Breastfeeding in Public

New Public Breastfeeding Law Takes Effect March 1, 2009 in Rhode Island (Medical News Today)

I can't imagine why this is even an issue. There are a lot of women who breast feed their children, and contrary to what people might think there are issues with pumping breast milk before going somewhere and then bringing it along with you in a bottle.

Just look these complications up, or ask someone who has breastfed their baby before and run into these complications. Storage is not quite as easy as people think. Breast milk must stay cold in order to be preserved for the child. And, then, when you get ready to feed the baby you will need to warm it up.

Okay, so now what? You are in a mall or in Wal-Mart or somewhere else with the child, who wants to eat, and you have to warm up the bottle because you had to carry it around packed in ice or something equally cold in order to keep it fresh for the baby. That's fine, you found a way to do that. But, now you have to warm up the bottle. No microwave. Nobody wants to help you out in the food court or deli or snack bar. Most of these places have industrial microwaves, anyway, so these would more than likely make the bottle too hot anyway.

Beforehand, anyway, pumping your breast milk only gets a little milk at a time from what I've found out (not first-hand, but seen and read of), so the above situation would only make sense if you planned far enough in advance before having to go anywhere (which would make an emergency run to the store or something impossible) to get enough milk to have enough while you were gone with the baby.

Another thing is that people don't seem to be able to distinguish the difference between exhibitionism and breastfeeding.

A mother is not having sex with anyone in public when she is breastfeeding her baby. It is not the same thing as whipping out her boobs, either, and fondling them in front of your boyfriend, husband or children.

It just baffles me that people can't figure out that there is nothing indecent about a mother feeding her baby just because she chooses to breastfeed in public. The child should not be made to starve just for people with tender sensibilities.

If someone doesn't want to see, then don't look. It's that simple. If you find it hard not to look, that is not the mother's fault and it is not the mother's problem. It is the person who can't keep their eyes to themselves.

She should not have to cater to the people who don't like it. Just as she is free to get up and leave, so is the person finding it just simply impossible not to look at.

And if you ask, "why should I have to leave just because she wants to feed her child in public??" well then why should SHE have to leave just because "you" don't like to watch? Avert your gaze. If it is too sexually erotic for you to handle, seeing a mother breastfeeding her child, then you have other issues that need addressing and they are not her problem or fault.

It isn't the same as exhibitionism, it isn't the same as smoking in public where the second-hand smoke is HARMFUL to people INHALING it.

A mother breastfeeding her baby harms no one and nothing. And if someone thinks it does...well, I think they have issues they need to address with a doctor.

If my opinion stated so bluntly is offensive to someone I apologize for that, but not for my opinions themselves.

I am glad that there are states making it harder for establishments to throw breastfeeding mothers out, or to ask them to leave or cover up. I am hoping that more states enact them. In fact, it would be nice if they would become federal laws. I am already thankful for the states that exempt breastfeeding mothers from public indecency laws.

Nosy busybodies should stay out of other people's business. But, since they apparently cannot, I think these laws all need to go federal. I don't know if they will or not, it's probably unlikely that they will. But, at the very least I think they SHOULD be federal.