I think the most important thing you can do for a child is to breastfeed them. It is the perfect food for them nutritionally and since they do not have an immune system of their own for many months after they are born, it is also crucial to their immune health. I won’t get into ALL the reasons why breast IS best now, but you can read my posts on this subject here and here.
One of my greatest peeves is that there is still so much controversy surrounding this very natural process. Facebook thinks pictures of breastfeeding babies is lewd and moms all over the country are getting kicked out of restaurants for feeding their babies in public. I have zero tolerance for that kind of crap. If people have issues with seeing a baby being fed at the breast then they have issues period.
I myself was never shy about breastfeeding in public. I would just pull up my shirt and do what I needed to do anywhere I was. My dad, my brother, my grandfather, my hubby’s friends, perfect strangers…they all got to witness the miracle of breastfeeding up close and personal. I used to breastfeed at the movies when my babes were little and I still remember some shocked faces when they caught on to what I was doing. No one ever complained though….they should have been thanking me because that boob was keeping the peace.
Breasts have a purpose. They are there for a reason. They have a function. To say that using them for what they are intended for is in some way lewd or immodest is just nuts to me. I am always infuriated when I read stories about moms getting asked to leave public places and restaurants when they are doing nothing but feeding their child. It is even more insulting when this happens in states where there are supposed to be breastfeeding laws that protect mothers. It seems though that businesses can get around these laws by claiming they have a right to refuse service to anyone and the mom is usually then forced to leave or be charged with trespassing. If a right cannot be exercised is it really a right?
Well, Rhode Island has gotten it right and I applaud them. A new law has an exciting new twist. Moms in RI were permitted by law to breastfeed in public but this only protected them from indecent exposure laws (NUTS!) but did not provide them with the explicit right to breastfeed a child in any public place. Like I said earlier, a private business owner could claim they had a right to refuse service and the mom would effectively be denied her legal rights. As of March 1st though these moms can now sue for violation of their civil rights. A right has now become an actual right and any violation of it can result in civil suit. Denying a breastfeeding mom access to a restaurant or public place would be like denying some one based upon race…they can do it…but they better be willing to pay up in court later. I say hoorah!
“Too often, mothers are asked to stop breastfeeding, to move to a private location, or to cover themselves up when they breastfeed at a playground, at the airport, in a restaurant, or in other public places,” explains Dr. Laura Viehmann, a pediatrician in Pawtucket and Breastfeeding Coordinator for the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “This law ensures that a mother who breastfeeds her child in public has the same protection as a woman who bottle-feeds her child.”
It is about time…I hope the other states follow this example.
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009
Welcome! Here you will find the random thoughts and experiences of a mom trying to live a more natural and green family life since 2004. Enjoy! Feel free to 
