Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter Agreed. It was always my personal choice to cover up while nursing. Partially to avoid making others feel uncomfortable, and partially because I am not comfortable exposing personal body parts (shut up, all of you. I'm being serious here). ;-)
Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter 57 should have followed 54. Chica, the "family rooms" in malls do indeed have armchairs or couches for nursing. But many of them also have those seats right next to a diaper changing area, which can make it a very unpleasant place to sit for the twenty minutes or so it takes to feed your baby.
Originally Posted By Jafar30 Post 52, I'm not that shy. And I understand what she was trying to do. For the record she was pretty attractive probably 32 or 33 which a little bit older then me. And if it was just her I would have talked to her.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 <<<I also think its a very private bonding moment and should be treated as such. Not just something you do whenever.>>> See, I disagree with this statement. No disrespect but as Litter said - it's about eating. Yeah, it's special bonding, yada, yada, yada, but mainly it's all about getting the kid some food. I will compare it to anyone sitting across from me and eating with their mouth open. Yes, they have the right to do it, no I don't really want to see it. I'd prefer and think they should out of consideration for others close their mouth, but if they don't I have the choice to move somewhere else.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 BTW - this whole subject is making me flash to the movie Me,Myself & Irene with Jim Carrey. Just bad, bad, bad, bad!!!! ;>
Originally Posted By Kimrue I've actually been told by many that I'm THE MOST discreet breastfeeder they know. I'm not all for showing body parts or anything. I just question *exactly* what was being exposed. I personally have NEVER seen a breast exposed when someone was breastfeeding. I've also tried to cover up while nursing and my child would yank the blanket right of off their heads, as young as 6 months old! You try eating with a napkin OVER your head! LOL. The only thing that I could imagine being exposed was *maybe* an inch or two of the mom's tummy. Also nursing shirts are great! Why is this something to be done in private? When a baby is hungry, they can't wait. So many are agreeing that it's natural and beautiful but then are saying it should be done in private. I think the whole way we relate to breasts in our culture is still as sexual body parts and not as how they were intended, which is as a supply of foodsource for our young. If you are uncomfortable with it, that's fine..if someone lit up a cigarette next to me, I would be SO out of there...but to act as if this mother is some sort of heathen lacking any modesty is sort of extreem. Suggesting she should "go hide" somewhere (essentially) is offensive to other nursing mothers.
Originally Posted By Kimrue By the way Jafar, I'm sorry for saying you were shy... if that is in fact NOT the way you are. I do think it was the right thing for you to do to get up and leave.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I'm a 43 year old male. Given the same situation, I would have gotten up and left also.
Originally Posted By goodgirl Here's an experience I had weekend before last. I boarded my Southwest flight from Oakland to PDX. Got me a nice window seat toward the front. People boarded. Passed me by. Then I heard the crying baby. Yep. Mom sat next to me with dad on the aisle seat. The poor kid went into that horrible shrieking screaming sound. Not what I had planned on but what can you do. Some things are just out of your control. And the flight was booked solid so no one was going to be able to move. The baby did eventually quiet down. Midway in flight the mother pulled out a breast and started breastfeeding. She didn't even look at me. You know why? Because I don't believe they were American. The couple ignored me completely and when they did speak to each other it was in a foreign language that I could not pinpoint. So, sometimes it might be a cultural thing. And for what its worth...it wouldn't have mattered at all if they were American. As Lisa said...it's a matter of feeding the kid. If it was "me" I might have used a blanket or something. But it wasn't me. I simply turned my head to look out the window, envious that the kid got a meal on the flight and I didn't.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>I personally have NEVER seen a breast exposed when someone was breastfeeding. << I have. Of course, it was in Kenya and most of the women in the village were topless anyway.
Originally Posted By pennyring Breastfeeding always seems to be a real hot ticket on message boards where people disagree adamently. Personally, I HAVE seen breasts exposed while breastfeediing and always wonder why the standard changes because you have a baby. If you were w/out a child and whipped 'em out, don't you think everyone would stare? Honestly, there are places you can go to be discreet, even in a mall. (How about back to the car? A department store dressing room? An out of the way chair or bench?) There are ways. I know a kid has to eat, but I would at least find a discreet location to do it.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>but to act as if this mother is some sort of heathen lacking any modesty is sort of extreem<< Gee, no one has said anything even close to this in this thread.
Originally Posted By Ursula Why do I see a difference between a plane ride and the mall? Maybe because the plane has zero choices and it's in an intimate situation? I have no idea. The mother in the mall might use a tea-towel or a light blanket or something because who knows who would be looking? In today's society, I wouldn't give someone their kicks. Would the kid prefer privacy so as to not be disturbed? I don't think it's disgusting at all. I just wouldn't want to see it (it=a suckling child, not the boob itself) for many reasons. It's a private time for mother and child. The child is hungry; would I want someone watching me eat? No. Why would a mother want to show herself in front of strangers in a mall? Maybe it's different for me since I've never given birth?
Originally Posted By cstephens pennyring wrote: > Personally, I HAVE seen breasts exposed while breastfeediing and always wonder why the standard changes because you have a baby. If you were w/out a child and whipped 'em out, don't you think everyone would stare? Because it does change because you have a baby. If you don't have a baby, there's no reason to expose your breasts in public. If you do have a baby, there's a definite reason why you might have part of a breast exposed, and while I'd be on the side of having some kind of coverup, I don't see that it matters that much if they don't. Now, if the woman just pulled off her entire shirt, I could see that being objectionable. Sure, I've seen part of a breast while a woman was breastfeeding. But that was because I was looking at her. Unless they're flaunting it in your face, if you don't look, you won't see it. > Honestly, there are places you can go to be discreet, even in a mall. (How about back to the car? A department store dressing room? An out of the way chair or bench?) There are ways. I'm not a militant, but I can certainly see why some women could be upset at being told they have to "hide" if they want to feed their baby, as if it's something to be ashamed of. If it's the woman's choice, that's one thing, but I think it's another for her to be told that she can't be out in public. There are certainly ways to discreetly feed your baby in public. Some women can get their babies to latch on immediately, and maybe part of a breast is exposed for a second. Sure, you might get a glimpse - IF YOU WERE STARING INTENTLY AT THE WOMAN'S BREAST. Someone else brought up the point earlier, but it is interesting that many people have no problem with a woman having Grand Canyon cleavage so that you can see almost the entire top part of her breast, but if there's even a split second view of the bottom part of her breast, there's outrage. /cs
Originally Posted By pennyring >>Unless they're flaunting it in your face, if you don't look, you won't see it.<< Oh please. Like I'm looking for exposed boobs. If you're walking through the mall and some woman hikes her shirt up and takes out her boob, you're gonna notice.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I don't get it either. We have "mommies" walking around in DL with their breasts and butts buldging out of tops and shorts and this is OK but don't whip out a breast to feed a child? Something is wrong with this. Me, I don't want to see either. I'm not a prude, I'm not uptight. I am a bit modest. I just don't think it's necessary.
