Breast Feeding .. In Public??

@dazediva (166)
March 30, 2007 9:38am CST
OK .. so we all are aware that breast feeding is a very natural part of becoming a mother, and it's great that a mother chooses to breast feed her child. There are so many health benefits to it. I'm not a prude - but somehow I just don't like the idea of breast feeding in public places. I was at my local GP clinic, and noticed that there were 3 women, all with new born babies - and one by one - they started to undo their tops and just kind of pull their breast out and start feeding the babies! It's not like there were only women at the clinic - there were quite a few men present as well including a couple of much older, grandfatherly type figures who were not European or of 'Caucasian' background, who were definitely quite uncomfortable being in the presence of women who were breast feeding. The clinic has chairs lined up in a square, and I was sitting in a position where, no matter if I turned left, right or looked ahead of me, all I laid my eyes on were these women breast feeding. I can appreciate that it is a natural thing to do, but it did make me a bit uncomfortable. The last thing I want to do when I'm out in public is to see another womans' breasts or nipples staring me in the face. There was an area that was covered by a screen where these ladies could have gone behind but they chose not to. Again I appreciate that - however I feel that they should have taken into consideration their surroundings before choosing to breast feed. Now, I'm not a mother, nor have I ever had a baby - so I don't know what it feels like. However I would like to know your opinions. If you are a mom, would you breast feed in public? For others who are not parents, or even if you are a parent, what do you think about seeing someone breast feed in public? I think there is a place for everything - and I'm aware that one can just turn the other way and pretend that they didn't see that. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that I'm from an Indian background, where somethings like this are meant to be more private. I'm the last person to be prudish, but I just think that women shouldn't have to breastfeed in public, unless it is absolutely necessary.
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