Nursing in public is often compared to having sex in public, urinating or defecating in public, smoking cigarettes in public, or walking around in a trench coat flashing people.
These are bad paralells. Invalid. Nonsense.
Smoking in public means that everyone around you has to breathe in your smoke. Smoke that causes asthma attacks, aggravation of allergies, cancer. Smoke that lingers in your clothes and your hair, altering the smell of you until you take a shower or drop your jacket off to be dry cleaned. Smoking in public is invasive. Smoking in public is a vice, a bad habit, a drug addiction. I don’t mind it when smokers are considerate. The smoker that looks around before lighting up, moves when he notices that someone seems irritated by the smoke, and disposes of their butts in a safe and environmentally responsible way rather than tossing them wiley-nily over their shoulders into a passing baby carriage.
Breastfeeding does not involve breastmilk catching the currents of the wind and jumping 15 feet away to another table at the sidewalk cafe, and forcing its way into the noses and throats of the men, women and children sitting there. Breastmilk does not cause cancer or aggravate allergies and asthma. Breastmilk is not a vice, a bad habit or an addiction. It is healthy. It is the natural state of things. Breastfeeding is the antithesis of smoking in public. Children that are breastfed are less likely to come down with asthma, allergies, or childhood cancers. Besides, to avoid inhaling someone else’s smoke you must cover your mouth and nose, or abandon whatever it is that you’re doing and move away. If you’re able to. To avoid seeing a flash of breast while mom is breastfeeding, you simply move your eyes a fraction of a centimeter in any direction, and the problem is solved. Breastfeeding is non-invasive. Unless mom has deposited herself on your lap and is thrusting her breast in your face, you can avert your eyes. And if mom HAS done that, have you considered that you might have accidentally wandered into a topless bar? Because I’ve never once seen a breastfeeding mom give someone a lapdance.
Having sex in public.. One of the issues that we have today is that our children are exposed to too much sexuality. To little self control. Too much focus on our genitals and instant pleasure. We are not a culture of waiting, of being patient. We’re the culture of a quickie. Having sex freely in public sends a message to children that would not be healthy. That would increase the number of unintended pregnancies, that would lower the average age at which children have sex.
Breastfeeding in public, on the other hand, exposes children to a different message. One of prioritizing the needs of infants. One of tenderness, nourishment, nutrition. One that says “This body part is not simply a silicone-enhanced bouncy toy for boys, it is for babies. It is comfort. It is nutrition. It is a safe place for the youngest and most vulnerable infants. Breastfeeding in public says that our bodies are for wholesome things. For supporting the life of our children. Breastfeeding in public is the antithesis of having sex in public. It is the antithesis of the selfishness, the sexualization of our bodies, the “me” culture. It is about nourishing. It reminds us what our bodies are here for.
Urinating and defecating in public? Oh good grief. Are these people serious? First off, feces carry illness, disease and parasites. They attract flies and maggots. Feces and urine smell, stain, and generally deface the environment and are hard to clean up. Have you ever been in a subway station or back alley of New York City? Have you ever been in the bathroom of a gas station or your local Starbucks? That ever-pleasant stench of portapotty is what would linger everywhere were people to urinate and defecate in public. It would stick to your clothes, burn your eyes and throat, and stick to your shoes. Not to mention that it is a public health menace.
Breastfeeding has no odor. Breastfeeding leaves no bodily fluids behind. Breastfeeding is healthy, sanitary. Breastfeeding helps PREVENT the spread of disease by ensuring that infants have antibodies in their systems.
As for exhibitionists, it comes down to intent. A breastfeeding mother that accidentally flashes a nipple when the baby pops off is not intending to get off sexually by exposing herself. She’s feeding her infant. Even IF mom “could be more discrete” or is intentionally being less discrete or simply doesn’t care about being discrete, her PRIMARY intention is to feed her child.
If you’re going to draw parallels between breastfeeding and other things that we do or do not do in public, at least make sure that they’re accurate. If you hear someone say “It’s like…” and you don’t actually examine in your head WHY that thing is so damned offensive. If you do that, you’ll very quickly realize that the same reason does NOT apply to breastfeeding.
Because breastfeeding is a wholesome, natural, healthy, non-invasive thing that we do for our children.
Jaw-Droppingly Talented Boy Has More Than 'Moves Like Jagger' (VIDEO)
EXCELLENT post. Voted popular!
- KnoxvilleDoula
Message Friend Invite