Breastfeeding in public

You may have been too busy returning Christmas presents to notice, but on Dec. 28 hundreds of mothers gathered at 250 Target stores across the United States to stage a “nurse-in” by collectively breastfeeding their babies in public. Acting in response to an incident in Texas where a woman was asked by Target employees to use a fitting room to breastfeed her baby, the group hopes to change attitudes and even federal law by lobbying Congress to make public breastfeeding a right. Currently, 45 states protect a mother’s right to breastfeed in public — Texas being one of them — but clearly the Target employees didn’t know the state law or the company policy.

Having nursed all four of my own children more times in public than I can remember, I am all for public breastfeeding. You do what you have to do when a small baby gets hungry at church, the beach, Disneyland, or while shopping at Target. But in all my years of breastfeeding in public, I can’t remember anyone ever giving me a hard time or asking me to move to another location. (Though I have vague memories of a few dirty looks.) It makes me wonder about the details of the story. It makes me wonder if this breastfeeding mom was covered up.

Just a few weeks ago while standing in line to see Santa with my husband and two youngest daughters, I saw something that made my jaw drop. The woman standing in front of me was breastfeeding her baby without making any effort whatsoever to cover up. There, for all the world to see as she walked through the line, was this woman’s exposed stomach, her undergarments, and of course, the nursing baby. I was dumbfounded. Had she no sense of personal modesty? No concern for public decency? I understand she may be comfortable with herself, but does that mean the rest of us have to be comfortable with every last part of her too? All it takes is a light blanket (which she had in her stroller), or a quiet spot for a little privacy. Her husband was with her and could have easily stayed with their other children if she wanted to excuse herself for a few minutes.

Among the several news sources citing the Target story, I watched a video of some women participating in the “nurse-in” and one of them had this to say: “It’s normal. It’s nature. And if people have an issue with it they need to look into themselves because it’s their problem.” Again, I don’t know the specific details of the Target story, and I’m not certain of the intent of this particular woman’s comment, but after seeing what I saw while standing in line for Santa, I can’t help but wonder to what degree we should be sharing these natural occurrences with the general public.

Maybe it’s just me, but there are a lot of “natural” things we do as human beings every day that, while expected and accepted, are generally kept private. I’m pretty sure no one wants me to floss my teeth next to them during a movie or clip my toenails in the library. What can I say? I think breastfeeding a baby in public is something that should be done as discreetly as possible.

So what do you think? Even if we all agree that breast feeding in public should be legal, supported, and accepted as natural, should mothers still try to be discreet by covering up?

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