Last week I posted the comments of several women around the world about their experiences nursing in public. Here are more great stories and observations from readers around the world.
Have some experience nursing in public abroad or in your home country that you'd like to share? Email me or leave a comment below!
EGYPT: "I have nursed in Egypt, Jordan and Qatar. In countries like these, where some of the women cover everything from their hair to their ankles, you might think that nursing in public would cause a scandal. However, public nursing is accepted. In fact, many strangers have complemented me for breastfeeding. The covered women usually feed under their covers, but I've seen them pull out their breasts to get started. I do have friends that have encountered men trying to "sneak a peak" or give lecherous looks, but those same men would do th at if you were wearing a sleeveless top, or sometimes just for being Western. I nurse everywhere and as a result I nurse in public with confidence." - Karen, American mom living in Cairo, and pictured at left nursing on a cruise of the Nile.
NORWAY: "These days in Norway, nursing babies is the norm, at least for the first year. New mothers are taught how to nurse in the hospital and given support by their doctor or nurses at the local Health Station. Nursing in public is completely acceptable, from buses and trams, to shops and parks." - Rebekah, American mom who lived in Norway.
JAPAN: "Nursing my 16 month old son in Japan is easier and more accepted then when I nursed my daughter in the states. I'm conservative, however while riding on the train little old Japanese women like to come lift the blanket and with an ear to ear grin say "kawaii" which means cute. In our first trip to Tokyo Disney I was in amazed with how organized and nursing friendly the baby center was. They had a huge nursing setup that consisted of a room full of chairs with a roll out bucket below for belongings, lullaby music, and a curtain to pull in case you have one of those easily distracted nosy babies like mine that enjoys showering his neck in milk." - Averi, American mother living in Japan.
SOUTH AFRICA: "Breastfeeding in public has always been a little nerve wracking for me, and initially resulted in a lot of blushing on my part! My husband was a great support though, and this boosted my confidence a great deal. After 2 babies and 4 years experience breastfeeding in public, I am much more at ease and sometimes hardly give it a thought. Sure, I've gotten the odd or curious look, but I've also gotten many a supportive smile over the years. My absolute favourite place to breastfeed here in sunny South Africa is on the beach. There's nothing better than holding your baby close while the sun warms your back and and the gentle roar of the waves tickle your ears." - Aalize, South African mother, pictured in Cape Town at right.
ENGLAND: "My experiences of nursing in London are all good! You do see other nursing mothers, not as many as you would expect but I have never really felt uncomfortable nursing in public in the UK. Nor has anyone ever made any comments to me about it. I've had the odd look and staring but I think that's inevitable sometimes." - Carter-Ann, American mother living in London
NOTHERN IRELAND: "Coming from Northern Ireland I feel very fortunate in that any time I have breastfed in public I have been able to do so comfortably, discreetly and without fear of negative reactions from others. Saying that though, I personally only ever publicly breastfed my babies when they were very tiny and I have never attempted to breastfeed any of them in public once they were over about six months old. I am currently still breastfeeding my 20 month old son and am just a little worried about how people may react if they were to see me breastfeed him. (I have heard a few horror stories from friends and relations about encounters they have had whilst breastfeeding in public here - in one instance in a cafe in the Republic of Ireland a customer snarled at my cousin who was breastfeeding her newborn telling her that what she was doing was disgusting!) By and large I don't believe most people really notice if a mother is breastfeeding in public (assuming the mother is fairly discreet). Facilities for breastfeeding mothers have improved
considerably here in recent years with many shopping centres now advertising themselves "breastfeeding friendly establishments" and providing well-equipped nursing facilities. So this is certainly a step forward in helping nursing mothers to nurse in public if they so choose. And a television advertising campaign by the Health Promotion Agency, Northern Ireland is also working well to help change public attitudes and opinions. (Unfortunately Northern Ireland has the lowest rates for breastfeeding in the United Kingdom and one of the lowest rates in Europe and beyond.) I do think attitudes towards breastfeeding in general are slowly changing here for the better. But we still have a long way to go; there is a dire shortage of peer support workers and breastfeeding counsellors which doesn't help. And school children are not told very much about the benefits of breastfeeding which I find very sad." -Sinead, mother from Northern Ireland, pictured above at left with her son.
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