What do you think of my MP's reply to letter about breastfeeding

[JiminyCricket]

...asking him to support the upcoming bill about supporting women's right to breastfeed in all public places?

Basically he said he supported promotion of breastfeeding as best for babies and would support women not being discriminated against in this area 'but my personal view is that certain pubs and courts of law should be excluded from these provisions'.

no I agree about children
but fully breastfed babies is (are?) another matter
and not all courtrooms are criminal courtrooms after all
lots of them are much more relaxed and informal places

I think it would be interesting to force the issue - they may actually be breaking the law by banning breastfeeding in court in some instances. If a woman is effectively forced to be there for some reason, ie she is a vital witness, or a defendent/respondent, and she has a fully breastfed baby, is it legitimate to force her to be separated from her child/make alternative feeding choices? Who makes these decisions and where is it set out clearly so we can all see the legality of it? Interesting (Hmmmmmmmm......moustache-stroking emoticon)

i am not saying it's the most important issue btw, it is just a strange place to exclude

Well, if they don't allow children or babies, it's not that weird to not allow bf.

But I do think a blanket ban on all babies, including fully breastfed ones, under all circumstances, is a bit extreme and unfair.

But why is it a strange place to exclude? It's a place where business is carried out, just like an office. And if you are such a vital person to the court then surely that court requires your 100% attention, and you can't give that with a bf baby.

And I am increibly pro-bf, and pro children, and families NQC - I bf both my children until they self weaned at 11 months, and often bf in public.

It's the idea of a woman having her choices removed that worries me. If she can't breastfeed at work, that's different - lots of women choose not to go back to work until they have finished bf for this reason - but if she is legally required to be in court, but has NOT made the decision that she wants to stop bf or leave her child with a sitter, I don't see how she can, as a mother, be deprived of the right to make those choices for her child. I think there's a problem there with basic rights. Unless you've been convicted of something, can the state really create a scenario in which you may not be with your child and provide for his feeding needs?

no it's not like an office Prufrock not really
it is an entirely different kettle of fish
in an office you could take a break and go and feed
you could use a private room etc
if you are involved in a trial and you can't breastfeed your baby then it is very difficult
you might be effectively asking someone to stop feeding

Reminds me of the time I was invited for jury service. Apart from the fact that for part of the year I was still exempt from a previous stint of jury service, I also told them that I was still bf, so would need to be allowed time to express and somewhere to store the EBM.

Never heard from them again that year!

Finally called me again 4 years later (last February - didn't have any excuses this time (although at least that means that I am now off the hook for at least another 4 years).

Then I would say that you should not be able to be compelled to be in court if you have an exclusively bf baby (say under 6 months). Or, if you have to be, then yes the court should enable you to have breaks. A bf baby should be treated in such circumstances almost as a medical condition (and no I'm not saying bf is an illness or anything before you jump on me) but a bf baby and mother do have physical needs which should be taken into account by the court. I would completely disagree with any mother being forced to give up bf because of a court case, but just don't necesarily think the way around that is to allow children into court

If it were me I would kick up a colossal fuss about having to leave the baby outside, even if there were breaks to allow feeding. I never left either of mine with anyone at all when they were that age (still don't really) and don't think I would be able to. If the woman in question didn't have family would the court appoint a stranger to babysit? And the woman would be forced to comply? I can't see how that would work.

Aah you see that's wheer we are really disagreeing MOM - Even that young i was desperate to leave mine with somebody else for an hour or so

That'll be the crux of it then!!