11 Ignorant Things People Need To Stop Saying About Breastfeeding!

By: Leah Mutart

As I'm sure everyone knows, I breastfeed my son; and while I, personally, never caught any flack for nursing in public, I know of too many women who have. There are so many arguments against breastfeeding in public and I would like to address some of the most popular ones.

1. "Just cover up!"
Sure. Let me throw a warm blanket over my child's head, depriving him of fresh air. Plus, who wants to eat covered up? It's pretty boring to look at essentially nothing, right? Because it's so boring and stuffy, many children (my child included) will thrash about doing all that he can to get the blanket off of his head causing an even bigger scene than had he not been covered to begin with.

2. "It's simple. Pump and bottle feed! Duh"
Have you ever pumped? Do you know how annoying it is? Or how painful it can be? Do you know how hard it is to find time to pump when you're also nursing every two hours around the clock? I hate pumping. It's time consuming, there's tons of pieces to wash and sterilize. Plus some women (like myself) do not respond well to a pump. It can take me two 20 minute pumping sessions to provide just one bottle. It's all around just inconvenient. Many aspects of my life have become inconvenient since having a child. Showering, laundry, cooking cleaning, has all become challenging and inconvenient for me. I knew it would happen, I'm not complaining, just trying to make a point. Breastfeeding (while it has had its challenges) has become one of the most convenient aspects of being a mother for me. My point being, if peeing has become inconvenient for me, and I find breastfeeding incredibly convenient, why on earth would I create another inconvenience for myself to appease someone who is not my child? Did I mention some babies, like mine, refuse to take a bottle, anyway?

3. "You can always just go to the bathroom or the car to feed!"
Um... you go sit on a toilet someone has pooped in minutes before and eat. It's not sanitary, it's not safe and I will NOT feed my child whilst sitting on a TOILET. Period, end of discussion and you're disgusting for even suggesting it. The car? While not nearly as offensive as the TOILET, it just goes right back to the convenience factor. I have to stop what I'm doing to haul my child out to my car..? Especially in frigid temperatures. Let me bundle up my already upset child, drag him out to the cold car and spare all the nay-sayers.

4. "Feed before you go out or simply don't go out at all. Breastfeeding should be done in the privacy of your own home."
I do feed my son before I go out. But many breastfed babies eat every 2-3 hours. If they're going through a growth spurt, or not feeling well they may nurse more frequently than that; every 30-60 min. I'm a stay at home mom. Thanks to my wonderful, hard-working husband I am able to stay home and raise our child and for that I am eternally grateful. But I'm human, and I like to go out and do things. My husband and I share a car and since he works 60+ hours a week, I'm left without one. So I'm home. all. the. time. I'm home with a non-verbal person and a dog (also non-verbal). So forgive me for wanting to get out of the house every once in a while. Since my child does not take a bottle, 99 times out of 100, he's in tow and I don't mind. I would like to be able to get out of the house for more than an hour or two, which means, my child will need to eat. Suck it up, buttercup; my sanity matters too.

5. "What about me?! Breastfeeding makes me uncomfortable! I don't wanna see that!"
People who chew with their mouths open make me uncomfortable, but I don't tell them off, I don't tell them to go home and eat; never eat in public. Don't want to see it? Don't look. Remove yourself from what makes you uncomfortable. If it were any other situation in which you felt uncomfortable, you'd leave. Why should this scenario be any different? Oh and what about you? I'm sorry, but when it comes down to my child eating and making you comfortable, you'd best believe I'm going to feed my child.

6. "You shouldn't do that around children. My kids don't need to see that."
Or you could take this opportunity to teach your daughters that breastfeeding is natural and what's normal for babies. Encourage your daughters to some day breastfeed her baby, too. Teach your sons that breasts are not just sexual objects. Teach your sons that a breast's main function is to feed and nourish children. Teach your sons and daughters to respect the human body and acknowledge their biological functions. I promise, your child is not sexualizing that moment, YOU are.

7. "You say breastfeeding is natural, well so is peeing and pooping but you don't see me doing that in public, do you?!"
So.. you'd feed a child urine and feces? No.. it's not the same thing.. you're dumb, shut up.

8. "You can whip your boobs out in public, why can't I whip out my wang?!"
Again, you don't feed a child with a penis, do you? Also, I'm not just whipping out my breast for the heck of it. I'm FEEDING my child.

9. "I don't want you doing that around my husband. He shouldn't be looking at your breasts."
You're right. He shouldn't be looking at and sexualizing my breast while I'm simply feeding my child. Sounds like you have some underlying security or trust issues if that's what you're worried about.

10. "You're just doing it for attention."
There are many ways for me to get attention. I prefer to use my cool wit and intellect rather than my body, thank you very much. When my child is crying and upset because he's hungry, the last thing I'm thinking is "let me find the most populated place to nurse my screaming child to gain all the attention I can." Instead, I look for the nearest place that I can sit comfortably to tend to the needs of the only person who matters; my child.

11. "You're disgusting"
No, YOU are. You're the one who can't get past the sexual nature of the breast to look at it's most important and incredible function of all; providing nutrients and LIFE to a child.

Breastfeeding women have the LEGAL right to breastfeed wherever they are also allowed to legally be. A breastfeeding mother is doing what's best for her child and anyone who can't get behind that is someone who doesn't matter anyway. Nurse on mamas!