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Breastfeeding in public places
Why should mothers be able to breast feed in public
Breastfeeding in public places
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As individuals, we get to decide what is right and what is wrong, but we sometimes let society get the best of us and take control of that right. Behind closed doors is when we tend to stop caring and we get to be ourselves, but in public we try to stay in the standards in being accepted and not judged. We occasionally let these standards determine what we should wear and how we should act. Something as simple as breastfeeding in public can be hard to fit into those standards since it brings up lots of controversy of whether it is an "acceptable" action in public. Some people would be okay for women to breastfeed in public while other people would view it as not appropriate. My sister, while she was breastfeeding my niece, had a hard time doing it in public with certain people's judgmental looks. Thinking about what my sister went through made me think of how it would …show more content…
Its human nature that at one point of life most have gone through or done. We all have different views on the topic, from a simple thing for a mother feeding her child to a mother who is just exposing herself and should go into a private place. Though society views it as something bad some mothers see as something necessary. When mothers do breastfeed in public they are viewed differently and are put aside which makes them feel bad. I know this because I asked a friend who recently had a baby about how she felt about the topic since she is a mother who breastfeeds. She said the stares of the people make her feel like she is disgusting, out of place, and exposed. She felt like she was being sexually objectified by people who refuse to accept that she uses her breast to feed not to entertain. It also makes her not want to go out in public for the simple fact that three hours later or when her baby gets hungry she has to feed her baby regardless of where she is. Is it really something that can't be
Walking down the New York streets, you can’t turn your head without seeing joggers, dog walkers or baby strollers. Newly adult, I find myself weirdly surrounded by those babies who aren’t supposed to be in my life at all. At times, I find myself being stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, where a traffic jam isn’t supposed to happen, blocked by baby strollers. As I think to myself “Why are they stopping?”, I notice people are lowering their head down into the stroller and trying to make eye contact with the baby when it’s clearly sleeping, while making strange faces and asking for every piece of information from the baby. Not only the babies are on the street with their cool rides, but also they have entered my family’s post-dinner
Societal norms are ultimately the sociological expectations for our society. So, when people see somebody standing in the middle of a crowded public place doing nothing, they are going to take notice. I realized that while standing in the middle of the mall where many people
Breastfeeding is the perfect start to a healthy lifestyle for the baby as well as the mother. There has been a numerous amount of issues regarding breastfeeding in general. Everyone has been so focused on whether or not mothers should be allowed to breastfeed in public, however there is a much bigger issue than that, in which people are not as focused on. Working mothers should be granted breaks at work when they need to pump or breastfeed their children. It seems as if the public is not interested in this debate because it does not affect them or their family, but they are completely against mothers breastfeeding in public.
There is no need to run out to the store to buy formula, bottles, or burp cloths. Breastfed babies do not spit up as often because breast milk is easier on the belly and the baby will not ingest the air that a bottle fed baby does. That means fewer outfit changes and less laundry. Although feeding in public may be easier for a formula fed baby, a lot of awesome things to make breastfeeding in public easier and more discreet have been created. There are nursing tank tops so that mom's belly stays covered and nursing cover ups which are light weight blankets that moms can wear to keep themselves covered while still being able to see baby. Most public places are beginning to put nursing stations in as well. Also, there is no need to mess with fumbling around in the kitchen to prepare a bottle at 3 AM for a crying baby that is hungry. Breast milk is always available and warm. The American Pregnancy Association recommends breastfeeding for most families in the article “Breastfeeding vs. Bottle Feeding” (2017, May 16). -www.americanpregnancy.org
Let me begin with this. Public breastfeeding is NOT exhibitionism. It is simply the act of feeding a baby. Nonetheless, women are still facing widespread discrimination in public for doing so.
There are several factors which contribute to the disapproval of breastfeeding which includes culture who holds sexual connotations, innocent children who may see it, and other people consider it as indecent exposure. Moreover, the issue about breastfeeding varies in countries and cultures, because there are cultures who are conservative such as the countries in Asia especially Philippines who prohibits breastfeeding in public since they value and preserve their dignity, and that they view it as a shameful act because they believe that a breast is a sexual part of the body, therefore it shouldn’t be expose to the public as it is consider a sexual actor perversion.They think that exposing woman’s breast is associated with sex rather than milk or breastfeeding itself , and that they also think it is dangerous since Philippines has a high rate of rape incidents.Thus, they view breastfeeding as indecent since mother’s breast is exposed to people especially men and catches their attention. “In Philippines breastfeeding in public is prohibited, yet a woman nursing in public may take the risk to be declared unethical if her breast is partially covered and exposed.” (Iacovidou, 2014). Also, not just the culture itself, but religion plays a significant role as well about the perspective towards breastfeeding such as “Pakistan has strict cultural standards for modesty and naked human skin is frowned upon due to religious reasons. A small minority of Asian countries criminalizes breastfeeding in public. Indeed, it is unacceptable and offensive to breastfeed in public places of Saudi Arabia and Bali.”( Iacodivou, 2014) In addition to, breastfeeding in public especially in restaurants could be disturbing for the customers and everyone else who see it, and also other parents wouldn’t like
Some people don't particularly like seeing a woman breastfeed. It makes them feel "uncomfortable". Woman are asked to leave the room or to stop breastfeeding by those who feel uncomfortable. Breasts are viewed as sexual items rather than a natural way of providing nutrients and comfort for a child. Some people are against public breastfeeding because they don't want to explain what is going on to their child. Woman are often told that their child is to old to be breastfed. It is no ones business but the mothers how...
Women who are not afraid to do what their body is naturally meant to do and do not care what other people think are very admirable. Breastfeeding is beautiful and normal, and women should not be criticized when they need to do it. Although it may make one uncomfortable at times, breastfeeding in public causes no harm. Society should begin to accept public breastfeeding and see it as it is; completely harmless. Next time you see a mother nursing her baby, do not judge her. Instead, think of how healthy and strong that baby is going to be and what a beautiful bond they are
This occurs when pregnant women or new mothers use maternity or new parent leaves at work. While legally businesses and corporations do have to provide a woman with excused leave during her pregnancy, birthing, and after birthing, they do not have to pay their employee while she is on leave. This makes becoming pregnant and having a child very different on a couple because while someone can take care of the child, only one person is receiving an income until the baby can be placed in daycare or in the care of a family member while the mom goes back to work. Structurally, new mothers are oppressed by being told where and when it is appropriate to openly breastfeed their child. This oppression goes even further when a woman decides to openly feed her child bare breasted. This is something that society sees as disgusting and just inappropriate to be done in public. This truly is oppression towards this population because there are several instances where bare breasts or visible breasts are accepted in society. For example, men are allowed to be topless at public beaches and pools, visible breasts are broadcasted live on the Victoria’s Secret fashion show, and bare breasts are shown in movies available on television and in movies. These are all ways the public is subjected to bare breasts, but are offended and criticize mothers when they are bare breasted in order to sufficiently feed their
Traditional gender roles are the behaviors and practices we adopt from learning and what has been passed on from past generations. We learn these from our fathers, mothers, grandparents, and peers. It’s a set of unwritten laws that each gender operates under. These roles have no exception. This soon becomes a problem in society because it creates sexism based off of traditional principles on what each gender should be doing or how they should be acting. Research suggest that “Sexism is defined as prejudice or discrimination toward people based on their gender” (Marks & Zaikman, 2014, Pg. 334). Sexism correlates with the double standard of women on the aspect of it being acceptable in society for men to promote sexual activity and women being bashed and looked down upon when they promote their sexuality. There has been more prevalent news of women taking the stand on their sexuality and bodies. The double standard that exist in America has more recently raised attentiveness in society with such campaigns as Free-the-Nip. The free the nip campaign is a fight for equal rights amongst women. The main ideology of the campaign is for women to have equal rights when it comes to being bare chested in public, the same rights that men have (Reporter, 2015). The double standard here is society saying that women should not be allowed to be bare chested taking
Similarly to the previous article, the authors found a men 's opinion toward breastfeeding hosted a significant association between a mother 's choice to breast, or bottle feed her infant. Like mothers, a strong correlation between social conditions, including ethnicity, country of origin, education, and socioeconomic status, was found to have a sizeable impact on the father 's opinion of feeding method. This study, like many others, confirmed that breastfeeding ideals are often formed long before conception. Increasing the focus of breastfeeding to men and women alike through the use of the media, high school curriculums, and programs such as WIC could help make breastfeeding acceptance more widely spread across multi cultures, and also promote it as a socially acceptable
“Would You Eat Breast Milk Cheese?” (Hamm, 2010). I have shown this headline to multiple people and have received the same reaction from everyone. Most of these people I work with at a daycare. We all handle and serve breast milk on a daily basis. Also we watch mothers nurse their infants. Yet, the reaction did not surprise me, even with this comfort level with human breast milk. This reaction falls along the line of disgust and shock. One person even reacted with a sharp reply of “I DID NOT NEED TO SEE THAT!” There is something about the thought of consuming human breast milk that makes people squirm.
All around there is still people that do not breastfeed, but have not done any research. Breastfeeding can do multiple things for society. It saves money for the parents because, they do not have to by the formula, there is less medical expenses because the babies are not sick as often. Also breastfeeding can also help saves lives. If 90% of families breastfeed their children for 6 months, almost 1,000 infant deaths can be prevented.
in public thinking 'it's my body, I can do whatever I want to it,' but
After seeing this mother, doing the research and seeing how valuable breastfeeding teaching really is, I realized that my preconception related to breastfeeding was way off and my respect for mothers who try to breastfeed and continue to try throughout difficulties without giving up has increased substantially. It is so important to encourage a mother and help her out through the difficulties and challenges she faces through breastfeeding. It may help the mother to know that she is not alone and breastfeeding difficulties are quite common in the beginning but it gets easier with time. I feel that I have learned a lot about breastfeeding difficulties and techniques after being able to go in with a lactation consultant and doing this reflection. I have found that there are many valuable resources for the breastfeeding mother. At the time of this situation, I did not know there was a breastfeeding clinic and a number that you could call if you had any questions, which would really benefit my patient or any patient with breastfeeding questions. It is quite unfortunate that a lactation consultant was not working on Saturday because this mom could have really benefit from one. However, there is healthy and home, a community health division, with workers who are able to help with breastfeeding, including lactation consultants and are able to