Breast feeding in public... gross or okay?

[ontariomonkey]

I agree that most women know there are two options as far as feeding their babies, but I do think there is "more work to do", to make breastfeeding more acceptable in society and support the women who do it. Many women quit earlier than they want to because of the flak they get BFIP or pumping at work.

Many women say they will breastfeed "if I can". Of course, some women can't breastfeed (I know that, I'm an adoptive mom who tried to relactate, but couldn't!), but in our society, there is a perception that this is a huge, commonplace problem. Perfectly healthy women with normal breasts seem to think there is a huge possibility that they won't be able to, and set themselves up for failure. Failure rates among women who attempt breastfeeding in the U.S. are much higher than in other countries where breastfeeding is seen as perfectly acceptable and women encourage each other to keep trying.

I thought they just stopped automatically handing them to every mother, and pulling out bottles and feeding every child whose mom was asleep when they cried? Don't they still give out the free samples to women who ask for them? That's been what I have read about these policy changes in hospitals around the country.

Like I said, I couldn't bf one of my kids (even though other adoptive moms have been successful). I have been on the receiving end of the dirty looks when breastfeeding my first, and when bottle-feeding my second. I always try to give a big smile to every mom I see feeding her baby, whether by breast or by bottle, because I know that every one of us deserves to be supported in what she does.

You hit the nail on the head. The whole thing with stopping handing out formula on the postpartum wards is JUST for breastfed babies. So if a mother choses to formula feed, she is given bottles of milk. If a mother choses to breastfeed, there needs to be either a request from the mother, or a health concern in order for the nurse to bring her formula. And then, they are supposed to bring only the amount of formula that is needed for that feed so that the Mum is encouraged to BF next time baby is hungry.

Think of the message it sends to a new mom who is trying to figure out how to BF when there is a case of formula is sitting at her bedside which was provided by the hospital.

 

[phillmolly]

Told y'all I was a threadkiller, LOL!!!

 

[paintnolish]

Told y'all I was a threadkiller, LOL!!!

You can't kill a NIP thread easily. Just say you are against it. Totally kidding. I NIPed both of my DCs!

 

[luvmy3]

There are resorts for that.

Just sayin'

And State parks in NY.

All you nursing mom's can come to my state and let it all hang out at our beautiful State Parks. We aren't afraid of a little ta-tas here

Oh, but men, please no moobs.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

Breastfeeding in public doesn't bother me at all. It's perfectly natural and I really don't know why people get so riled up about it.

That being said, I do have a funny story to tell. While we were walking around Epcot 2 weeks ago during the F&W Festival, my wife nudged me to look at the woman who was walking toward us.

She had apparently been nursing her child while walking around the World Showcase. Well, as she was walking, she was talking on her cell phone and apparently didn't notice that at some point, her child fell asleep and was no longer "attached", leaving mom exposed to the world (showcase that is ).

Must have been a really interesting phone call not to notice the breeze!

 

[Tasmen]

Especially if they are hairy.

Keep those hairy moob nips away from me!

She had apparently been nursing her child while walking around the World Showcase. Well, as she was walking, she was talking on her cell phone and apparently didn't notice that at some point, her child fell asleep and was no longer "attached", leaving mom exposed to the world (showcase that is ).

Must have been a really interesting phone call not to notice the breeze!

Hah! Or she could have just been letting the girl air out and dry off! Seriously, I cannot fathom how she could have not realized the baby wasn't latched on anymore. You'd think the release in pressure (not to mention the cold breeze!) would have been a big giveaway.

 

[rparmfamily]

you kinda missed my point.... streaking is still illegal. and you are right it doesn't happen much but it does. and THAT is what I am talking about. USING your bewbs to get off... er.. HEY EVERYONE LOOK AT MY BEWBS thing. Not the oh I am going to feed in a sec here thing. You are right though they could just say hey I was BFing lol.

just to be uh funny if I see that again I just just take my top off too.... OMG the eyes I would hurt

I have never never never heard of this situation happening.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Keep those hairy moob nips away from me!



Hah! Or she could have just been letting the girl air out and dry off! Seriously, I cannot fathom how she could have not realized the baby wasn't latched on anymore. You'd think the release in pressure (not to mention the cold breeze!) would have been a big giveaway.

Difficult to fathom, but not impossible to happen. Babies suction doesn't remain the same throughout a nursing session and if a baby is nursed to sleep, the baby just doesn't suddenly let go when they are done eating. And sometimes, I have often missed the moments my baby let go. But I'd wear my wrap in such a way that baby would still be in that vicinity anyway, blocking any oopsies on my part.

One of those moments where I'm having a difficult time understanding how the mom was flashing in the breeze with baby in a wrap.

I'm puzzled as to why the poster thought it appropriate to point it out to her husband as well. "Look honey--her breasts are exposed".

 

[Tasmen]

I'm puzzled as to why the poster thought it appropriate to point it out to her husband as well. "Look honey--her breasts are exposed".

Maybe she thought her husband was a "breast" man?

Seriously, I don't think it's that weird to point out someone that is doing something like that when it's obvious that wasn't their intent. It's like pointing out that someone walked out of the bathroom with their dress tucked into the tights or a toilet seat cover hanging off the back of their pants. I doubt the poster's wife meant it in an 'omg, that's so gross, her milk factories are open to the public!'

 

[HOGFAN]

imo, okay if covered up.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Maybe she thought her husband was a "breast" man?

Seriously, I don't think it's that weird to point out someone that is doing something like that when it's obvious that wasn't their intent. It's like pointing out that someone walked out of the bathroom with their dress tucked into the tights or a toilet seat cover hanging off the back of their pants. I doubt the poster's wife meant it in an 'omg, that's so gross, her milk factories are open to the public!'

I'm going to assume that it was an accident and I just can't stand when folks think it is to gawk at someone's oopsie.

And if someone had the problems you mentioned and I was close enough, I'd gently let them know of their oopsie versus letting them walk around and have folks snicker.

 

[ginna74]

I have never never never heard of this situation happening.

it happens....

 

[rparmfamily]

I'm so confused LMAO...

 

[ginna74]

I'm confused that your confused ok will

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm so confused LMAO...

Consider yourself lucky, then. It hasn't happened to you.

Bonus points!

 

[metalis4ever]

I don't have an issue with it at all, it's just part of nature. I am just happy the baby is getting a boost to their immune system thanks to some good ol' fashioned breast milk which helps to get their system ready for the vaccines, not to mention the other health benefits to breast feeding. Plus I am pretty sure the majority of adults have seen some form of breast before I don't get why people would find it offensive or uncomfortable

 

[Halbleib1]

I do my best to avoid formula.

But I had two babies with a legitimate medical need for some formula.

One had climbing bilirubin levels. I supplemented in the hospital b/c they made me (bad bad relationship with on-call pediatrician at the hospital who did a poor job of explaining my dd's issue!). Once I got home, I was able to stop the feedings. The only reason they wanted the FF was to increase her pooping to eliminate the bilirubin. A few months later, we had her tested and foudn out that she was a healthy baby who only had a poo diaper literally once every 2-3 weeks. The formula in the hospital didn't help increase it at all. She was monitored with frequent blood tests for about two weeks until her numbers showed consisted declining levels.

The other was born with high blood sugar and in that case, even the la leche league "approves" (that sounds bad, but I was very concerned about being lied to and did follow up on that to make sure!) of formula b/c I guess it is higher protein or something than colostrum which I believe is mostly carb. He had 2 reads of high blood sugar and was given a little bottle each time. Once he had a normal blood sugar, he didn't have to be FF and once he was normal for 2 readings in a row, they would stop testing him.

If a hospital failed to have formula--at least for my son, it would have been a serious problem.

Sorry to revive after so long but I was not able to respond sooner with the holidays and everything else going on in my life.

I agree it would have been a very serious problem had the hospital not had the formula on hand for you. I am glad they did and your child is doing fine. It would have been very serious for my son as well as he could only have soy formula. We actually did have something similar happen though with the birth of our daughter. The hospital did not have any soy formula on hand. I had asked that she be switched over to soy formula because I felt it would be better for her. Not sure why just my intuition I guess. I learned to always listen to my intuition no matter what. Well when they said they had none but they could arrange to get some I told them not to worry about it because I did not want to inconvenience anyone. That was a huge mistake if I had only known that at the time. Hindsight is 20/20. My daughter died at 10 days old because she should not have been given regular formula not even breastmilk nor any other animal milk. She had a rare genetic disorder called galactosemia which is the same condition that my son has. People with this disorder can not have dairy of any kind ever. They lack an enzyme in their liver to break down galactose which is a sugar. Lactose breaks down into galactose in the body through this enzyme that people with galactosemia do not have. Therefore both galactose-as best as possible and lactose-all of it has to be avoided. Galactose is actually harder to avoid as it is in fruits and vegs. and meats. Therefore we have to elminate some non dairy items or limit them as well. Those fruits and vegs. with lower amounts of galactose are fine for my son to eat as much as he wants to though. Good thing or he would not have anything to eat. Dairy is the biggest issue. We have to avoid dairy at all costs as well as organ meats.

Some insight on why I feel the way I do about advocates and hospitals pushing breastfeeding so hard. Both have their place and should be given equal consideration for many different reasons. For some this choice can be life saving even if you do not know it at the time.

 

[sandramaac]

I suppose the only issue I have with the OP, was the use of the word 'gross' and breastfeeding---it is never a gross thing to do. Now I was a very very conservative nursing mom---covered up, or left the room, etc. But gross, is kinda an icky word to be using.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I like seeing it. Not in some sexual way, but it's nice seeing a mom caring for an infant. I view it the same as seeing a mom hug her child, kiss him, smile at him, etc.

I have two sons. One is 7 and the other is 16. I wouldn't care in the least if they saw it. They both have seen plenty of breasts. No big deal.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Sometimes you can't help but oggle. I got on a Disney bus last year, and we sat in the seats that face the seats on the other side. I didn't notice at first, because I was talking to my nephew, but the lady directly across from me was breast feeding. And she made no attempt to be discreet at all. It was just baby attached, and no other part covered up. And she had rather large parts. I spent most of that bus trip talking to my nephew because I didn't want the lady to think I was oogling her.

My sister breast fed, and she did so during some trips to Disney World too. She had a very open weave blanket that I think our mom made that gave some sort of privacy while ensuring the baby was not hot. I don't see why covering up a bit is so hard to do. Breast feeding is natural, but I really don't want to see other women's breasts.

Just curious - if you were sitting on that same bus, across from this stranger with rather large parts, would your eyes have been on her large chest if she had a shirt on?

Do what you would normally do in any social situation and focus on the person's face and not her "large part" region.

If you don't want to see someone's breasts, don't let your eyes wander below the person's chin.

And to repeat others -If you think covering up is so acceptable, next time you are in Disney, buy yourself a open weave blanket and put it over your head every time your food comes.

As for the issue of bottle vs breast feeding - both should be perfectly acceptable in public. My child had medical issues which necessitated some bottle feeding. Actually there was a g-tube under the clothes. I was under strict orders not to nurse as nursing used up too many precious calories. The bottle was there mainly for OT purposes (with a very, very easy nipple) to keep the mouth moving so as to not impact speech later in life. As my baby was sucking on her bottle, most of the breast/high calorie formula combo was being poured directly into her stomach.

You never know why that parent has chosen to either breast or bottle feed, and it is the parent's choice.