As if being a mom isn't hard enough, why does society want to heap on more stress. Women who can breastfeed need to be able to breastfeed. They need to do it whenever and wherever.
This has been a contentious, dramatic issue for generations. Some people just can't handle a boob out in public. A boob that is nourishing a child, I might add. When you're hungry, you don't want to wait, so why should a mom, make her baby wait until a more "appropriate" time?
God grow up.
Redditor u/Brace4Landing wanted to chat about what women have to do what they do, by asking:
What are your thoughts about women breastfeeding openly in restaurants?
Ok!
Cartoon Yes GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy"Breastfeeding, sure no problem. Changing diapers on the table/booth/chair, no freaking way. There's a reason most bathrooms have a change table."
- LuntiX
Be Clean
"As long as you don't leave your dirty flip-flops on the table that's disgusting."
"Last week I was at a cafe terrace and I saw a woman breastfeeding her baby and afterwards changing the diaper on the table (which was a tad odd since they have a nice changing room there). After she left I noticed she left the dirty diaper on her plate, didn't even bother to close it up."
- domin8r
Silence
"A baby can't scream with a mouthful, so I'd say it's a win-win."
"My son used to do the same. The thing is his twin would get right to feeding and would stimulate the let down on his boob too, so it would be 20 seconds of screaming and 30 seconds of vague drowning noises before he clicked that food was happening."
Who Cares?
"The baby's gotta eat. Plus I don't even pay enough attention to other people to even notice or give a crap either way."
- Jikal
"I agree lol!! I've noticed moms breastfeeding their babies at a restaurant maybe a grand total of TWO times in my whole life, and I go out to eat all the time. However, I ALWAYS notice when a baby is screeching so loud nobody can enjoy their meal."
"I don't even mean just crying, I mean that SCREECH they do sometimes where if you're anywhere close to them you can't even continue talking, you just have to stop and WAIT for the kid to finish. (I promise I don't hate kids LOL this is just my opinion)."
No Adults
Oh No You Didnt GIF by happydogGiphy"Acceptable if she's breastfeeding her baby, weird if she's doing so with her husband."
- maajyc
So far, so normal. Stay in your own conversation. If you're that interested about another person, you're sounding like a stalker.
Whateves
Let It Go Whatever GIF by Hannah Bronfman Giphy"The more it happens the less people will care."
Couple Issues
"I was once breastfeeding my daughter on the beach, aside from my boob being *kind of* out (mostly blocked by the baby) I was wearing shorts and a shirt, more covered than most of the people on the beach. Apparently a dude started watching me that I didn't notice and his girlfriend took offense to it."
"She started to approach me, but my mom was with us and gave her the stink eye to end all stink eyes. I have to think if they had been just a little more exposed to breast feeding this wouldn't have been anything. I'm also 99% sure that incident resulted in the couple fighting."
When in Public
"I walked with my head down the majority of my life because I felt like everyone was staring at me as I'm a very tall female. Started looking up a few years ago and realized how very wrong I was. I cared WAY more about this made up scenario in my head while assuming the worst and causing MYSELF to feel shame over it- than anyone else ever cared about my height. We're all busy doing our own thing and I don't think MOST people care about women breastfeeding in public as people think they do."
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In the UK...
"I went to a mall in London, England once with a room dedicated for baby care. There were comfortable chairs and a microwave and sink. There were also little rooms with rocking chairs and low light floor lamps. Now, I would feed my baby wherever the hell I needed to, but this was luxury."
Free!
Mothers Day Mama GIF by reactionseditorGiphy"I'd rather a happy baby having a meal than a hungry miserable baby screaming and crying for nourishment. I am however against the restaurant charging an opening fee."
Didn't Notice
"You know, I don't think I've ever noticed anyone breast feeding. I'm sure I've seen it happen while I was out but I've never noticed. I think that says something about the people who do make a big deal out of it."
"So often it just looks like they're holding the baby. You usually can't see anything. There were a couple times random people struck up conversations with me while I was nursing in public, and I could tell they had absolutely no idea."
Cover Up
"As a woman, I think women should be able to feed their baby wherever. As a matter of personal preference though, I always cover up. I have had soo many creeps stare at me that I don't like to openly do it."
"I have breastfed in public before, and would continue to do so if I had children who were nursing. I always used the two-shirt method to keep myself as covered as possible, which was for my comfort as my breast was much larger than my baby's head."
In America...
"Just to add to this... In America, public breastfeeding is protected by federal law and state law - in all the states."
"In so many comment sections, I always come across the argument that the federal law only protects breastfeeding in public so women can't breastfeed in restaurants or stores because they're private property—the law must only apply to municipal parks and government buildings. I tell them to look at the text of the law because it doesn't say "public", it says "anywhere the mother is otherwise permitted to be", like a publicly-accessible-yet-privately-owned store. Idiots."
Who cares?
mind it talk show GIF by iOne DigitalGiphy"I try not to think about other people's business. Especially stuff that doesn't affect me in any way."
Gotta Eat
"I think everyone, including babies, should be able to eat in restaurants."
"Restaurants should also set policies though. I'm cool with those that allow everyone, but it's fair as well to have adults-only restaurants. Kids can be quite disturbing. As long as policies are disclosed, s'aulgood, man!"
- Bytewave
Drink Up
"It's pretty much the same as any customer. Don't disturb the other guests and you are fine. So drink up little human. At least you are silent."
"This is the most reasonable. As long as you aren't making a scene while doing it, it's not a problem. If you take your boob out and then wait for someone to look and then decide to throw a fit, then you should be thrown out just like any other unruly customer."
Summer in the South, fun!
"My thoughts are that I hope she doesn't give a crap what anybody else thinks when she breastfeeds her child in a restaurant."
- MRS300
"I am extremely self conscious about it because I've had people make nasty comments to me while feeding my baby in a restaurant (and elsewhere). If my baby gets hungry, I don't give a f**k about anyone else. I will always feed my hungry baby no matter what, no matter where."
"I even wear specific nursing tops so no boob is visibly exposed. For this reason, and the fact that the baby gets hot and uncomfortable (Summer in the South, fun!), I also refuse to cover with a blanket. However, I always feel judged and frowned upon for doing so. It's just hard not to."
be clean...
Sick Black And White GIF by Fleischer StudiosGiphy"Breastfeeding = fine. Not washing your hands in the bathrooms? Not cool."
On Display
"If we look at high fashion we see women with stickers covering their breasts. In high street fashion it is acceptable to expose any part of the breast as cleavage, sideboob, underboob. Basically the only part of the woman's breast we've censored is the nipple, which I find especially odd given that's the bit men have as well. Regardless, in this case the baby's mouth covers the nipple so the breast on display isn't anything out of the norm really, and even if the nipple were out, get over it."
It is what it is. Be free ladies. Whatever keeps the kid quiet, works for most of us. Do as you need.
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