BARING BREASTS

By Barbara Correa on September 15, 2007 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Everybody - whether they have breasts and babies or not - seems to have an opinion about whether it's OK to breastfeed in public (for the record, Disneyland is definitely pro-breast baring. But it seems some of its employees never got that memo). My story last week about a nurse-in at Applebee's generated some heat between public display advocates and those who find it tasteless.

I consider myself neutral on this topic by the way - I absolutely assumed I would breastfeed my twins, but in the end failed to do it, and was OK with that too.

What came as a shock was the voicemail messages I got reacting to the story. I received several calls from, ahem, "older'' women who had breastfed decades ago. Not only were they not supportive of the nurse-in concept, they all said nursing women should just stay at home. That way, they can nurse freely without anyone copping a look. One friend who nursed her son said she agrees - it's pretty simple to "cover up'' and do it subtly, and really no need to become an exhibitionist (yes, some think of it that way).

But I see the other side too. That poor Mom at Applebee's in what must have been a sweltering Kentucky day didn't have a sweatshirt or blanket to cover with, so she got hassled. The woman has like five kids -- she deserves a break for that alone.

2 Comments

Marissa said:

Please! What is so compelling about other women's boobs that people can't just look the other way if they really bother them? I'm reminded of the Fembots in Austin Powers - I mean, seriously, are the boobs going to jump up and attack innocent bystanders? "Watch out - toxic breast milk at 3 o'clock - take cover!"

September 17, 2007 8:53 AM

Steven Rosenberg said:

Barbara, first of all, this blog is looking great.

While I am the parent of a 4-year-old, I'm not a breast-feeding woman, so I don't know if what I say matters, but I think that the facts on the ground, as they say, are not conducive to breast-feeding in public. The reality is that doing so is a very difficult and brave choice for the mothers who do it. And lets face it, whatever the percentage of mothers who breast-feed is, the percentage of THOSE who do it in public is extremely small.

I hope that we, as a society, can get to a place where moms can breast-feed wherever they wish -- and with no stigma attached. How do we get there? I really have no idea.

What I really mean to say is that there is a huge, looming disconnect in every part of our society -- the medical community, the parenting community, the business world -- between the admonition that breast-feeding is a beneficial and desirable thing to do and the society's rejection of breast-feeding, the act itself. Should moms have to shut themselves away every time they need to breast-feed? Whether we think so or not, much of society says "yes."

And while all the research supports breast-feeding, I really don't see society in general moving to embrace it as reality and not just a behind-closed-doors activity that marginalizes mothers and puts something beneficial outside of society.

September 19, 2007 11:54 AM