WE Blog

It’s interesting how a column can sometimes take on a second life. Such is the case with “If men could breast-feed,” a column I did a few months back defending breast-feeding in public (somebody had to do it). It apparently was posted on LACTNET, an online breast-feeding support network, and in the past two weeks I’ve been inundated by e-mails from moms around the country who are sick of being hassled in public.
Here are a few excerpts:
“I wanted to thank you for your blunt humor and openness to the struggles that many of us face. It is a rough road to nurse my own very demanding 6-month-old in public, and find myself also being stared at and looked down on.”
Another reader: “As a nursing mother, I have struggled with nursing discreetly in public, without drawing unwanted attention from critics. It is so refreshing to see this important matter addressed in print, and in a manner that might actually change some attitudes about breast-feeding.”
Said another: “My favorite was being asked to nurse my son in a washroom. When the manager refused to join us by bringing his lunch into the bathroom as well, I politely declined. Here’s a new slogan: Breasts: not just for selling cars anymore!”
Based on the responses, it seems “lactivists” are starting to get organized in support of right-to-breast-feed legislation. They’re not going to take it anymore. Good for them.
Posted by Randy Scholfield