Your partners/husbands' reaction to BF in public

[aurorec]

I hope this doesn't turn into another controversial thread, but I'm just curious about men and their reaction to the mother of their child nursing in public.

DH has always been 100% supportive of my BF both children and has absolutely no issues about where I do it.
I tend to be discreet for my sake rather than anyone else's (flabby tummy and leaky boobs being the problem), but I've nursed in airports, planes, trains, restaurants etc. as well as in front of male friends and even his boss' house once when we were invited there for dinner.

He's never once expressed any awkwardness/negativity about it.

However, I was talking to my sister about BFing a while ago (she nursed her 2 sons for 8 weeks). She never nursed in public and she told me proudly that her husband wouldn't have liked it because he didn't want her exposing herself in public.
One of my best friends, an extended nurser, said exactly the same thing. She told me that although her husband was totally behind extended nursing, he didn't want men to see his wife nursing.

Now I guess I am very lucky- it's never come up for us, but quite frankly I think that if hubby had expressed disapproval I would have told him to grow up and get over himself.

Having issues with your wife sunbathing topless I might understand, but feeding a baby? Please.

Dp has always been totally 100% supportive of me feeding DS out and about and does his best to find a discrete place and make me as comfortable as possible.

Dh was supportive.

But now that ds is over 2, he is not keen about me bf-ing in public. And neither am I.

herbietea - "always being discrete"

Most women I see breast feeding in restaurants just swaddle the baby and themselves in baby blanket and turn away from the room and face a wall. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. I do not think they shoudl have to leave the room. Of course its obvious they are breast feeding but what is to object to in that?

That said, I did slightly object once when a woman at the next door table in a restaurant picked up her baby laid him on the table among the cutlery and plates, whipped off a very dirty nappy, wiped him, put on a new one and then put him back in his pram and started eating again.

Put me right off my lunch.

Herbie that is ridiculous - some people are bonkers.

DH is extremely supportive and just wants to make sure that I'm comfy etc etc. I've fed everywhere, restaurants, dinner table at PIL house, shops, in the middle of a cristening and standing up at the back of a concert in a church.

herbitea - I was agreeing with you by the way. Sorry I did not make that clear.

My dh has never had an issue with it at all, nor my friend's husbands - I've BF at weddings, dinner parties, clinics, restaurants, you name it!

Alibaba, I envy you being able to BF standing up - I always wanted to be one of those BFing mums who just undid a button on their top and voila, discreet and hardly noticeable whereas I always had to hoik myself and my babies into this and that position to find the easiest way!

My Dh is supportive of me breastfeeding but a bit awkward about it. He always looks slightly uncomfortable and uptight when I feed in public but would never not want me to if that makes sense.

Have asked him about it and he says its because he hasnt really ever seen anyone but me breastfeed before and its just that its different and hes not always sure to react hence the slight rabbit in headlights look.

He comes from a very FF family though and hasnt ever seen anyone really bf apart from me. He goes and marries a complete lactivist lol.

Dh had no problems whatsoever.

We travelled quite a bit when dc's were little, so I have breastfed in all sorts of places, including parks, restaurants, mountain ridges, Winchester cathedral, aeroplanes, buses, an absolutely packed boat train.

I've never seen him squirm or suggest that I ought to cover up.

Ironically, the only time it was ever suggested I should retire to a more secluded place was in the waiting room of the paeciatric clinic at the hospital when dd was little. I was a little annoyed by that, particularly as this was a hospital completely committed to breastfeeding. If I wasn't embarrassed, I didn't need a nurse to suggest that I ought to be.

But BetaDad's experience sounds disgusting. I have changed dirty nappies in some strange places, too, but never near food, and always as discreetly as possible.