New York Daily News - <http://www.nydailynews.com>http://www.nydailynews.com
Lactose intolerant!
BY KATE MEYER
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Tuesday, June 7th, 2005

Nearly 150 angry moms - babies at their breasts - staged a peaceful 
"nurse-in" yesterday outside ABC's Manhattan studios in defense of mother's 
milk.

The women - self-named "lactivists" - took to the streets after Barbara 
Walters, interview queen and host of "The View," made what they consider 
disparaging comments about breast-feeding on the talk show.

Walters said she felt awkward sitting with her hairdresser next to a woman 
who was breast-feeding on an airplane.

"It made me very nervous," Walters said on the May 17 show. "She didn't 
cover the baby with a blanket. It made us uncomfortable."

Co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is nursing her daughter, Grace, said she 
was "uncomfortable breast-feeding in general."

The show's hosts also seemed to celebrate the news that Hasselbeck's 
daughter had her first bottle of formula - spurring women in four cities to 
lift children to their breasts in a synchronized milk-in yesterday.

"Just look away if it's really that offensive," said Anushka Paris-Carter, 
32, of Manhattan's East Village, as she fed her 23-month-old daughter, Sasha.

The women - carrying signs like "Mama's latte is best" - said they worry 
the comments might keep new moms from nursing. Some are demanding an on-air 
apology.

"I'd do it on the subway. I'd do it in the library. I'd do it in the park. 
I've never been a particularly shy person, but some people are, and they 
shouldn't be discouraged from doing something natural," said Jennifer 
Sheridan, 42, who brought her two children, each breast-fed for two years.

Walters brushed off the demonstration, saying her airplane anecdote was not 
reflective of the show's stance on nursing. "We are surprised that it 
warrants a protest," Walters said. "We are totally supportive if an 
individual wants to breast-feed."

Eric Schulmiller, who was with his wife, Sarah, and their 6-month-old son, 
Tao, said women need more encouragement.

"What I hear from my wife and other women, it's not an easy thing to do," 
said Schulmiller, of Port Washington, L.I. "They need all the support they 
can get."

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