Breast feeding in public Buildings

[Gromit]

Some councils ban breast feeding in public buildings such as reception areas and libraries.

Do you agree with banning or is it natural?

[boxtops]

He's never tried to express milk into a bottle either - not the most fun pastime.

[sherrardk]

I was always very discrete about breast feeding in public, not to spare the blushes of others but my own. However, I never fed the twins in public when they were tiny as there was just no way of doing that discreetly (they used to feed at the same time)!

[welshlibranr]

don't agree with the ban, areas should be provided in such places, so that Mum and baby are comfortable and relaxed!............

[jno]

ha, sounds like a balanced diet, sherrardk.

[sherrardk]

Hi jno, I got ever so good at it - I could feed them both at the same time and read a book - now that's what I call multiple-tasking!

[sherrardk]

Multiple ^ even

[MichaelZZ]

What nobody seems to have mentioned here is the word, "manners".

Good manners is defined as the way you conduct yourself in any situation so that you do not make people around you feel uncomfortable. Different circumstances merit different behaviours. What is perfectly acceptable at a Rugby Club dinner would probably be absolutely unacceptable in more staid surroundings. And before anyone starts complaining that I'm comparing breast feeding with rugby club raucousness, you know that's not what I mean. (A very useful expression is "Don't hear what I'm not saying!")

I've heard all the arguments about "most natural thing in the world", "if you don't like it you don't have to look", "hungry babies need feeding". Please ladies, enjoy your babies. They are delightful little things who need all the loving that they can get. Whatever you do, do it lovingly and please don't treat you babies as tools to get attention or make a point. And above all, don't treat them as an inconvenient fashion accessory.

If you teach the child good manners by your example in all aspects of life, you will be richly rewarded with a polite well-mannered child. If you don't, you've only yourself to blame!

[RATTER15]

Well, there you have it!! :-)

[sp1814]

Who'd have thought that breasts would be so controversial.

Next - bottoms: for or against?

[RATTER15]

How do you make a kilo of fat look attractive?





put a nipple on it.

[wildwood]

I have no problem with a woman discreetly breastfeeding her baby in a restaurant.... but I fear that one day some entrepreneurial owner will start charging a de-corking fee.

[jno]

"enjoy your babies".

Just the one owner, then?

[Safiya]

*If muslim visitors object ask THEM to leave,this is after all still england & ANYONE who is here should be told that mothers & babies come first & anyone who objects can choose to leave. Ron. *

not sure that would work ron.... if anyone (Muslim or not) objected and were told to choose to leave places it could in effect mean that somewhere like a public library could be empty except for breast feeding mothers.

[LoftyLottie]

"Lottie, you might not, as a rule eat in public places, but, if you were a bit peckish, surely you'd eat something, even a snack?"

Not in the Library BOO or in the queue at the council office, etc. to be honest!!

Quite honestly, I might have sounded a bit old fashioned and anti on this thread, but I still think it comes down to good manners and respect that some people might find it embarrassing to witness. They may be in the wrong or out of touch, but I still think they have to be considered. Personally I wouldn't like to eat in a restaurant with my husband if a woman started breast feeding blatently in full view, likewise in the foyer of a public building.

Mothers surely know when their babies are going to feel hungry - a mother knows her own child - and can work feeding time into a routine where she can have some quality relaxing time with her child. To be honest, I would never have bottle fed my baby in a restaurant or in a public building either unless it couldn't be avoided.