Really, this shouldn't even be a question. Children are hungry and need to be fed. And who, in this age, hasn't seen a damn breast before? I don't understand what the big deal is.

Get over yourselves =/

It's not the mothers fault you can't handle such a sight.

When a babie's hungry it's hungry. I'd rather see some infant sucking on a nip than throwing a fit and making a bunch of noise.

I wouldn't likely feel comfortable nursing my child in public, but I'm not made uncomfortable by other women doing so. It's just a boob. Full of life-sustaining liquid.

That's what boobs are for. Why should it be a "private thing" when a baby eats, but a very very public thing when somewhat older people eat?

Breastfeeding is arguably a lot better for the baby. It is, after all, what the baby is designed to eat. If the baby is hungry, the baby is hungry. I can't imagine why preventing the possibility of somebody seeing a boob would ever be more important than infant health.

If you don't like to see boobs anywhere in the world, I suggest you begin by picketing your local advertising agencies and TV networks. Or better yet, head for a fundamentalist Muslim country where the women wear those tentlike head-to-foot burkas so that no part of them will ever appeal to the prurient interest of anyone and thus nobody will ever be moved to completely lose self-control and start masturbating in the street simply because they saw a woman. Because that's what the fuss is really about, right? I mean, GOD FORBID that a woman's body should ever have any purpose that isn't explicitly designed for sexual allure.

"Many men face a sort of sexual confusion when their wives or girlfriends first breastfeed a baby. These parts of the body that were once dedicated solely to gratify their sexual desire now give off a very non-sexual, motherly vibe, and the men go into shock. That whole oedipal thing still hasn’t gotten sorted out by the male gender, and reminders that the very object of our highest affection is not really ours, but a highly functional and amazing tool for feeding and comforting children has some of us all out of sorts. Many childless women (and some mothers) react much the same way. They have been taught by the fashion magazines, Hollywood, high school, and all of American culture to view their breasts as male magnets. Women are taught by example to identify with their bodies in a singular, sexual fashion, rather than in the simultaneously dualistic sexual/motherly/nurturing fashion. Simply put, public breastfeeding is a slap in the face of American glam culture . . . A woman dedicated to nursing her child has every right to participate in the events of life, and should not be banished from the world because she takes the time and effort to feed her baby with the most nutritious and emotionally comforting food possible." See http://www.culturefeast.com/facebook-says-public-breastfeeding-is-obscene/

And that's what is really upsetting about breastfeeding, and why women who do it are encouraged to banish themselves from the public eye -- because they're screwing up our comfortable, commercialized, Hollywood-airbrushed and totally false notions about human sexuality. The message sent is: you can either be a breastfeeding mom, or you can be a regular person who participates in public life, holds a job, goes to the grocery store, etc. -- but not both. And in that, it functions to constrain women's choices to participate in the public sphere as well as to reinforce the notion that women's bodies are shameful things.

Shaming mothers for breastfeeding is wildly unhealthy for both mother and child. It suggests to the mother that her breasts, and the act of feeding her infant, are shameful and embarassing. It discourages her from feeding her hungry infant in the manner recommended by the American Association of Pediatrics, e.g., the breast. So the infant goes hungry, and the woman is reluctant to feed her child anywhere that she might "get caught." How can that possibly be at all good for mother-child bonding -- or for women's sense of dignity and self?

"Dr. Jack Newman gave an overview of images of breastfeeding in the media. He pointed out that advertisements depicting breastfeeding rarely show women in public lives. They often show breastfeeding mothers dressed in darker hues or in nightgowns, and rarely looking at her infant. Yet images of feeding a baby with a bottle are portrayed with active, smiling, well-dressed women who are out in public and/or back to work. Once again, the unspoken message is that breastfeeding mothers should stay in the nursery and that once they return to 'real life,' they will leave breastfeeding as part of their private lives . . . the real issue is not about the feeding method; it's about what society expects of babies and their parents." See http://www.llli.org/NB/NBNovDec00p196.html

Not only are the reasons for wanting to banish breastfeeding moms from the public view utterly sexist and not socially legitimate, they are also impragmatic and damned inconvenient.

"Offering breast milk in a bottle is often suggested . . . [but] it takes extra time and care to pump, store, and transport milk - time that may be precious, particularly in the early weeks and months. Babies receive fewer of the benefits of breastfeeding when they receive human milk that is not fresh from the source. They also run the risk of developing nipple confusion - having trouble switching back and forth between breast and bottle. Mothers run a higher risk of developing a plugged duct or breast infection because of the delay between feedings at the breast, particularly in the early months. A mother who skips feedings will probably be very uncomfortable from full breasts. She also loses the convenience of being able to soothe her baby quickly and easily while she is out . . . Another often suggested strategy for breastfeeding your baby when you are out is to take him to the restroom or toilet facility to feed him. However, no one would suggest that an adult eat his or her lunch in a public toilet. When a mother has older children, spending twenty minutes or longer feeding the baby in a toilet facility with a bored two-year-old does not seem like a viable option. In smaller stores, toilets may not be open to the public." See http://www.llli.org/NB/NBNovDec00p196.html

43 states today specifically allow public breastfeeding by law; in the other 7 it's still legal, although the legislatures have not made a point of enacting a statute in order to remind us. 28 states have further specifically exempted breastfeeding from the indecency laws. See: http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/Health/BreastfeedingLaws/tabid/14389/Default.aspx

In most parts of the world, nobody gives a good goddamn about nursing in public. It's only in the sex-phobic Anglo countries that anybody gets offended by boobs doing what boobs are meant to do, which is feeding babies instead of hanging out of a skimpy bikini on a banner ad for video games or lemonade or some other product that has nothing whatsoever to do with boobs.

If you don't want to see it don't look! I do think a little of respect towards the rest of the world is also needed. I've seen mothers do it in a very respectful manner and I've seen others do it in a very trashy manner. It's all about how you go about it.

you have to consider the logistics of asking a woman to breastfeed in private. sure some women can easily get up and go to a nice, clean bathroom down the hall to breastfeed their patient, well behaved child. but in reality? thats usually not the case. when mothers breastfeed in public its usually because they need to feed a screaming child and its either inconvient to walk to the dirty, disgusting public bathroom nearby, or there isn't one.

let me throw out a scenario. you're a mother of two, one child is 4 and one is just under 1 year old. you've taken them to the park on a spring day, i'm picturing the boston common but if you don't know that park its fine. you packed a bottle for your 1 year old but he's really hungry today and wants more.

Which of the following makes more sense?

1. Pack up all your belongings and drag your 4 year old away from the swings in order to walk half a mile to the nearest public restroom, wait in line for 10 minutes with two screaming kids, and then sit on a filthy toilet while you breastfeed your baby.

2. Leave your 4 year old with your belongings and walk hald a mile to the nearest public restroom (etc etc) and then return to find your 4 year old has wandered off and spend the next few hours answering police questions as to why you left a 4 year old unattended in a park.

3. Breastfeed discreetly while sitting at the park in a much cleaner environment than a public restroom and be able to safely and easily keep an eye on both children.

Not only is it way easier, there is really no reason to oppose it. Every single person in this world has seen a breast. Every woman, obviously. Most men, in theory. And most children have been breastfeed.

What's the big deal people?!

It's natural. Lets see some boob.--------------------------

It's a perfectly natural bodily function. I know people who did it in public - nobody cared. What's so PC about letting men walk around shirtless but not women?

Its natural. I think its correct if a woman is nursing in public as long as the baby and the breast is covered with a blanket or a burp rag. Everyone knows what they're doing, but no one wants to see that much of a woman that they know or do not know.