My state (or maybe city?) recently cemented the right of mothers to breastfeed in public. Oh, goodie. So now I can be assured of my right to do what I've been doing for nine years.
I bet that most people, over the last nine years, didn't even notice or realize that I was nursing. Why? I kept myself covered and didn't shout it out across the rooftops. My baby needs to eat, so I feed it. Why is there even controversy?
If it is a question of modesty, I still do not understand why. Every woman on this planet has breasts. Most even have two! Can you believe that!? What is the innate purpose of breasts? Breastfeeding. Why does it offend someone to have a mother breastfeed her child? Every woman sitting everywhere has breasts which are covered up by her bra and her shirt. So a woman decides to push aside the shirt, open the bra, and feed her child and suddenly it's indecent? I guarantee that the baby's head covers up so much more than the bra and shirt did. Most nursing moms even use a cover. So now a nursing mom has a baby's head and a cover between her breast and the general public. Threat eliminated.
So again I ask, Why is the controversy?
I bet that most people, over the last nine years, didn't even notice or realize that I was nursing. Why? I kept myself covered and didn't shout it out across the rooftops. My baby needs to eat, so I feed it. Why is there even controversy?
If it is a question of modesty, I still do not understand why. Every woman on this planet has breasts. Most even have two! Can you believe that!? What is the innate purpose of breasts? Breastfeeding. Why does it offend someone to have a mother breastfeed her child? Every woman sitting everywhere has breasts which are covered up by her bra and her shirt. So a woman decides to push aside the shirt, open the bra, and feed her child and suddenly it's indecent? I guarantee that the baby's head covers up so much more than the bra and shirt did. Most nursing moms even use a cover. So now a nursing mom has a baby's head and a cover between her breast and the general public. Threat eliminated.
So again I ask, Why is the controversy?
5 comments:
You feed that baby anywhere you want. Stupid laws...why don't they focus there time on more important things than telling moms it's ok to feed their hungry child in the mall. Geesh!
I have seen a few women not-so-modestly nurse their babies, and it even made me blush. But like you said, most of the time you don't even notice a nursing mom.
Depending on size, the baby's head might not give adequate coverage... I'm thinking that wouldn't work for me. But I agree with everything else you're saying :).
So I'm not sure where JR's comment went, but he made a good joke and I think I'll summarize and remake it into my own words.
I saw more immodesty (so to speak) at the last Dave Matthews Band concert--on the part of concertgoers--than I did at the last La Leche League meeting I attended. Hmph.
I agree that it should be a no-brainer that nursing mothers feed their babies wherever they need to. But, I do have a problem with the militant moms who don't think they need to remain modest while doing so. It is true that God gave us breasts for the pupose of nourishing our babies, but , there's no getting around the fact that they have se*ual connotations as well -- Always have; always will, whether we like it or not. And there are perverts out there. But, aside from that -- I would not like my teenage boys to be confronted with one of those militant bare-breastfeeding moms. We should all be embarassed by them.
Thankfully, though, those moms are the aberration -- Most of us wouldn't think of exposing ourselves while nursing. The blankie over Mom's shoulder, draped over the baby makes a good "blind" and everyone is (or certainly should be!) happy. Especially baby.
I never felt comfortable nursing in front of others. But, I totally support other mothers who want to.
And stop flashing the band:D
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