Shocked - did anyone else see BBC Look East - breastfeeding........

[HRHQoQ]

story??? just found the story here .

Some of the commments from people about the story (which they apparently had at lunchtime too) were absolutely shocking - "it's disgusting" were among ones that stuck out at me. Not wanting to get into a huge breast/bottle/formula advertising debate about it (as I'm going to work tonight so won't be around to partcipate until tomorrow afternoon/evening.

But I'm sure it's attitudes like that which have a bigger impact on a woman's decision to breastfeed, than some formula advertising.

I currently have a 9 week old exclusively breastfed baby. At first the news story had me feeling all gung ho and I wanted to march out to the nearest shopping centre, sit on a bench, and proudly feed my baby. However, I am staggered by the comments that have been raised in reaction to this news story, on radio phone-ins, Internet forums and newspapers and in future, if I have to feed my baby in public, I think I am going to feel more aware of what other people might be thinking.

The more I read and hear the more angry I get. I almost wish the story had never been reported by the media because my blissful naivety, that I was doing something to feel proud of, has disappeared. I wouldn't mind if such a story opened up discussions and changed people's viewpoints for the better but people are such idiots and unable to look at the issue of breastfeeding with any logic.

(Not talking about anyone on Mumsnet BTW)

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Wasn't there a survey done a while back that said about 80% of people don't mind at all whether women bfeed in public? Have some hazy recollection of it.

Think this is just a minority of nutters who are being so vocal in their toilet analogies.

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hunkermunker ~ really? I hope so. Attitudes like those on the police forum have me wanting to leave the country.

What gets me is that the people who phone up to say "Give the baby a bottle when they're out" just seem to see it as being the obvious answer that these breastfeeding mothers are too stupid to work out. Selfish women, wanting to inflict their boobs on the general public - how dare they!

Actually, when I was bfeeding DS, I only had one long stare from a chap walking past me in Kew Gardens - I was feeding DS on a bench when he was about 4mo - I couldn't work out what the man was so interested in as I was chatting to a friend and had forgotten I was breastfeeding!

People who've had bad experiences can email the NCT

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Some really interesting research on this link

Particularly interested in this:

"Women are three times more likely to stop breastfeeding in the first two weeks if none of their friends breastfeed.
Almost 90% of women with friends who breastfed their children, also planned to breastfeed their own babies. Where women didn't have friends who breastfed, the percentage was reduced to 51%"

Kind of shows that peer pressure has a huge effect, doesn't it?

LOL Oops. Nice to be predictable See that last link I posted - in 2000, 85% of babies had solid food BEFORE 4mo! Early weaners abound!

so are you planning to bf db hunker??

Beatie,don't let it put you off-I think phone ins and the like tend to attract those who feel strongly for and against.
Most people really don't worry about it-they're too busy getting on with their own lives.

Yes I agree. Don't let it put you off Beatie. I still bf my 15 month-old and I bf on the tube on the way home from nursery every day because that's when I am sitting down for a moment before playtime, dinner time etc. Yes, I know he is big and we get a few looks, but why should I let other people's hang-ups bother me ? Once you have established breastfeeding you can't see much anyway unless you really try to catch a glimpse. It's not seeing a woman's breast (because you don't really). No, unfortunately it's the IDEA of bf which is a problem for a lot of weirdos out there.

Wow this story has actually made me really sad. I breastfed my dd til she was 10 months old. Generally everyone was fine with this, I sat everywhere from the bank to the highstreet feeding her! But I found the attitude changed the older she got, with a few people telling me it was 'wierd' to feed an older baby. As for showing your boobs, please! I for one made the utmost effort to hide every bit of flesh, not least because of an enormous, stretchmarked tummy! I do think the prejudice is in part geographical, though. I live in Devon, and all the mothers I know, including some very young ones, have breastfed their children in public without comment. However, when I went home to Cambridge for a week I was made to feel very uncomfortable, and didn't feel I could just whip em out the way I could here! Even when I did sit quietly in a cafe to do it I still felt I was being looked at I just can't believe that someone would be stupid enough to complain about something so silly

Snafu - thanks for that link to the police forum - now I'm really hot and bothered!

So many insulting and misogynistic comments on there, it's hard to believe. Take a look, it would be funny if it wasn't so offensive. No, actually it would never be funny. It sounds as though many of the most insulting comments are coming from young men. What kind of a society are we living in? These men seem to really believe that we "militant types" bf in public just to offend people and show our tits off. Comparing it to having a shit in public, ffs! Referring to "rotund breeder chav"...

Read this from the forum:
Q. Is this image of a woman breastfeeding so offensive !

Absolutely!! Can't you see that she's not being discrete? That she's one of those militant types that doesn't care about her baby, just wants to make sure she pushes her rights in
everyone's face? Goodness, I can almost smell it from here!

OR ANOTHER POSTER?S LOVELY RESPONSE:

No, that image isnt offensive, but its a clevely chosen image by the bbc to make it look like those opposed to public breastfeeding are going OTT.
The reality of the matter is that its much more likely for someone to sit there open blowse or with a strappy top pulled down and a big fat udder hanging out, then a discreet scene like the one you posted.
For example would you want to go out for a meal in a restaurant and have to endure something like this: www.asklenore.info/breastfeeding/im...am/4_months.jpg going on at the table next to you? Because I sure as hell wouldn't.

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Big fat udder???
Oh I'm feeling really angry, wish I hadn't started reading this thread!

I think I'm going to go and complain about this forum.

Article here says 64% of women mistakenly thought people minded breastfeeding being done in public Will keep looking for the survey I think I remember though!

And Snafu - thanks for that link Nothing special about the police on that forum!

(Hope your course is going well btw - I miss you!)

Found this on the NCT site, but you have to do the survey to get to it:

A survey carried out by the Department of Health in 2003 found that more than 80% of adults thought discreet breastfeeding was acceptable.

Survey's here

I have just written to my MP asking him to support David Kidney's Bill which will bring England into line with Scotland in the promotion, rather than the persecution of breastfeeding mothers.

This website makes it very easy to find and write to your MP, if anyone else wants to join me.

That's brilliant Nome - could I be lazy and ask you to post the text of your letter so that I can simply duplicate it for speed?

Following the press coverage about the lady who was
approached by a
police officer in Norfolk passing on a complaint on her
breastfeeding
in public, I am writing to find out whether you will be
supporting
David Kidney's Bill on Breastfeeding etc. The Second
Reading is on the
24 February. This Bill will hopefully bring England into
line with
Scotland in the promotion, rather than persecution of
breastfeeding
mothers.

They like you to write individual emails (otherwise MPs don't feel valued or something...). Feel free to plagarise. My MP is David Howarth, so please don't send him an identical message! I 'acquired' some of one line from this discussion (thank you Gizmo).

HTH

I didn't want to rant on unless he comes out against it...so I kept it short and sweet.

Brilliant thank you Nome.

Not a problem. I didn't realise how strongly I felt about it until I read the police forum someone linked to earlier. GRRR. I usually just lurk on these threads as everyone is more eloquent than me, but am still feeling GRR about this.

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