You’d like to think that breast-feeding in public places could be governed by common sense rather than state law. But an anecdote in Thursday’s Eagle illustrated why a law is needed: A young mom said she was nursing her 4-week-old son in a restroom (ugh) at the Hutchinson Mall when a woman denounced her not only for being offensive but for breaking the law. The breast-feeding woman was no lawbreaker, but neither does current law protect her rights. Legislators should go on record as supporting a Kansas woman’s right to breast-feed “in any place she has the right to be,” in the words of the bill that would also rightly excuse nursing moms from jury duty. As for last year’s flap over the word “discreetly” –most women don’t have to be told, by statute or otherwise, that just as breast-feeding is best for their babies, discretion is best when it comes to breast-feeding in public.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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35 Comments
Once again there seems to be a need for the law to explain common sense.Yet common sense does seem to be in short supply these days in Kansas.
Breast feeding? In kansas? I thought the Kansas legislature outlawed breasts last year?
I think they just outlawed natural breasts. As long as they are silicon or saline double D’s, I think they are legal.
And I don’t see the problem with breast feeding in the ladies restroom. The baby’s gotta eat and you’ve gottta shop, right?
That’s why public restrooms are seperated by gender. Women should be able to change clothes, breast feed or change their tampons, etc in there without anyone going “ugh”…
It’s not like she was sitting out in the food court.
Well, I see a problem with breastfeeding in a public restroom. That’s no damn place to eat a meal, especially for a new model who’s uploading fresh data at a staggering rate (new babies learn fast).
That mother should be able to breastfeed her child anywhere humans gather to eat (restaurants, food court, etc.). That would seem to be logical.
Let the boob police go elsewhere if they’re offended. Most of them could probably do with an early push away from the table anyway.
A functioning breast and we Anglos act like it’s suitcase nuke, sheesh.
Cookie,You eat at the food court, why can’t your kid?
I agree, why should a baby have to eat his/her meal in the bathroom? Would you? The problem belongs to those who are offended, not the mom and her baby.I wonder what Phil Kline has to say about this issue? I hope we don’t give him any more ideas, or the “boob police” could become a reality!
I swear, there are people that wake up in the morning, determined to be offended by something that day.
Then, they find other like minded, easily offended people to support their ’cause’.
Breast feeding is the most healthy start possible for an infant. Anyone complaining about it needs to get a life.
Makes me wonder..has the self appointed, knower and guardian of all morals, the Fox/Wright stewardship commented on this?
A woman nursing her newborn is a natural thing and should nor be issue. Mixed race couples however are an abomination and a law needs to be passed to deal with them!
Viva La Raza Blanco!!!
Oh shut up, Ian!
Damoon,
It was a joke. Please, take a breath and unclench your cheeks.
Viva la raza Blanco!!
Mothers should be allowed to nurse their children wherever necessary. I simply cannot fathom the problem here; I agree 100% with damoon, flike and raptor above.
When I see a mother nurturing her baby I see a kind of serenity that is rare in this world. The image is of “Madonna and Child”; not today’s “Madonna”. Perhaps this could also be a bit of a lesson to all us men that the “equipment” serves a much higher purpose than just for us to ogle.
Most mothers carry receiving blankets so that they can be modest when they need to nurse a baby. Most of us who have nursed babies in public or at home, have done so without drawing attention to ourselves or our exposed breasts. We all know how to cover up.
So unless a woman is whipping out her breast and squirting milk all over people, why do they care? A baby needs to eat — and a mother who can manage to breastfeed, discreetly, shouldn’t be made out to be a criminal.
The woman in Hutchinson who had the problem with the nursing mother is probably childless and bitter. She really needs to get over it.
Gertie, I think you nailed it.That does tend to explain Kay O’Connor, doesn’t it?
I wonder what the problem behind this problem is. I personally believe strongly in breastfeeding to 6-8 months. I do wonder though if part of the problem is people taking their infants out as much as they do. A four week old doesn’t really need to be at the mall to begin with. The infant clothes (and probably the maternity ones, too) still fit. Send the sig. other/friend out for something you really need. Trips to the grocery store can be worked around feedings. Maternity leave is not so you can have a couple weeks of fun with the new kid. I don’t mind seeing a baby being breastfed nearly as much as I mind seeing a tiny baby out at 10 p.m. or at the movies. And, if I am at a fine restaurant, I don’t really need to see someone breastfeed (and I would prefer they not bring unruly children either). It is a trade off – I respect a woman’s need to breastfeed discretely, if she respects the fact that there are times and places babies don’t need to be. Laws about it are immaterial. The answer to being respectful to each other is not more laws.
This is the hugest non-issue there is.
It was one reason why I had to cancel my subscription to The Eagle.
For awhile there, every letter was on nursing mothers and evolution in the schools.
We have real problems in this country–numero uno is the idiot in the Oval Office.
This doesn’t even rise to a “concern.”
PL- No, I think it is indicative of the problems. We all know there are major, major problems in this country; bigger than we seem to be able to solve. We can’t solve the deficit, global warming, international relations. So, we fixate on the small stuff that seems easily solvable with a simple law or change -abortion, breastfeeding, gay marriage, porn, evolution, whatever. Deck chairs on the Titanic, sure; but we can’t move iceburgs and it distracts us from noticing the water creeping up.
Remember what Hitler did in Germany before WWII. The Nazis had the German citizens fixated on the purity and superiority of the arian(?sp)race and the need to exterminate the Jews. This smoke and mirror show gave them the ability to control the majority of the population. The ignorance, arrogance, and willingness to believe they were better than not only the Jews but the rest fo the world made them very easy to control. Just like how the christian conservatives are being controled today.
Lib..
Just because something doesn’t affect you doesn’t mean it is not an issue, concern, or something of importance to millions of people.
I know this will come as a shock to you, but it is NOT all about you.
Breast feeding is not an issue to “millions of people.” It is an issue to the same people who were shocked, SHOCKED by Janet Jackson’s almost naked breast in the Superbowl.
Meaning Ray Williams and the puritan police . . .
I see then.
So laws are passed only if they effect enough people?
Not that I agree with this being a law, but it is your logic that gets me.
I suppose that since only a few people are effected by Phelps there is no need for a law against his protesting at funerals?
Public airwaves broadcasting to hundreds of millions of people is not the forum for gratuitous nudity. That is a far cry from a new mother nursing a child. Not even close.
So, does it come as a shock to learn that it is NOT all about you?
k,
There was no holocaust so stop with your slander!
V.L.R.B!!
I’ll agree to and defend nursing in every area of public….discreetly….for infants up to 6 months in age.
“Discretion”. As if nursing mothers have secret, unfilled fantasies of flashing their bodies for other people’s enjoyment. By nursing in public, they live out their repressed stripper fantasy.
Uh, no. I think when most mothers are nursing, they’re aware that their dear child doesn’t like to be stuffed underneath a T-shirt for the comfort of other patrons. Patrons who are convinced that breasts were created for the sole purpose of providing entertainment to men during sex.
Here’s an idea: get over your hangups, or stop gaping at the woman feeding her kid.
I think by insisting on “discretion”, you’re furthering the idea that breasts are purely sexual, and therefore breastfeeding is dirty and should be a secret. Could this attitude be the reason a mere 36% of mothers breastfeed after six months, when it is obviously the best choice for the child? Some mothers have this idea that bfing after the child can eat solids is unecessary, and therefore creepy and wrong (although many would love to continue to two years or more).
JR, “up to 6 months”? My grandson nursed until he was almost 3! My daughter decided it was time to wean him when he started undoing her buttons because he wanted a snack!!The ideal is to nurse a baby for at least the first year. Those who don’t like that idea just need to get over it. It’s a woman’s right to use her boobs however and whenever she pleases.
I was highly amused by all the people who were shocked when a breast was shown where children might be exposed to it. In order to fulfill it’s primary purpose, it has to be exposed to children; it’s the adults who go crazy when they see one!
Well said, Allie and Tara.
It’s the age old battle between those who see the human body as normal and natural and those who see it as shameful and disgusting.
That we are even having this discussion shows how repressed we are.
this is a non issue if both sides can show some respect. Mothers need to nurse and babies need to eat and it is a natural thing. What going out the window is respectfullness, poiteness, and discreetness. My rights trump everything and i don’t need to respect anyone elses feelings.
Nurse with a receiving blanket, acknowledge that mothers will have to nurse in public and respect eachothers space and situations.
I know it seesm old fashioned but resepct and politeness go a long way toward solving most issues.
What a gigantic waste of time
Me repressed? Ummm I think everyone knows I’m pretty liberal here.
I cite your own story Damoon and a personal experience of my own.
I was at a mall recently. A young mother with 3 kids was nursing an infant in the corridor leading to the restrooms. At first I was bothered that she had to go there to do that. But then her other two kids aged I think maybe 2 and 4 were tugging at their moms shirt. The littler boy was shouting “Myturn myturn” and the older girl was saying “I’m hungry too Mommy!”
Now I know that we as a society have taken a conservative “breasts are naughty” attitude by and large. And that is wrong. But clearly some women get some sort of weird thrill out of breast feeding long past the point of necessity. It is just that sort of “in your face I’m gonna do this!” attitude that continues to marginalize the very healthy act of breast feeding.
There isn’t some magical point where moms go from nursing “innocently” to getting some “wierd thrill” out of it.It’s called extended breast feeding, and quite common outside of the U.S.Here’s a very good link to learn more about the benefits of EB:http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
Extended breastfeeding is a very important practice in developing countries, where clean water and adequate nutrition are harder to come by. The WHO guidelines, among others, are geared at the vast majority of nursing women who live in these situations. The immunological advantage is complete by 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding. In America, the Am. Assoc. of Pediatrics revised their suggestion from 6 months to 12 months of breastfeeding not becuase new information was presented that suggested it was better for the child. Rather, the idea is by telling them to go to 12, hopefully more will go to 6 months. A reasonable suggestion is exclusive breast to 6 months, weening between 7-9 months. At this age, the child becomes interested in holding their bottles and other activities. Nursing late, particularly beyond a year, turns the mother into the child’s pacifier. It stops being neutral; the child uses it to comfort. A friend of mine is having a terrible time weening her 15 month old. She simply will not go to sleep without nursing and wakes her up at night as well. It is a nightmare.
I agree, my daughter waited too long to wean her son and it became a more a source of comfort for him than food. I think extended breast feeding is important in countries where good water and food aren’t plentiful, but in our country it just creates dependancy. She had a heck of a time weaning him, and he was old enough to throw a tantrum (especially when he was tired) when he was told “no”. In my opinion, it did him more harm than good to breastfeed him that long. He’s finally recovered from his addiction and is doing fine.
I wonder why people think it is wrong for infants to form a strong attachment or bond “dependancy” or to comfort their child with breastfeeding, how many hundreds and thousands of years have mothers been doing it? It is sad to see how we make mother’s feel bad for doing the natural way of feeding their child. If we were not meant to then why are we equipped to do so? In other countries I have traveled to I saw no overly dependant unhappy children or miserable situations, in fact I never saw a single bottle fed infant and most were living in poorer conditions than that of the US. They weren’t screaming or causing embarrassment for their parents as this was the “norm” for them. All accepted it and encouraged it and no one was made to feel bad about breastfeeding all the way up to preschool age. In fact I imagine if you bottlefeed your infant in their country then you would experience what most mothers go through here in the U.S.A. I feel that because there is no money to be made in promoting breastfeeding then the press, ads, or companies and our capitalistic society will never “promote” this idea. I like the idea that all infants feel secure and comforted by their own mother’s means for the first few years of their life at least until they are no longer considered infants or toddlers.
ITA, Yaz. If the child grows up knowing that his mother is there for all of his needs the first 2-3 years of life, he’ll feel much more secure. I’ve read that this leads to greater independence. Why are we in such a hurry for our kids to grow up? The idea of letting babies cry a little before going to them so they get used to comforting themselves is new, and is just an example of our impatience to get these tots to adulthood. Babies/toddlers are supposed to be dependent on their mothers for everything, including comfort!Interesting about our capatalistic society and breastfeeding, I never thought of that. It profits no one to promote breastfeeding…why bother? All about the $$$!!!I actually don’t HAVE kids, but I love reading about the latest parenting trends, go figure. At this rate, I’ll be an expert by the time I get around to it.
Tara-That or you will find out that all the idealism that you thought was going to make your child a perfect little angel was wrong.I think there are certain things that children should not remember about their early life – breastfeeding and diapers top the list.We live in a different culture than in Africa. There a child may be breastfed for approx. 2 years, but that is about when the next one will come along. The child quickly gets displaced, and by 6 is doing a lot more independent chores than any of us would imagine from our children. Mommy dependence doesn’t last too long. I remember seeing a lot of 7-8 year old with major childcaring duties for their toddler siblings in Africa. Here, with fewer children, that sort of responsiblity and mommy independence doesn’t happen. Unfortunately, in Africa, women with HIV should be bottlefeeding if sterilization is available, or ending breastfeeding as early as possible to reduce transmission. Stigma prevents them from doing so.We can sit around an play the psychology game all day. Does it make him more independent or more dependent on the mother? Trust me I have dated a guy I think would be happy to still be breastfeeding.