Breastfeeding Should Be Allowed In Public

The audience intended for this paper are mothers that have a desire to breastfeed, employers, clinicians, breastfeeding advocacy groups and federal and state legislators involved in policy change.

As I indicated earlier, women have been victimized for breastfeeding in public places. They have, therefore, been forced to resort to an alternative way of feeding their infants because the public would not have it. It has become harder for women to breastfeed although history has shown it that is something that has been practiced for a long time. On one hand, women want to be allowed to breastfeed whenever the child is hungry no matter the place; whereas, the public is not very accepting of this public display of care and affection between mother and infant. The medical community has indicated that it is important to breastfeed while the public wants the women not to do it where they can see it. They argue that exposing of the breasts is

One of the things fueling the force against breastfeeding in public is that not a lot of people know how beneficial breastfeeding over formula feeding is for the child. According to The Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding: A Review and Analysis Written by Jon p. Weimer, the majority of the American infants were breastfed up until around 1950. In the last 50 years alone, breastfeeding has changed significantly with the creation of synthetic formula, causing the number of infants being breastfed to dwindle off. Between 1946 and 1956, the number of infants being breastfed fell by half, and by 1967 only 25% of America’s infant population was being breastfed at the time of hospital discharge. The numbers proceeded to increase and decrease in the

A lot of mothers are not being told how wonderful breastfeeding is for their health. Whether out of inexperience or due to the impact of the artificial baby milk industry, many health care providers fail to let mothers know of the facts. As other new mothers find out about these facts, more mothers will not merely choose to breastfeed for a short period of time to provide early disease control for their baby, but will continue to breastfeed, providing the best results both for their child and for

Breast-feeding was introduced in the 1800s as an alternative to avoid deadly illnesses that were travelling from Spain, Middle East and Asia. In the 1860s scientists began supplementing animals’ milk as formula; especially for mothers who were not able to breast-feed. By the twentieth century, the United States “experienced a sharp decline in breast-feeding rates for infants and toddlers” (Lerner, 2006, p. 362). The reason for decreasing rates in breast-feeding were due to breast-feeding was seen as public indecency, mothers were headed back to work, and mothers were not encourage to breast-feed their child because some people saw it embarrassing. Due to not enforcing laws that were established for breastfeeding mothers; mothers are not comfortable to breast-feed in public from indecency exposure law, allowed flexibility to feed infant during work hours and also protecting a mother’s well-being to breast-feeding in public without embarrassment.

Mother’s breastfeeding in public should be universally accepted because it would allow mothers to feed their infants without fear, allow mothers to provide the most complete form of nutrition to their babies, and desexualize the act of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding has numerous benefits for both mother and child. Children who are breastfed are more resistant to health issues like juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and infections. Breast milk provides a unique source of nutrition that helps fight these issues and cannot be replaced with other food, including formula. Mothers who are breastfeeding are less likely to develop osteoporosis, lower risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer. Despite these benefits to both mother and child there has been much stigma on the topic of breastfeeding in public areas.

Breastfeeding is a healthy, natural ability of every woman, and should therefore be socially acceptable and supported by everyone. For some reason this is not the case in our society, in fact breastfeeding continues to be a controversial issue that must be addressed by women’s rights activist groups. Breastfeeding is a feminist issue because the natural act has been medicalized and devalued by major companies because of their interests in profits in bottle feeding. According to Penny Van Esterik a coordinator in the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), women should never have to choose between their duties as a mother and their duties as a responsible, hard working employee. Our society pressures, exploits and oppresses women

Breast feeding in public is a very controversial subject. Many people feel very strongly about their opinion. This is one of those recurring social debates and issues that seems to pop up quite frequently in one form or another. Is it acceptable to breastfeed in public? There are no laws against it in most states, but is it acceptable or seem presentable to do that in front of one who doesn’t want to see? It is hard to say who is right and who is wrong, when each person has a different view on life, religion and morals.

Imagine sitting on a bench at the park enjoying some ice cream. Then out of nowhere, the high pitched wail of a baby is heard. It could be the baby’s diaper or the fact that he is hungry, but since breastfeeding is not permitted, the baby will not stop crying until he is fed. The mother is frantically trying to calm her baby down by rocking him, but he keeps crying. At this point, not even an artificial formula works; he wants his mom’s milk but the mother does not know what to do since she cannot breastfeed and her baby will not be satisfied now. If breastfeeding was allowed in public, this problem would not be so common. Breastfeeding should be allowed in public because it is something normal and human. Nobody should have a problem with this since there would definitely be less disruption and frustration of mothers in public places if they were able to feed their babies.

In America, it is common to see the breasts being placed in a sexual light almost everyday, from magazine covers to the large boobs we see on the beach that have undergone surgery to become “perfect” in the eyes of men. So, now when a women is seen breastfeeding their child, it is more difficult to put away those sexual beliefs that boobs are for pleasure and to see them for the nutrition of children. By making breasts sexual and inappropriate in certain circumstances, we are not allowing for a culture that promotes breastfeeding and the healthy development of our children. I can say for myself personally, although I would like to have the healthiest child possible, I would not feel comfortable breastfeeding in public because I know that men would be looking at me with sexual thoughts and others might be judging me based of the idea of it being inappropriate public exposure, and I am sure many other women feel this exact same way when it comes down to breastfeeding in the United States regardless of the new education we are getting on the

Breastfeeding has sometimes been viewed as a disturbing public exposure by a lot of people. Most of them chose to ignore the benefits of breastfeeding your child. The article of Lisa Flam is an example of what people think about breastfeeding. It discusses a picture of a young African woman nurturing her child in front of everyone during a graduation ceremony. Despite the fact that people think is wrong to breastfeed your child in public, it is legal in 49 states in the United States. Another perspective of looking at this article is the empowerment of encouraging African women to breastfeed their children because they are the groups that breastfeed their children the least in the United States.

Breastfeeding in public is natural, however, others think it is inappropriate. A survey has found that 6 out of 10 women who have breastfeed take steps to hide it in public and a 3rd of these women feel embarrassed or incomfortable nursing outside of their home. The poll also showed that 1 in 5 believed people did not want the mothers to breastfeed in public and 1 in 10 who chose not to nurse their baby were influenced by the worry of doing so outside the home. The poll was carried out by Public Health England's parenting advice service. It is illegal to ask a breastfeeding woman to leave a public place but there have been high-profile cases of women being told to cover up.

What could possibly be wrong about a mother nourishing her child? Absolutely nothing. Many people view a woman's breasts as sexual items. The main purpose of breasts Is to breastfeed a child after birth. I came across The Milk Truck while back. The Milk Truck is there “to create a mobile breastfeeding unit that allows mothers to feed their babies in places where they have been discouraged - restaurants, shopping malls, public spaces, etc. Babies should be able to eat anywhere, and everywhere". I am absolutely for breastfeeding in public.

Breastfeeding in public is one of the most controversial issues in society today. Breastfeeding has been around since before the 15th century. It is a bond shared between a mother and a child. Research shows that breastfeeding is the best choice over formula because breastfeeding provides the infant with essential nutrients, helps with recovery from childbirth, and protects the infant against a number of chronic conditions. Breastfeeding is abnormal, healthy, natural and need not be disguised, explained, or apologized. You should be able to breastfeed your baby wherever or whenever your child is hungry. Breastfeeding is not a choice it’s a responsibility. It may not be the right choice for some parents, but it’s the best choice for every baby.