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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Breastfeeding in retaurants puts other people off their meals

115 replies

babyonboard · 14/05/2007 08:19

wtf!?

A woman on bbc news now, with pretty strange views

'women should breastfeed before they leave the house, it's not fair on others to sdo it in public'

OP posts:
LittleMouseWithCLogsOn · 14/05/2007 08:49

i dont like peopels breasts in a cafe
period
even my own
but thats not th epoint

MrsJohnCusack · 14/05/2007 08:51

exactly
you can almost NEVER see anything when someone's breastfeeding. and why would you NEED to look anyway, hardly ever is there nowhere else to look. I don't get it

yet I have to see unpleasant bits of other people's anatomy all the time - arses hanging out, muffin tops, thongs, stange facial hair, bingo wings, manky feet, pot bellies on men - what's their excuse eh?

MARGOsBeenPlayingWithMyNooNoo · 14/05/2007 08:51

if it offends you, LOOK AWAY!

I've been lucky and never had a negative reaction. In fact I had a lady smile nicely in my direction recently in M&S cafe.

aDad · 14/05/2007 08:53

Quite ridiculous that it bothers people so much

harpsichordcarrier · 14/05/2007 08:59

I think part of it is that breastfeeding is considered such a minority sport. I teach bf in my classes and one of the first things I ask is when do you first remember seeing someone bf, and usually about half of the class says they don't remember ever seeing any one bf. and many of the class weren't bf themselves so the whole thing is very alien.
usually at least one or two people he never even held a baby.
I think it is a miracle that anyone bf successfully at all tbh. in cultures where women grow up seeing bf every day, it must be so much easier

harpsichordcarrier · 14/05/2007 09:02

I always try to smile encouragingly at bf women too, but there is a fine line between a supportive smile and grinning like a mad loon leading to a restraining order.

PinkTulips · 14/05/2007 09:08

a few weeks ago after swimming i was in the cafe feeding ds as always and a women came in and exclaimed 'oh look, he's having some lovely mummy milk. that's beautiful' which made me smile

have never had direct nasty comments but i did once meet up with another young mum from another site i go to, i had to feed ds while we werre having coffee and she got very pale and strange and haven't heard from her since

i'm braver with ds as with 2 i don't have any option but to feed him as and when he needs it but with dd i was so afraid of peoples reactions and she wasn't a very discreet feeder so i used to go out of my way to feed in private, fed in the macdonalds disabled toilets once

LittleMouseWithCLogsOn · 14/05/2007 09:09

my classes?

harpsichordcarrier · 14/05/2007 09:12

(Antenatal teacher)

beckybrastraps · 14/05/2007 09:21

Not breastfeeding, but when I was younger I was in a cafe with my mum and there was a woman with her daughter who had obvious physical difficulties who she was feeding, and there was a bit of mess (not unreasonably of course). A couple were muttering and then spoke to the manager who came over and asked the mother and daughter to leave as there had been a complaint about them being 'distasteful' . So my called him over and asked very loudly if the couple who had complained could be removed as she found their attitude highly distateful and sharing a room with them was putting her off her food. Couple in question slunk out.

I have waited to repeat this tactic if my, or other's, breastfeeding was ever queried. But it never has been. Shucks.

beckybrastraps · 14/05/2007 09:22

That should be 'my mum called him over...'

MissGolightly · 14/05/2007 09:27

Lol! How about "people eating in restaurants puts my baby off his milk, I think they should eat their food before they leave the house."

Stupid woman.

lizyjane · 14/05/2007 09:28

What a brilliant response by your mum, beckybrastraps.

FioFio · 14/05/2007 09:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

expatinscotland · 14/05/2007 09:34

It is illegal in Scotland to harass a women who is breastfeeding in public.

beckybrastraps · 14/05/2007 09:40

It was awful .
I've never forgotten it.
Because it wasn't just the couple who complained, but the manager for acting on it. And everyone else just looked very pointedly at the table while it was going on.
And that poor girl. Fancy hearing yourself spoken about like that. God, it really does make me angry, even now.

MissGolightly · 14/05/2007 09:43

Your mum sounds great Becky.

Tommy · 14/05/2007 09:49

I caught this on the telly too and knew they'd be a thread about it! That woman was clearly bonkers.

I'd like to take DS3 to a restaurant and sit right next to her while he screamed his head off and then say innocently "Well, I fed him before I came out....."

I'm also going to search out that breastfeeding manifesto website the sane and sensible woman was talking about.

fluffyanimal · 14/05/2007 09:49

Expat, why can't we have a law like that.

sniff · 14/05/2007 09:51

they are discussing it on channel 5 now

lowri turner has just said its excruciating pain and she doesnt want her nipples toughening up

sniff · 14/05/2007 09:54

now there is a woman saying women shouldnt bf in public ever
because it hurts women who cant feed or cant have children will be far to upset to see it

FioFio · 14/05/2007 09:55

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

tibsy · 14/05/2007 09:57

becky, i love the sound of your mum.
i didnt bf ds (12 yrs ago) but am now bfing dd (8 1/2 months). it never even occurred to me before starting bfing with dd that anyone would/could object to me doing something that is completely natural.
what is wrong with these people?

MissGolightly · 14/05/2007 09:57

Clearly it woudl be better to just keep babies at home 24/7, then no-one need be offended or hurt by their existence.

tibsy · 14/05/2007 09:58

i agree fiofio, lowri turner is a complete wassack

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