Winnie wrote:
<< It is not the mother's right to feed her baby that is the point. It is
really the baby's right to eat whenever and wherever the need arises.>>

Winnie, I am uncomfortable with describing nursing as "eating." For me, NIP
is about the mother's right to care for her baby in whatever way she thinks
is the best way. Nursing is care and comfort for a baby, not only food and
drink. Thus, if a person caring for a baby has the right to feed it with a
bottle or give it a pacifier to suck on for comfort in public, then a
nursing mother should have the right to give her breast to her baby in the
same situation.

And certainly a baby who is uncomfortable in a public place has the right to
be cared for by the person responsible for it. 

When we describe nursing as *eating*, then what can we say in defense of a
mom who wants to nurse in a library or at a pool where food and drinks are
not allowed?

Chris

Chris Mulford, BSN, IBCLC
Project Co-coordinator, the PA-BC Business Case for Breastfeeding
Co-coordinator, Women & Work Task Force, World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action

 "When she gives birth, every woman has the potential resource of breastmilk
for two years or more. This ample food resource is perfectly targeted,
already distributed to households with the need, and should be controlled by
the mother and baby." --Helen Armstrong (1995) 
Breastfeeding as the foundation of care. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, United
Nations Univ Press, 16:4, 299-312.



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