Breastfeeding in Italy

[longmate]

I am going to be going to Italy with my 3 month old and I'm a bit worried about how the Romans will react to breastfeeding. Does anyone know if it accepted or am i likely to be stared at?

we went to sicily last year when dd was 8 months. i fed her everywhere & had no problems. the only other person i saw b-feeding was english though!

Thanks! That is really good to hear. Italians seem to love babies so I am guessing that it is quite easy to eat out?

I don't know about italy but in Spain last year I breastfed dd without problems.

Hi longmate, I'm Italian (but live in England). Yes, Italians love babies, but don't exptect to find highchairs etc in restaurants . However, children are more or less always welcome at restaurants. As for breastfeeding, it should be allright. In some areas it is more common for people to b/f...

we were in Italy last summer with my niece of 5 months. Italians were so lovely with her, seem to be just so nice with kids, unlike in English cafes etc they will rush up to your baby and coo over them. I would try to be quite relaxed about waitresses etc picking up the baby for a cuddle, as it comes naturally there. It seems to be a culture which adores kids, and kids respond well. My SIL had no probs whatsoever bf, the same could not be said for France...

it will be great!

I was in Italy last year when ds was 2 and a half months and breastfed him everywhere. No one even seemed to really notice. As others have said the Italians love babies - ds was the star of every restaurant we went into!

yes, be prepared, esp if you have a baby with blond hair and blue eyes... Italians just love blond babies...
be also prepared: baby changing facilities are virtually inexistant... where exactly are you going?
Have a fab time!

Doubt they will even blink to be honest it will be more the tourists who come from countries that is is 'not done'. I found that some bars I asked out of politeness and they were overhelpful binging me water !!
Be prepared for the Italians as Franca says cooing over the baby and asking you how old the baby is. You will not find changing areas in many places as they don't seem to havegot round to that yet cxompared to the UK.

Totally agree that there's no problem bfeeding, I used to have emergency moments in the strangest places and nearly always found people helpful. I once had to feed in a DIY megastore and huddled discreetly in a nook by the shelves, only to find at least 3 (male) sales assistants brandishing a chair, cushions and a bottle of water.

And yes, beware of total dearth of changing facilities, you can guarantee there won't even be a surface in the toilets for you to change your baby on. I remember indignantly changing a pooey nappy on the table of a museum cafe, daring anyone to say anything to me. Sadly (because I really wanted to vent) no one made a comment. Most pizzerias I've noticed tend to have highchairs (the ones that perch off the tables), but go anywhere posher and there's not one in sight.

the strangest thing i did in Italy was to weigh my dd (then two months) at the fruttivendolo (veg shop)!

Thanks so much for that, I feel really reassured. Info about changing facilities really useful as well. If I find anywhere to change my little boy I will let you all know when I get back.