22-Oct-2004, 10:11 PM
Mothercare used to provide a room for breastfeeding mothers, which is fair enough. I don't see why other places should have to, but then Bill's tale of the Little Chef is not an isolated incident. If the family is out for a meal, is the baby expected to go hungry? So long as mothers are discreet, I see nothing wrong with breast-feeding in public. However, obviously some people do take umbrage at mothers doing what comes naturally and it's hardly hygienic to have to feed baby sitting on the toilet, which is the only alternative if no special room is set aside. Maybe restaurants clearly aimed at families (Little Chef, Mc Donalds etc.) should provide a separate mother and baby facility to accommodate changing and feeding, rather than just the usual drop down changing platform in the ladies?
As for supermarket trips, I've lost count of the number of times our two were fed in the car in Sainsbury's car park! LOL! Unfortunately, Noel, breastfed babies don't stick as readily to a schedule as bottle fed ones. Both of mine would go through periods when they wanted feeding hourly and there's no way I could get to the shops, go round the store and get home again in an hour. Fortunately on all the occasions I had to breastfeed our two in public places, I never encountered anyone who took offence. Maybe if certain people realised breasts are primarily organs for feeding children and only secondarily objects of titillation, the outrage of a narrow-minded few would be a thing of the past?
As for supermarket trips, I've lost count of the number of times our two were fed in the car in Sainsbury's car park! LOL! Unfortunately, Noel, breastfed babies don't stick as readily to a schedule as bottle fed ones. Both of mine would go through periods when they wanted feeding hourly and there's no way I could get to the shops, go round the store and get home again in an hour. Fortunately on all the occasions I had to breastfeed our two in public places, I never encountered anyone who took offence. Maybe if certain people realised breasts are primarily organs for feeding children and only secondarily objects of titillation, the outrage of a narrow-minded few would be a thing of the past?