictating that a baby cannot eat to preserve some adult's delicate
sensibilities (Yes, I am being sarcastic), when the adult can simply NOT
LOOK and the baby has a real physical need to eat, is ridiculous. Sorry to
give you a bit of a rant ;-), but that is my opinon. Thanks for the well
stated and well referenced question!!
Esther Friedman, IBCLC, RLC, LLLL
www.firstgiving.com/tylermom
There is no greater accomplishment than helping a child...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Justin Holweger" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 1:37 PM
Subject: Breastfeeding in Public
Hi, my name is Justin Holweger, and I am a junior nursing student at the
University of North Dakota. Breastfeeding in public places has become an
issue
among breastfeeding mothers.
Scott and Mostyn (2003) state that many breastfeeding mothers have
encountered family members and friends openly stating their disapproval for
breastfeeding in public. Tiedje (2001) conducted a study that showed how
friends and families attitudes towards mother's who brestfeed in public
affected wether the mother decided to brestfeed their baby in public
settings
anymore. Many of the mother's friend's described breastfeeding in public as
nasty. Chang and Spatz (2006) state that more than half of the 50 states in
the U.S. have laws that protect the rights of mother's to brestfeed in
public.
Other states have stipulations on when and where a mother can breastfeed.
A few questions I have are as follows: Are there situations in which a
mother
should not breastfeed in public for the regards of others? Are the states
that
have stipulations on mothers that breastfeed in public violating a mother's
personal rights and how about the child's rights?
Thank you for any opinions you can provide for me. I look forward to hearing
from you.
Justin Holweger, SN
University of North Dakota College of Nursing
Chang, K., & Spatz, D.L., (2006). The family & breastfeeding laws: what
nurses need to know. Maternal child nurse, 31, 224-230. Retrieved February
7, 2007, from Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, inc.
Scott, J.A., & Mostyn, T., (2003). Women's experiences of breastfeeding in a
bottle-feeding culture. Sage, 19, 270-277. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from
Journal of human lactation.
Tiedje, L.B., (2001). Low-income mothr's views on brestfeeding. Maternal
child
nurse, 26, 55. Retrieved February 7, 2007, from Lippincott, Williams &
Wilkins,
inc.
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