Topic : 10/07 The Latest Debates

Mashall, I'm with ya.  As an aside, and I think a good show topic, have you ever had anyone make rude or otherwise unsolicited comments about having five children?  I have four and have had complete strangers, and relatives, make comments about overpopulation and the need to control the amount of people being born.  I get so furious that I have to walk away for fear of being arrested for assault.  Any anecdotes?  Denise, proud mother of four!

First, I had My first son in August in May so feeding in the car would have been a waste of fuel or a dangerous situation. Second, you need to do more research. There are antibodies and nutrients Formula CAN NOT duplicate. Even formula companies have breast feeding information on their web sights saying BREAST IS BEST! I would go into all the particulars but I doubt you would be able to understand. So let me make it simple you can feed your kids processed foods or fruits and vegetables? 

 

I am a mother of two children. When i would breast feed i would carry a blanket with me. But people shouldn't be popping out there boobs. Me and my 12 year old daughter where at Wal-Mart and this lady was breast feeding in the middle of everybody!!!!!! My daughter didn't need to see a boob in public places.

Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing between the mother and the baby.  Not for everyone else to see.  That bond should be shared only with the mother and baby not anyone else that would be around at the time.  Do it with a cover or walk a few feet away from other people.  I do not want to see someone else breast no would I want my husband or son to be subject to that display!

I am mother of a 1 year old. And I never breastfed my son because  I grew up watching my aunt who has 7 kids breastfeed all her children at the dinner table! It traumatized me cause no one explained to me what she was doing, here I was 12 years old starring at my aunts boob at the dinner table and all I could think was WOW that is so gross. And when it came time for me to breastfeed my  own child I could not get that image out of my head. I do think it is perfectly normal for mothers to do what is natural to them, bottle feed or breast feed! But its the nutrition of the breast milk that is most beneficial to your child not the boob! My son was not breastfed and we could not have bonded more. You can pump your milk and respect other people's different views and opinions and when in public, give your child a bottle of breast milk. I don't think your child will be at loss being bottle fed a couple of times. People on here have said if you don't like it stay home, well I say same to you. How would you feel if someone was doing something in public that made you uncomfortable? You would what just stay home for the rest of your life? thats easier said then done. I think covering up with a blanket while your out in public or bottle feeding you child would not hurt you or your child. Why are people so hell bent on offending everyone? why can't we just figure out a way to keep the peace a little? There are so many things I would like to say to some people but don't, cause I don't want to offend anyone? why can't it be the same way? why can't we  just try to think of other peoples feelings just a little.  And YES it is your childs right to eat, but there are ways that your child can EAT and not offend someone.

There's nothing wrong with feeding your child in public by breastfeeding...but I also think you should be sensitive to other people's feelings about pulling out your breast and not covering up.  I had no issue doing this and no one ever had an issue with me.  In fact, I got quiet a few smiles from other mothers who understood and were thankful that the baby's crying stopped.   

Trick I learned.  When you are out shopping, you don't have to go to the bathroom.  Ask politely to use the dressing rooms where you can sit quietly in private without being in a disgusting bathroom.  A toilet has one purpose, to rid ourselves of waste - not supply nutrition.  There are also nursing aprons that work great in restaraunts.   

I was 18 when I had my first son, I wanted to breastfeed him as it is the best thing for him. It was so stressful because I wasn't sure whether it was "appropriate" to fed him in certain places. I found out on line that it is actually ILLEGAL, yes for all of you who want a mother to feed her baby in the bathroom it is ILLEGAL for you to tell a mother to do so. You can find this law on line. You cannot be told to leave a store or any other establishment. Print this law up and CARRY IT WITH YOU. I do agree there are discreet ways to breastfeed and for my own personal comfort (I didn't want anyone else seeing my breast thank you!) I carried either a blanket or the Sling carrier worked amazingly.

I can't believe people have such an issue with breastfeeding in public!  Do baby cows drink human milk?  It's unnatural not to breastfeed (and of course there are circumstances where it's not the best option), it is unnatural to give formulas (again, with the exceptions).  People go out to eat all the time, why can't babies eat out too?  Must we lock ourselves up or submit ourselves to unsanitary conditions in order to do what the whole world did before we became too "civilized"?  I have a 6 month old and I feed him wherever I am at the time he needs it.  I try my best to be discreet but I can't wear a blanket over his head b/c he'll just pull it down, and he's just gotten to a phase of pushing everything (including mommy's shirt) away.  Still, I try, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let someone tell me I can't feed my boy.  Unfortunately I now live in a state that does not protect public breastfeeding.  I didn't know I needed to be allowed to do something my body was built to do.  It is different from urinating and other natural bodily functions - it's not disposing of waste and creating unsanitary conditions for others.  COMMON SENSE PEOPLE!  I hope to breastfeed for as long as I can, and I will not appologize for giving my child the best that I can, although I am sorry for those of you that are so dirty minded that the thought of a slightly exposed breast gets your undies in a bunch.  Support breastfeeding, in public or otherwise!!!  You know those support bracelets everyone has?  You can get one to support La Leche League and their efforts to promote and encourage breastfeeding at their website or at www.lansinoh.com

I work with kids to promote healthy living and abstinence. Aids and teen pregnancy are serious but it doesn't stop there. HPV is a skin-to-skin contact virus. Some strands of HPV may lead to cervical cancer, penal cancer or anal cancer. Cervical cancer is leading to more deaths than Aids. And the more people believe that penetration is the only way to transmit viruses, the population infected by HPV will be on the rise.  

  

Parents need to take responsibility. In the end it will be the parents who will share in the physical and emotional hardships not the school board. Parents, educate yourselves then your children. I'm tired of hearing about "the talk." It should be an open discussion about sex and it should be a progressing discussion. As they find out more teach them more. Let children know that sex is not bad. In fact it is a beautiful thing, but  there is a time and place, and that is inside a faithful committed marriage.  The fact is, if mom or dad wont tell little Jessica about sex little Johnny will. Parents be proud that they are seeking you for knowledge first. Ask your kids what they know first that way you can see what level they are on. This gives you a chance to clear up any miss information, be the first to share other things, as well as bond with your children. Your child will soon tell you their crushes and who there boyfriends/girlfriends are and their first kiss. Stay in the Loop.  

  

Passing out condoms starts young people out with low standards. Set high standards and share the benefits. A lot of times sex looks like a way to show love. Introduce other ways to show love, i.e. respect. Teach young people to set personal boundaries. Give them power, not an excuse. 

I think walking on eggshells to avoid "offending" anyone is ludicrous. It's like the story of th man and his son taking their donkey to town to sell. First someone criticizes the son for making his father walk, so the father rides; then someone criticizes the father for making the son walk, so the son rides, too; then someone criticizes them for making the donkey carry both. In the end, the father and son try to carry the donkey and drop him in a river and lose everything. So many things can "offend" someone else, we can't please everyone all the time, and why should we try? Breastfeeding mothers do not "bare their breasts" in public. They do not take off their tops or show their entire breasts. Most often, all that can be seen is the baby's head, or occasionally a sliver of the side of her breast. I have never seen a breastfeeding mother shove her breast in someone's face or take her shirt off or even expose her whole breast (not every child will tolerate a cover over his head while he nurses, either--it's hot and stuffy under there). I breastfed my son for years, and I tried to be sensitive to others around me. I breastfed him in church and other public places many times without anyone even realizing what I was doing. When he was still a newborn, I was breastfeeding him in a Catholic church, struggling to keep a blanket over us while he knocked it off with his flailing arm. An elderly woman walked up and whipped the blanket off, saying, "oh, you don't have to cover! It's a beautiful thing." I was shocked that she did that, but glad to be able to feed my son in peace and know I was not bothering anyone. I think breastfeeding mothers should be able to feed their children in public whenever and wherever the child gets hungry. A woman in a bikini shows more of her breasts than most breastfeeding mothers do, yet few accuse them of indecency. I think breastfeeding moms shold be as discrete as possible, but it is not shameful to feed a child, even if someone gets offended. Some people get offended by interracial marriages. Should an African-American man avoid kissing his Caucasian wife on the cheek or holding her hand in public because it might offend someone? (I can just picture the anti-breastfeeding debator looking all around to avoid seeing such an offensive thing while she eats her dinner...) Our society needs to get over its hangups about a baby getting fed. It's not about sex, it's about food.