Breastfeeding in Public; to cover up or not?

Do you breastfeed in public? Do you cover up whilst breastfeeding in public? What does it say about our society that women feel the need to cover up when breastfeeding? It’s National Breastfeeding Week and two of the aims of the awareness week are to

“increase social acceptance of breastfeeding and promote support for breastfeeding”.

Firstly we want to make it clear that at Mama Tea we support all new mums and the choices they make whether they breastfeed or not, and if a woman wants to cover up to feel comfortable breastfeeding her baby in public then she should be supported in her choice, but what we are questioning here is what it says about the social acceptance of breastfeeding in our society when women feel the need to cover up.

Breastfeeding is a natural act of feeding your baby so why should the sight of them feeding be a source of shame or discomfort for a woman. The rise in the number of breastfeeding cover ups available (some of them vast tent/cape like things) on the face of it encourages public breastfeeding but is it really helping social acceptance if we’re hiding it away as if we’re ashamed to be doing it.

Secondly babies are human beings and need eye contact, why hide your baby away just because it is feeding. As adults we observe social norms when eating in public but one of those norms is not completely hiding ourselves away from public view, why should this be a social norm for your baby whilst feeding.

Finally we all learn by example, if women never see other women breastfeeding then we never get the chance to learn, for example seeing an alternative breastfeeding position to the one you use.

There is nothing shameful about breastfeeding so please don’t let society make you think you should cover up and hide away, the more breastfeeding we see in public the more accepting society will become.

Time Magazine and Breastfeeding

This cover on the recent US edition of Time magazine has ignited the breastfeeding discussion once again. The child in the picture is apparently nearly 4 years old with his mother Jamie Lynne Grumet.

Would this picture generate such a reaction in India where on average children are breastfed until 2-3 years old? Is the reaction experienced in the media a cultural one? Is much of the reaction directed towards the image of a woman breastfeeding? There have been many publicised incidents, in recent times, of women being asked to cover up or stop breastfeeding in public to indicate that there are plenty people uncomfortable with sight of a breastfeeding woman.

The article the picture relates to is on attachment parenting, a form of parenting that encourages the parents to be creative in responding to their child’s needs. Time magazine have undoubtedly chosen this image to provoke reaction and debate, it is one aspect to one woman’s method of parenting. Why should we judge the choices she makes for her and her son? Our concern should be that each and every family be given the information to make the decisions that are right for them and we should not be judging them for the decisions they make, just like we should not be judging Jamie Lynne Grumet for breastfeeding her son beyond the age western society expects.

The Camden County Courthouse Nurse-In – What Happened?

Last month we highlighted the case of Nirvana Jenette who was asked to stop breastfeeding in her church. On Monday of this week nurse-ins occurred in Evans, Atlanta and Savannah to protest at the treatment of Nirvana Jenette and bring the issue to the attention of the wider public. Here’s a link to a news report of the nurse-in at Evans; News 12 Video.

Nurse-In at Savannah City Hall on 5th March 2012

It is legal to breastfeed in public but the mums say they fear they could be arrested for indecent exposure under Georgia’s current laws, so they’re fighting for stricter laws to protect their rights. The nurse-ins were reported across three news channels in the state and have succeeded in drawing attention to their situation.

These nurse-ins are part of a growing movement of mums that are no longer prepared to be made to feel uncomfortable feeding their baby in public.

Social Breastfeeding – Reason No.2

Imagine the scenario: you’re out shopping, you feel hungry, it will take you at least an hour to get home, what do you do? Most people will seek out a suitable place and have something to eat, so why should it be any different for a new mum and her baby?

Reason number two is because my baby is hungry. New mums are encouraged to get out but need to be allowed to feed their baby comfortably in public when their baby is hungry. Society has to realise that a mum is simply satisfying her baby’s need for food when she breastfeeds and nothing more. If she is unable to do this when out and about there are real dangers that new mums become almost housebound, without entering into a debate on post-natal depression, this is not a healthy situation for anyone especially someone who is dealing with major changes to her life. We are encouraging new mums to get out with their babies, we now have to ensure they are comfortable feeding their babies, when they are hungry, when they are out and in public.

Social Breastfeeding – Two More Incidents!

Not a week goes by and we don’t hear of another woman coming up against the social unacceptance of breastfeeding whilst trying to feed a hungry child. This week two reported incidents have come to our attention, the first in Ontario, Canada and the second in Nottingham, UK.

Initially reported in the Toronto Star on Friday 10th February, Dionne Williams was asked to stop breastfeeding or leave whilst out shopping at Urban Planet at the Dixie Outlet Mall and when she protested security was called. Mall security staff informed the store staff that they could not stop a mother breastfeeding in public. Since the incident Dionne Williams has received an apology from the parent company of Urban Planet.

Meanwhile in Nottingham a mother was asked to move to a private room whilst breastfeeding her baby. Charlotte Murray was at the Angel Row Library in Nottingham when a security guard asked her to move. The Nottingham Post reported on Tuesday 14th February other mothers gathering at the library to protest at the actions of the security guard. The city council, that runs the library, has said it is investigating and supports breastfeeding.

In the past new mothers may have discretely accepted this treatment and moved on but there are a growing number of mothers that are no longer prepared to be treated this way and are questioning our society’s acceptance of breastfeeding.

Social Breastfeeding – Camden County Courthouse Nurse-In

Monday 5th March at 10am, Woodbine Courthouse, East 4th Street, Camden County, Georgia is the time and place for the nurse-in triggered by a church’s reaction to Nirvana Jenette’s social breastfeeding.

Nirvana Jenette with Olivia

Nirvana Jenette was breastfeeding Olivia in her church when church leaders asked her to breastfeed in her car. She felt they implied it was lewd behaviour to breastfeed in public and got the impression the church “was comparing her to a stripper” (see  News4Georgia and ActionNewsJax).

Horrified by the reaction, to a natural act for a new mum, she has decided to organise a nurse-in at the Camden County Courthouse on 5th March. The courthouse has been chosen for the nurse-in because, despite the law allowing breastfeeding in public, the law becomes ridiculous if a breastfeeding mother could be charged for public indecency.

For breastfeeding mothers the thought that feeding their babies could be related to sexual ideas is baffling and horrifying as they are carrying out a completely natural act that they believe to be the best for their baby. Social breastfeeders want to feed their babies in public and not be made to feel uncomfortable because someone deems it indecent exposure as opposed to understanding it for what it is, i.e. feeding a hungry child.

Nirvana Jenette is leading the nurse-in at Camden County courthouse for this reason. There are also plans for nurse-ins at other courthouses in Georgia on this date, there is a Facebook  page for the event with more information and where you can show your support. New mothers need our support and social breastfeeding needs to be accepted and not misunderstood.

Social Breastfeeding: Reason Number 1

There have been a number of nurse-ins and protests by breastfeeding mothers in recent months all calling for greater social acceptance of breastfeeding. This is the first in a series of articles about why a change of attitude is needed by the general public.

Social Breastfeeding - Reason No. 1

This sign succinctly sums up the first reason; the law may be on the side of the nursing mother but very often business owners think it is reasonable to expect breastfeeding to take place in the toilet! Put simply no one would eat their lunch in the toilet so why expect a baby to? Mothers should not be made to feel uncomfortable feeding their baby, by breast or bottle, in environments that any member of the general public would expect to eat comfortably.

Social Breastfeeding takes on Facebook – the latest!

Social breastfeeding went worldwide as the nurse-ins at the Facebook offices took place yesterday and earlier today. Here is a round up of pictures and the news generated by the event. Follow the links on each city to see the local news reports.

Reports indicated over forty protesting at the offices in Dublin, hardy groups of protestors braved the cold in London and Amsterdam, and in Paris the protestors got into the Facebook office!

Dublin

London

Breastfeeding mums and their supporters, in the US, turned out too, protests occurred in New York, Texas (Dallas and Austin), Seattle, Detroit and Menlo Park, Facebook HQ.

Austin, Texas

Menlo Park, Facebook HQ

Seattle

Toronto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canada joined in too with the mothers of Toronto out showing their support for the campaign, this morning in Sydney over 60 protested and in Singapore the worldwide nurse-in concluded.

Sydney

Singapore

There are lots more photos on the Facebook page for the event. This nurse-in is an example of women around the world uniting to try to change public perceptions about breastfeeding. Social breastfeeding in action!

(More news reports for Dublin and Menlo Park.)

Social Breastfeeding takes on Facebook

On Monday 6th February 2012 at 10.00am Facebook offices worldwide will be the focus of  breastfeeding women and their supporters. Earlier this month Facebook removed photos of Vancover mum Emma Kwasnica breastfeeding her children classing the photos as “sexually explicit”. Not surprisingly this has angered mums worldwide and again questioned the public perception of breastfeeding and especially social breastfeeding.

Emma Kwasnica is not the first mother to have had breastfeeding photos removed from Facebook, according to the website Terca.ca, 391 people are recorded as having had breastfeeding photos removed by Facebook.

The International Facebook Nurse-In is one of a growing number of protests that have been occurring in recent months as new mums ask not to be harassed and disapproved of as they feed their children. The most high profile recent event was the nurse-in that occurred in Target stores across America after a mum was asked to move whilst feeding her baby and there is the Great Nurse-In planned for August this year in Washington.

The International Facebook Nurse-In is planned for all Facebook offices from 10am to 1pm on 6th February, there is also a Virtual Facebook Nurse-In page where people that cannot attend one of the nurse-ins are posting photos of themselves breastfeeding

Social Breastfeeding in Action – Meet the Milk Truck!

Jill Miller, an artist from Pittsburgh, has combined an art project, activism and humour and come up with The Milk Truck. The first thing you see is a giant boob on the roof of the truck but once you delve a bit deeper into the reasoning behind it you realize the giant boob is just the start of it.

The basic principal is that babies should be able to feed any place that anyone else can and this should be done without harassment or discouragement from business owners or other members of the public. The Milk Truck provides women with a clean, supportive environment in which to feed their babies after they have been made to feel uncomfortable and as Jill says; “if you thought a nursing mother creates a spectacle, meet The Milk Truck!” The objective is to make business owners and the wider public consider the sense in making a woman feel uncomfortable for feeding her baby.

The Milk Truck is making an impression on Pittsburgh and is a great example of the growing campaign for the social acceptance of breastfeeding and indeed of new mothers feeding their babies in public either by breast or bottle. More information on the Milk Truck can be found here. Support our new mothers!