 |
| Louise Burns breastfeeding her baby while having tea with her family – and with the napkin she was told to wear by Claridge’s. |
Burns, feeling shocked and humiliated at being asked to conceal her 12-week-old daughter, tweeted a photograph of the incident, saying: “Asked to cover up with this ridiculous shroud while breastfeeding so not to cause offence at Claridge’s.”
Five days later, the outrage provoked by her tweets had swirled into a political storm involving the prime minister, the shadow home secretary and Ukip’s leader, Nigel Farage, and led to a protest that will gather on Saturday outside the luxury hotel to demand a change in its policy.
Downing Street was initially reluctant to be drawn into commenting on the incident, saying only that women should be free to breastfeed their babies in public.
But after Farage told a radio interviewer on Friday that breastfeeding mothers could “perhaps sit in a corner”, a question that had sparked heated debate on social media and parenting websites became a political one too.
Farage told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: “I think that given that some people feel very embarrassed by [breastfeeding], it isn’t too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way that’s not openly ostentatious.”
If the hotel asked a nursing mother to cover up, he said: “Frankly, that’s up to Claridge’s. I very much take the view that if you’re running an establishment you should have rules.”
When asked if women should be told to go to the toilet to breastfeed, Farage replied: “Or perhaps sit in the corner, or whatever it might be – that’s up to Claridge’s. It’s not an issue that I get terribly hung up about, but I know particularly people of the older generation feel awkward and embarrassed by it.”
Responding to Farage’s comments, David Cameron’s spokesman said: “It’s for Mr Farage to explain his views. The prime minister shares the view of the NHS, which is that breastfeeding is completely natural and it’s totally unacceptable for anybody to be made to feel uncomfortable while breastfeeding in public.”
The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, later tweeted: “NHS recommends exclusive breastfeeding. Mums, ignore @Nigel_Farage & @ClaridgesHotel – no corners or covers needed #ostentatiousbreastfeeding.”
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, suggested Farage himself should sit in a corner following his remarks.
The hotel was also condemned by the Liberal Democrat equalities minister, Jo Swinson, who said: “It’s depressing that when there are such well-documented benefits of breastfeeding, officious policies like this make new mums feel uncomfortable for doing nothing more than feeding their baby.”
“Many babies don’t like feeding under a tent and mothers shouldn’t be forced to cover up, as if they are doing something illicit or wrong.”
Farage later tried to clarify his remarks, blaming the media for misinterpreting him. “I personally have no problem with mothers breastfeeding wherever they want,” he said.
However, he went on to repeat his views that a public establishment “perhaps might ask women to sit in a corner” and argued that most breastfeeding women “will recognise the need to be discreet in certain, limited, circumstances”.
“Of course we allow breastfeeding at Claridge’s,” a spokeswoman for the hotel said, “We just ask guests to be discreet, that’s all.”
But the campaign group Free to Feed called on breastfeeding women and others to gather outside the hotel at 2pm on Saturday for what it described as a peaceful “nurse-in” in support of nursing mothers.
“Enough is enough. Claridge’s have had ample time to apologise for their mistake and rectify the situation by changing their ‘policy’, which states that they allow nursing mothers ‘as long as they are discreet’.
“Claridge’s seem to think that they are above the laws and legislation of this land,” a statement on the group’s website said.
Taken from HERE.
Other points of view:
Is public breastfeeding appropriate? at Debate.com
The Case Against Breastfeeding In Public at Go Fatherhood.
The ludicrous arguments against breastfeeding in public gives me the… at The Milk Meg.
Why I'm Glad Someone Told Me To Stop Breastfeeding In Public at Huffungton Post
The Case For Public Breastfeeding at Shattersnipe: Malcontent & Rainbows
I’m not sure about this topic that can be a thing. And I also don’t know what does woman feel physically and mentally when they breast-feed in the public. Maybe some of them are shy to do it or they just wouldn’t even bother by the surroundings. But what I know is that when I’m still in those baby age, my mom would breast-feed me every couple of hours, depends on the scheduled time, to feed me and have those nutrients as my daily food source. And yes, some of us will feel uncomfortable seeing it, but those people would rather see from that perspective rather than the baby’s perspective. Maybe some mothers would prefer breast-feeding at home, where it’s the most common and comfy place and would use milk, from milk powder for babies, as a food source outside the house. But some of us doesn’t have the money to do so, milk powder is expensive and would prefer to do breast-feeding in public. From me, maybe they could go into an infirmary room to do so.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that there is no problem with breastfeeding in public. I believe that breastfeeding is a natural thing and should not be prohibited. From what I’ve read, newborn babies have to be fed for every two to three hours. So it is hard for the mother to search for a private place through the day. Public toilets are unhygienic and other places are just not private enough. This means that the mother cannot go anywhere without worrying that someone will be irritated or even disgusted just for feeding her baby. The funny thing is that people seemed to be okay with seeing women topless on a cover of a magazine and other advertisement. My advice is that if you don’t like seeing women feeding their babies in public, then look away. The reality is babies need to eat, just like we all do. While in fact, breast milk is proven to be more beneficial for the baby than the formula milk. I think that people need to see it from the mother and the baby’s side. Mothers have to feed their babies and babies need the nutrition in order to be healthy.
ReplyDeletePersonally, this is a really interesting topic for me because there’s a lot of pro and cons about breastfeeding in public. I personally agree if mom sometimes breastfeed their baby in public due to crying babies sometimes make certain people feel disturb but, moms should cover their breast so it won’t make people around feel uncomfortable. In this case, a lot of people are in the cons side because breastfeed for them is a private thing to do and not for public. But nowadays, mothers have their own trick, which is they put cover above their breast and stays in the corner of the room in order for people not to see their breastfeeding activities. In the past, breastfeeding is not appropriate to go public and everyone will thing negatively. Like several pictures that have been shown in the blog, all of them are showing negative comments about breastfeeding activities in the environment.
ReplyDeleteWe often see women bring their baby in the public places, and there is no problem with that. But, when it comes to the breastfeeding, people around hem hem sometimes tell them not to not to do it. But please ladies and gentlemen, it is a normal thing to breastfeed in the public places. For example, if your baby cry because they are hungry in the public places, and the baby can only consume breast milk, then you cannot do anything except breastfeed the baby. In my opinion only people who are seduced that say it is a bad thing to do in front of the public. Well it actually can create an oppurtunity also for bad people to harass the woman that is breastfeeding the baby. I think, the best way to do to anticipat this kind of problem is with making a breastfeeding room for mothers. It surely will help mothers, so they can breastfeed their baby in the public places.
ReplyDeleteQuoting Jo Swinson from the article, “Many babies don’t like feeding under a tent and mothers shouldn’t be forced to cover up, as if they are doing something illicit or wrong.” I agree with this statement. I think it’s up to the mother whether she wants to be covered up or not. Sometimes, even the baby doesn’t like being covered up, forcing the mother to breastfeed openly. There shouldn’t be any rules or procedures on how mothers should breastfeed in public. Although, breastfeeding rooms are available in most public places, if the mother feels more comfortable in doing it in the middle of the restaurant, then they should do so. Breastfeeding should be seen as a normal thing and not as an offensive act. I agree with what Erica said if you feel uncomfortable seeing women breastfeeding in public then you should look away. It is as easy as that.
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem that is still being debated about even today; mothers are still being criticized and told off for breastfeeding their baby in public. Realistically speaking, breastfeeding is simply the act of a mother feeding her child the nutrients they need, albeit through another method. I think that the problem lies within society’s hyper sexualization of the female breasts. Like what the comics are showing, the media only displays pictures of breasts in sex magazines and censors cleavages in movies and pictures for being ‘too sexy’ and because of this, people forget that their actual purpose is to lactate milk for babies. So when people see a woman breastfeeding, people feel uncomfortable. Women should not feel uncomfortable for having to feed their child in public, because the milk that the body produces provides much more beneficial and safer formula for the baby than any powdered milk ever will.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding is still considered as a controversial thing when being done in public. Many people think that it is an inappropriate thing to do because it shows private parts of women. In my opinion, breastfeeding in public is an appropriate thing to do as long as the mother is being rather quiet and calm when doing it so that the public wouldn’t be distracted. It is not always had to be the mother that should be discreet when breastfeeding, but the public should also not stare on people that are breastfeeding because sometimes, even though the mother that breastfeeds her baby already uses cover, some people still give a rather uncomfortable gaze to the mother. Sometimes a mother that is breastfeeding her baby in public is being judged as a person that is more disturbing than a person that is drunk in daytime. What matters is not a mother that is breastfeeding her baby in public, it is those passersby with dirty minds that often causes discomfort.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not like extremists and think that finding a balance is always the best solution. Breastfeeding is a natural act of a mother nursing her baby, shows a special bond between them and brings a tons of benefits for both, the mother and the baby. Therefore, breastfeeding should be supported not prohibited. Babies tend to cry every time they are hungry, so at the end of the day, is better to breast the baby in public than to be annoyed by the cry. However, as humans we have to understand that there might be people feeling uncomfortable with the situation of seeing a naked breast in public. The best way is to analyze the situation and environment, and feed the kid in a discreet way (without uncovering the whole breast). I have seen big malls with reserve places for mothers to feed her babies, so they can feel comfortable and distressed.
ReplyDeleteAh, Nigel Farages and the United Kingdom Independence Party, a Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The widely regarded as the prominent force of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union on the 2016 referendum. A proven divisive party and seen as racist, sexist or otherwise bigoted according to the British Press and other political parties (Goodwin and Milazzo).
ReplyDeleteAccording to the British law, Breastfeeding in public (restaurants, cafes, libraries etc.) is protected under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The mother has another protection when breastfeeding a child under a half year old, constituted by the 2008 amendment to protect maternity rights, superseded by a law that business entities may not discriminate a breastfeeding woman to a child of any age in public spheres (Equality Act 2010).
Additionally, in Scotland, legislation was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2005 to safeguard the freedom of breastfeeding in public. A fine up to 2500 pound sterling to those who prevent women from breastfeeding a child up to the age of two years in public places.
This is a very interesting case to read about and discuss. For one, I think a true solution is most likely a compromise from the mothers and the public. On one hand, the act of breastfeeding a baby is natural, it is an action that occurs very frequently in a childs very early stages in life. Other than that its almost the only way a baby can gain its nutrients. But on the other hand, The act could be an uncomfortable sight to see to some people since a mother would have to expose herself in public in order to feed her child.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day it is really down to how an individual would act in the event that a situation like this arises in front of them. And so I believe that it is just a matter of understanding between the public and the mothers.
It's really not that hard, breast feeding is natural and should not be a problem to do in public. There was a comic I read a few years ago, where it shows a mother breastfeeding her baby in a mall and security comes and says "you can't just show your breasts in public" with a huge picture of a lingerie model in the background. So it is pretty hypocritical of us to ban people from breastfeeding their children. I could understand that it isn't a pleasent sight to see in public, but it really is natural. Maybe it is up to the mother if she wants to breastfeed in public or not. Of course when people breast feed they cover themselves, so it really isn't public nudity. The best way to do it is actually to breast feed in a place that is not very crowded, because you wouldn't even feel comfortable yourself, other people maybe even more. So my suggestion would be to put everyone in each other's shoes. Put the mother in the shoes of the public, how would she feel if she saw a woman breast feeding in public. Put the public in the mother's shoes, what would they do if their child needs to be breast fed but they are in public.
ReplyDeleteI personally have no problem with people who breastfeed in public. I look at this situation in a very simple way, as long as mother’s who breastfeed do not disturb me, I am good with them breastfeeding their babies wherever they like. From the article, we could understand that people are easily bothered by mothers who breastfeed their babies in public and were asked to rather sit in the corner or cover their babies with blanket when they are breastfeeding. I pity baby who were breastfeed under tents ice, it is mentioned in the article that babies do not like being breastfeed under tents. A solution might be having a breastfeeding room. Breastfeeding room might be the best solution since, it would not disturb any customer and babies would not be breastfeed under tents. The breastfeeding room could be combined with the diaper changing room in case, there will be people bothered with the noise of babies when they change diapers.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding in public is still a controversial issue in this day and age since there are some pros and cons between the people. Some people said that they didn’t respect other people because they are doing it in front of many people, while there are others said that it’s a normal thing to do because the baby need to eat as well. From these two sides, it’s pretty much obvious that they have different point of view regarding breastfeeding in public. From here on out, I’m going to say what’s the difference in their mindset regarding this issue. The first one is the people who thinks that they should, in a harsh way, should hide their baby when they are breastfeeding. It’s safe to say that they act in this certain way because they think that breastfeeding is an act of love between a mother and her child that should be done in a private place so that it wouldn’t disturb other people. As for the second one, I think it’s pretty simple because they didn’t really care if there is a mother breastfeeding her child and they think it’s pretty normal because the baby itself needs to eat, just like us. And as for me, I basically don’t care that much but if there is a room that could be used for the mother to breastfeed her child, like a nursing room that we often found in a mall, and she didn’t use it, the only question that would pop up in my head is, why she didn’t use it? But if there aren’t any kind of room to do the breastfeed, I think it’s acceptable to do it in public, for some people that is.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think it's up to the mothers to choose whether or not to do their breastfeeding in public. Some women are very comfortable with it and some other women aren't. But you shouldn't really call it something disrespectful nor offensive. Breastfeeding is a natural thing for a mother to feed her baby, why would it be considered as something shameful and disgusting? I think we all grew up drinking our mother's breast milk, right? If someone really doesn't like to see a mother breastfeeding in public, they should really just turn around and not look at them. There's really no need to call them names making it somewhat a harm for them to do that. She really just got out of labor, don't you think she deserves a little freedom for her to choose how they want to feed their kids. Again, I think it's up to the moms. It's their body, their baby, so it's their decision to make.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a right of every mother to breastfeed her child in a public area. The thing that is a problem here is that the way it is done is sometimes not acceptable in some communities. They consider this to be a taboo concept. Breastfeeding is a way for a mother to provide nutrition to her baby. Sometimes babies cry because they are not given milk. When a baby cries in a public area, this is what sometimes gives discomfort to others and breastfeeding is one way to calm the baby. But now I really appreciate it because there are so many special rooms that are provided for breastfeeding. In several malls and stores, they have provided these facilities to provide a privacy space for each mother to breastfeed their child. Breastfeeding is a very important thing given to babies and often occurs naturally. So that the existence of a breastfeeding room will be intended for every mother and child.
ReplyDeleteBefore I went to college, I traveled with my sister and his new born son. It was very hard as he always cries because being in an airplane is not comfortable and I understand that. However, the main focus here is the breastfeeding part. In the plane, my sister sometimes sits with a foreigner and sometimes the foreigner is a male. Of course, my sister needs to breastfeed her son and what she did is she cover it with her veil. My sister wears hijab so it is very easy to cover it. These days, I think it is not hard to breastfeed baby. There are lots of nursing room which a mother can breasted her baby freely. In Yogyakarta, there are lots of malls and in almost all of it nursing room can be found near the toilet. I do not really think that breastfeeding is a problem anymore nowadays. There might be an occasion where breastfeeding in public will happen, and just like the article covering it with a clothes or anything that is not transparent can fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteBreastfeeding is essential, especially when you go around carrying a newborn baby who needs to be fed every few hours. In my perspective, nowadays there are public places that actually provide facilities such as nursery room which can be found easily in malls which allow mothers to breastfeed their baby. Women can also pump their breastmilk prior to going out with their children and put it in a bottle as it makes it easier for them to feed their children. Both of these alternatives can actually give so much convenience to the mother, compared to breastfeeding in public. Although breastfeeding in public is protected by law, I guess it is much safer to prevent the negative stares from people who are uncomfortable in seeing mothers who breastfeed in public since we never know whether it is socially acceptable or not since it may vary across culture, and it would be much preferable for the mother since she doesn't need to expose her body in order to breastfeed. At the end of the day, anyone is free to choose what's best for them and for their child, and society needs to respect their choices.
ReplyDeleteIt is actually a mundane thing to breastfeed in public. It is not illegal and I also don’t think it’s inappropriate. Some people might be uncomfortable by it but it is something that mothers must do which is to take care of their child. Some mothers feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public. They have the right to breastfeed their baby wherever and whenever the baby is hungry. As written in womenshealth.gov, there are several tips for women breastfeeding in public such as: Wear clothes that allow easy access to your breasts, such as tops that pull up from the waist or button down. There also some companies that provide breastfeeding women certain types of clothing that makes breastfeeding easier and more convenience. Breastfeeding a baby in a sling also helps. Slings or other soft infant carriers are especially helpful for traveling. They make it easier to keep the baby comforted and close to the mother. But be aware that infant slings can be a suffocation danger for babies.
ReplyDeletePicking a the right spot to breastfeed is also extremely important. It will also benefit the mother to pick a spot where they can sit comfortably, ideally with some support for the back as well as a place where it is less visible to the general public. If someone criticizes mothers for breastfeeding in public, remember that the law protects mothers’ right to feed their baby any place they need to. If they feel as if they’re in danger, it is better for mothers to move away and find others who till support them. In Indonesia, where malnutrition rates are high and fewer than a third of babies are exclusively breastfed until they are 6 months old, the government is taking legal steps to ensure that breastfeeding is made as culturally acceptable as possible. A new law stipulates that all babies should be breastfed for the first six months of life, and anyone who prevents a mother from doing that — a company, co-worker, family member, etc — can face up to a year in jail and $11,000 in fines.
DeleteIn my opinion, breastfeeding is mother’s responsibility for their children and a compulsory activities. For me, as a woman too, I am not offended or feel uncomfortable when someone breastfeeding near me, but, not all people like me, and probably there are a lot of people out there that does feel uncomfortable to see mother breastfeed their children in public places. However, I also know that nowadays public places such as the malls or the public places mostly provide a room called the nursery room. And also, there is a technology called the breastfeeding pump that able mother to carry it in a bottle. So, in my opinion, maybe it will be better for mothers to use the facilities that is provided nowadays so that it will be comfortable for everyone and also for the mothers. Well, I know that mothers also doens’t want to be exposed in a intimate activities as breastfeeding and not everyone can access facilities such as nursery room or breastfeeding pump and have to do it in public area. When this happen, for me, people need to be more ignorant on this and understand more about mother’s circumstances.
ReplyDeleteFor me, breastfeeding in public should be normalized. The thing that made public breastfeeding taboo in the eye of the public is because our society sexualize breasts. Breasts are made for mother to feed their babies, if they can’t feed their baby publicly, there must be something wrong with our society. People shouldn’t shun or shame mothers that feed their baby in public since it should be normalized because it is the purpose of breasts. Our society over-sexualized breasts until it is becoming taboo to feed our babies normally. People see breastfeeding moms as weird and sometimes tell their children not to look at them even though the moms only wanted to feed their child. Telling the mothers to cover up when feeding their babies is also a bad thing since babies could feel uncomfortable and they also could be suffocated from the lack of air. People normalized underwear models being shown in big signs and look at public breastfeeding mothers weirdly. I really think we should change the way our society sees this.
ReplyDeleteEven though I personally don’t have any problem with a mother who breastfeed in public I also think that it is a bit awkward in some situations. If the mother breastfeeds her child in a public area where there aren’t many people’s pass by it is perfectly acceptable to me. But, if the mother were to breastfeed in some places where there were lots of people passing by it would be a different case as there might be some people who feel offended or awkward. Even so, I understand why some mother chooses to do this in public places. But I believe that there is a lot of options to consider to prevent public breastfeeding which again in itself is not wrong but sometimes it's just distracting. Mother’s can put their milk into a milking bottle for their child to drink when they want to when going to public places which my mom used to do when I was a baby. They can also cover up their breast with some kind of fabric so that it is not entirely visible to others. Lastly, they should search whether or not the public facility they’re in had a breastfeeding room or not as it would be far more convenient for them.
ReplyDelete