Cover Up!
I've been thinking about the controversial topics of covering up while breastfeeding in public, and when a woman should discontinue breastfeeding her child. On MySpace I posted an article about the woman who was kicked off of an airplane for breastfeeding (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15720339/). If you check out the article online 1479 people made comments in response to the article. One of my favorites is as follows: "She absolutely should NOT have been kicked off the plane. My god people what is wrong with this country anyway. How do u think Eve fed her kids, she didn't walk down to the local AM/P to get some formula. Its natural and its what our breasts were made for. Its this countries unhealthy, weird obsession with the naked body or the breast that makes me gag! More woman should be breast feeding their kids and they should be allowed to do it where and when they want. Get over yourselves people you all have breasts , you see breasts, and chances are you are one of those helping the porn industry move forward as the biggest business out there.... sigh"
There were many other comments that were not supportive of the woman. One woman wrote: "I am a women writing this, but I say what they did was right. If the attendant had to offer her a blanket she was obviously showing things that others did not want to observe. Had she taken the blanket then it would be another issue. Also her child was almost 2 years old a bit old for breastfeeding in my eyes."
Now close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are seated on a plane and a woman in the row in front of you is feeding her baby, can you see her breast? How about the woman in the row behind you? If you are across the isle from this woman (window seat) sitting by her husband can you see her breast? The only people who saw areola are the stewards and the occasional bathroom visitor who probaly didn't see much unless they stopped and stared.
Another commenter that is obviously a woman who has breastfed comments: "How in the world is a mother supposed to breastfeed a child in that cramped space in the first place? Its hard enough without a blanket but when you are draping a blanket across you, you can't see what in the world you are doing."
What do you think about this one: "If the flight had been long enough for a movie, it probably would have contained violence, hate, and gore--good old American values. But breastfeeding a baby (which is as natural as breathing): Oh, no! There is something seriously wrong with this picture."
Many people commented that this woman should not have been breastfeeding her 22 month old. And I think that really was the main issue. Most people agree that a woman has the right to breastfeed her baby in public, but many people think that babies should be weaned by 6 months to a year old. FYI: The World health organization recommends breastfeeding until 2 years or more.
So, as a breastfeeding mother I want to say if you are a man or woman who has never breastfed you have no idea what it is like.
Rachel's Breastfeeding 101: (I am not an expert!)
First, I don't know if it is easier for a woman with small perky breasts to feed a baby, but us larger breasted women (esp. if they are saggy) have a common problem. If/when the baby comes unlatched all of a sudden our nipple is in the baby's ear. If your baby is easily distracted this can cause problems. A baby (Carrera) may latch on, unlatch, look around, latch on, unlatch, look around, and continue this pattern. As a result a mother may need two hands to keep her breast from squirting in the baby's ear and getting it back to the baby's mouth. This baby movement also causes any blanket draping to fall off. Curse the draping technique that was obviously either created by a man, a small breasted woman, or someone with four arms. I have found that if I wrap a blanket around Carrera with the excess away from me I can pull it up by her ears and block viewers or gawkers. This way the only people inspecting the slight breast that is exposed and not already covered by my shirt are people peeking over my shoulder or next to me. Even someone across the table from me will not be able to see the breast, but Carrera can still look up at me and I can see her. Unfortunately this does not solve the distracted baby problem and the blanket is shifted when she wants to check out her surroundings. Really there is no way to cover up, only ways to be discreet.
Lastly, I may not want to see a fat man shoving a hot dog with mustard, ketchup, relish, etc. into his face. I may not want to hear or smell it either, but it is my responsibility to look away, walk away or tolerate it. I hope you understand the correlation because I am NOT explaining!
Note: I have no problem with people - men or women - watching me feed Carrera. Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing.
There were many other comments that were not supportive of the woman. One woman wrote: "I am a women writing this, but I say what they did was right. If the attendant had to offer her a blanket she was obviously showing things that others did not want to observe. Had she taken the blanket then it would be another issue. Also her child was almost 2 years old a bit old for breastfeeding in my eyes."
Now close your eyes for a moment and imagine you are seated on a plane and a woman in the row in front of you is feeding her baby, can you see her breast? How about the woman in the row behind you? If you are across the isle from this woman (window seat) sitting by her husband can you see her breast? The only people who saw areola are the stewards and the occasional bathroom visitor who probaly didn't see much unless they stopped and stared.
Another commenter that is obviously a woman who has breastfed comments: "How in the world is a mother supposed to breastfeed a child in that cramped space in the first place? Its hard enough without a blanket but when you are draping a blanket across you, you can't see what in the world you are doing."
What do you think about this one: "If the flight had been long enough for a movie, it probably would have contained violence, hate, and gore--good old American values. But breastfeeding a baby (which is as natural as breathing): Oh, no! There is something seriously wrong with this picture."
Many people commented that this woman should not have been breastfeeding her 22 month old. And I think that really was the main issue. Most people agree that a woman has the right to breastfeed her baby in public, but many people think that babies should be weaned by 6 months to a year old. FYI: The World health organization recommends breastfeeding until 2 years or more.
So, as a breastfeeding mother I want to say if you are a man or woman who has never breastfed you have no idea what it is like.
Rachel's Breastfeeding 101: (I am not an expert!)
First, I don't know if it is easier for a woman with small perky breasts to feed a baby, but us larger breasted women (esp. if they are saggy) have a common problem. If/when the baby comes unlatched all of a sudden our nipple is in the baby's ear. If your baby is easily distracted this can cause problems. A baby (Carrera) may latch on, unlatch, look around, latch on, unlatch, look around, and continue this pattern. As a result a mother may need two hands to keep her breast from squirting in the baby's ear and getting it back to the baby's mouth. This baby movement also causes any blanket draping to fall off. Curse the draping technique that was obviously either created by a man, a small breasted woman, or someone with four arms. I have found that if I wrap a blanket around Carrera with the excess away from me I can pull it up by her ears and block viewers or gawkers. This way the only people inspecting the slight breast that is exposed and not already covered by my shirt are people peeking over my shoulder or next to me. Even someone across the table from me will not be able to see the breast, but Carrera can still look up at me and I can see her. Unfortunately this does not solve the distracted baby problem and the blanket is shifted when she wants to check out her surroundings. Really there is no way to cover up, only ways to be discreet.
Lastly, I may not want to see a fat man shoving a hot dog with mustard, ketchup, relish, etc. into his face. I may not want to hear or smell it either, but it is my responsibility to look away, walk away or tolerate it. I hope you understand the correlation because I am NOT explaining!
Note: I have no problem with people - men or women - watching me feed Carrera. Breastfeeding is a beautiful thing.
posted by Rachel at 9:26 PM
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