Nursing in public around the world - Part I

A few weeks ago I posted a request for pictures of you nursing around the world, and in response I got an email from Virginia, an American mom of two who will soon be relocating to England.  She was gathering information on what it's like to nurse in public there, and suggested that I do a post about nursing in public in different countries.

In the six months I've been writing this blog I've "met" breastfeeding mothers living a number of countries, so I put the question to them.  Here is the first of two posts with their responses.

Do you have some experience nursing in public abroad or in your home country that you'd like to share?  Leave a comment below, or send me a picture and a paragraph for the next installment.

DENMARK:  "We were in Copenhagen for six weeks and I nursed my son throughout the city during our stay.  I saw many other nursing mothers as well at cafes and other public places.  One day I was in a public park and I started glancing around me to see if anyone minded that I was nursing.  Over my shoulder was an attractive woman in her 30s sunbathing topless and no one gave her a second glance. I didn't feel self-conscious after that!" - Rebekah, American mother shown at right in Denmark.

SOUTH AFRICA:  "Feeding in public is not the "done thing" among white South African women, but our black sisters have been doing it for centuries.  Sadly, this country has a fast-growing number of formula feeders - across all cultural groups - and this makes the idea of breastfeeding in public even more of an issue for the prudes among us.  I fed in public quite happily until Samara was about ten months old. I've never had a negative experience, but admittedly, I've always been able to delay feeds until we got home - not that I wouldn't have fed her if necessary." - Beth, South African mother.

MEXICO:  I've been nursing in public in San Miguel De Allende, Mexico for ten months now and have never had a problem nor felt uncomfortable.  I see Mexican women doing it all the time.  They are more careful about covering themselves up than the foreigners I see here, but no matter how it's done, it doesn't seem to ruffle anyone's feathers." - Zoe, American mother living in Mexico, shown at left.

GERMANY:  "As for my experience nursing in public here, I can't recall any negative experiences. I've nursed in public both on post and off and most people just look and smile, especially women -  I wonder if they're remembering back to nursing their own children? I don't see many German women nursing in public but have seen a few in restaurants - even saw one in Munich at a biergarten.  The Germans don't seem to mind at all."  - Jennifer, American mother living in Germany.

MALAYSIA:  "Breastfeeding here in Malaysia is not a strange phenomenon, but public breastfeeding still taboo.  Even when we nurse discreetly people will still look strangely at you.  However, most Muslim mothers have less problems since we use the "tudung" cloth to cover our heads.  So, we can always cover our bare areas with the tudung, like you can see in this picture.  I travel a lot, and when I travel I normally bring my baby everywhere - restaurants, shopping malls.  Of course it helps to have the right clothes and support from family and friends."  - Noor, Malaysian mother, shown at right.

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