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Originally Posted by shakran
Aside from the fact that it'd probably be better to go into a stall anyway (you can sit down and have a lap to help you hold the baby up - - - dropping infants is bad  ) just going into the public restroom was making an effort - that's something a lot of people don't do. I was in a family restaurant a few months ago and watched a woman breastfeed, then change, her kid while sitting at her table. Even ignoring the hygene issues, her actions showed that socially, she has a long way to go. |
Changing your baby at the table - No I don't think so. That's for the bathroom. Anyone can see that.
I feel very strongly about this issue. I breastfed my daughter until she was 3. I fed her in many places including the mall. WHY should a woman NOT be able to feed her child anywhere that anyone else can eat?? You wouldn't eat in the bathroom so why should a woman have to take her baby in, let alone into a stall and feed the child. That's gotta have major hygene issues. I don't think that because you are uncomfortable with something you should force that on someone who is only trying to care for their child. Some women show much more skin than that on a daily basis and I don't see you complaining.
On the other hand. I was in such as position as mentioned at the beginning of this thread. I was the woman nursing at the dinner table with the in-laws. My sister-in-law had her fiance with us. He was young - only 19 and you know the hormones are just raging at that time. I was considerate and threw a light blanket (always kept one with me) over my shoulder so that I didn't have to listen to my child cry because they were hungry (they get very insistant - for those of you who don't have kids) so that I didn't have to eat a cold meal. I showed absolutely no skin - less cleavage than you see looking down at a receptionist with a low cut top. My sister-in-law flipped. Right there. She cried out how it was terrible that I was "forcing my 3 or 4 mo old baby to suck on a sex object." Her issues wasn't with the exposure. She was programed to think of the breast as ONLY a sex object. That is not how we were designed and if we are ever going to get society over that notion we must accept women caring for the children as they see fit. My husband and father-in-law defended me and never seemed to feel uncomfortable about what I did.
I don't think a woman should ever have to go in a bathroom or leave her company in order to feed her child. I do think that it's kinder, if it's not too hot out, to throw a light blanket or something over her shoulder so that she doesn't give anyone something to feel uncomfortable with. It's not necessary but it's kind.