Breastfeeding is one of the most precious mom-and-baby activities. However, breastfeeding in public remains to be one of the most common challenges as a new mom. The lack of proper lactation spaces and the negative stigma on public nursing have led many mothers to resort to breastfeeding in the bathroom.
It’s time to stop this familiar occurrence from happening and fight for our rights as a breastfeeding mom. Here’s why no moms should be breastfeeding in a public bathroom:
In A Nutshell…
- Breastfeeding is a vital activity for both the mother and the child. Despite its countless benefits, many women still face judgment and discrimination for breastfeeding in public.
- Breastfeeding in a public bathroom has become a familiar experience for nursing moms to avoid the stress and anxiety of breastfeeding in public.
- Moms shouldn’t resort to breastfeeding in a dirty stall because:
- Breastfeeding is a way to nourish their child
- They shouldn’t be ashamed of breastfeeding
- Their breasts serve a greater purpose rather than just being a sexual object
- Moms need a comfortable space to initiate let-down reflex, and
- Breastfeeding in public is a right of every American woman.
- Currently, all 50 states allow breastfeeding with some even adding special rights for breastfeeding moms. However, there is still much to improve to strengthen the rights of breastfeeding moms.
The Realities of A Breastfeeding Mom
Source: Tamar Shugert via 52 Frames
The advocacy for breastfeeding is at its all-time high. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends infants to be breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months, with continued breastfeeding alongside complementary feeding for the first year or longer. In hopes of increasing breastfeeding rates in the USA, the Healthy People 2020 (the 10-year national health plan for the USA) aims to have at least 81.9% breastfed babies in the entire country.
The country has been on track to meet this objective with about 81.1% of American mothers initiating breastfeeding after birth. However, the dilemma for many breastfeeding mothers is sustaining their breastfeeding according to the AAP recommendation. Only half of the babies are able to breastfeed up to 6 months and just about a third have been breastfed while complementary feeding by the first year.
Mom Shaming and Breastfeeding In the Bathroom
In an ideal world, breastfeeding in public spaces should be welcomed and encouraged. After all, it’s the natural way to nourish a growing child. Since babies often feed on demand, finding the proper time and place to breastfeed poses as a major challenge.
But this isn’t the only frustration breastfeeding moms face. A lot of women still encounter discrimination, judgment, and harassment for breastfeeding in public. Some people think it is weird to see breast being exposed, while others feel disturbed seeing a baby latched on a mother’s boob. In the effort to be more discreet, most moms often have no choice but to breastfeed in distressing places like public bathrooms.
It’s absurd to think that society has let this happen. A mother has to nurse her precious little one in a place where people do their dirty business. Is this even safe and sanitary?
Dangers of Bathroom Breastfeeding
According to a study done by the Infectious Disease Society of America, public restrooms in malls, hospitals, stores, restaurants, and airports have bacterial contaminations that are too high to count. That means the surfaces of toilet seats, faucets, soaps, paper dispensers, and door handles contain so much bacteria and microbes that may be dangerous to you and your baby’s health.
Why Moms Shouldn’t Breastfeeding In The Bathroom
Breastfeeding moms are familiar with this witless remark: “Why don’t you just breastfeed in the bathroom where it’s discreet?”. Sure you get your privacy, but many people fail to realize what the act of breastfeeding entails. It’s similar to any one of us trying to eat in a public space. Would you eat your meal inside the dirty stalls of a public restroom?
Moms should be given a choice as to where, when, and how to breastfeed. No breastfeeding mother should ever be forced to hide in a public bathroom just to nurse or pump. Here’s why:
Breastfeeding is a baby’s way of nourishment
Babies feed on breast milk. They are recommended to drink and be nourished with this liquid gold even up to the first year of their life. It’s a fundamental act to sustain a new life! Why should we strip away a mother’s right to feed her child?
Mother’s shouldn’t be ashamed to breastfeed
It’s unfortunate that today’s times haven’t changed. With the number of breastfeeding moms nowadays, it’s still uncommon to see one nursing in public. Many of them feel scared and anxious to expose their breasts in public because of the judgment they get.
Breastfeeding shouldn’t evoke shame, fear, or disgust for any women. In fact, it should elicit the opposite reaction. Moms should be happy, proud, and feel amazing when they get to nurse their babies!
Your Breasts Are More Than Sexual Objects
The truth is, the main problem of our society is that the sight of woman’s breasts gets too sexualized. Many people fail to realize that breasts are more than just a sexual body part. A mother’s breast serves a bigger purpose to nourish and provide for a baby’s growth and development.
Anybody who says they feel uncomfortable seeing a baby being breastfed has no right to stop or force a mom to nurse somewhere else. If you don’t want to see it, the simple solution is to just not to look at it!
Moms need a comfortable space to breastfeed
Initiating breastfeeding isn’t all that easy. Most breastfeeding moms need to stimulate their let-down reflex in order to get the milk flowing. And what does this require? More often than not, having a comfortable and safe space to focus on lactating is of top most priority.
Public restrooms are in no way a safe or pleasant place to feed a baby. However, more often than not, a mother has no other option. Instead of getting to feed their baby well, they have to compromise because of how awkward they feel inside a dirty bathroom stall.
Public breastfeeding is the right of every woman
Since 2018, every American woman has the right to breastfeed publicly in all 50 states. The policies on public breastfeeding vary from state to state, but it allows any breastfeeding woman to nurse her baby wherever and whenever they want.
With these state and federals laws in place, breastfeeding moms don’t have to resort to nursing in dirty bathroom stalls anymore!
Improving Laws for Breastfeeding In Public
The USA still has a lot of catching up to with regards to the policies and laws to protect the rights of breastfeeding women. Although all 50 states have legalized public breastfeeding, there are still several reports where the rights of several breastfeeding moms continue to be violated. For instance, some moms experience being asked to leave certain places like a store, bathroom, courtroom, and even a church.
Incidents like these show that there still so much room for improvement when it comes to protecting the rights of breastfeeding mothers. For one, only 29 states exempt breastfeeding from public indecency. Some states still need to revise their laws, including removing public breastfeeding from the public indecency list. And overall, the public perception needs to have positive change so that breastfeeding mothers do not have to go through the stress and anxiety of being discriminated just to feed their child.
Rights of Breastfeeding Moms
The fight for public breastfeeding continues. As a nursing mom, you should equip yourself of the knowledge and basic understanding of breastfeeding laws to feel proud and empowered to breastfeed wherever and whenever.
Here are some of the basic right for breastfeeding in public:
- Federal breastfeeding law states that all employers are required to give reasonable break times and lactation spaces for breastfeeding employees to pump out breast milk for their children.
- Every state has its own laws regarding public breastfeeding. Here are some examples:
- Most states allow mothers can breastfeed in any locations, whether it’s public or private
- 29 states don’t consider breastfeeding as an indecent or immoral in conduct.
- Some state may excuse breastfeeding women from jury duties
- Some states like Kentucky prohibits the act of interfering or forcing a breastfeeding woman to relocate.
Click here to know more about your breastfeeding rights.
The Bottomline…
Breastfeeding is fundamental to support and sustain the life of a newborn baby. Other than providing nourishment, it gives countless benefits for both mother and child. But despite this and the strong advocacy of breastfeeding warriors, many mothers still face the discrimination and judgment for breastfeeding in public. Inevitably, the shame and anxiety to publicly nurse have brought many of them to breastfeed in uncomfortable and unsanitary public bathrooms.
There is just no reason for a mom to hide in a dirty stall just to breastfeed. The act of breastfeeding is natural and normal, and therefore should be widely encouraged and accepted by society. The problem lies in the fact that the public’s perception of a woman’s breast and the act of breastfeeding remains to be sexualized and controversial. It’s also important to consider that moms need a comfortable and safe space to initiate breastfeeding, which is just close to impossible if you’re trying to lactate in a public bathroom.
Breastfeeding in public is now legal in all 50 states and is the right of every American woman. Moreover, state laws also include special rights like exempting breastfeeding from public indecency or prohibiting someone to interfere with a breastfeeding woman. Despite these laws being in place, there’s still a lot to improve when it comes to public breastfeeding policies. Regardless, breastfeeding moms should make themselves knowledgeable about their rights so that they are more empowered to nurse wherever and whenever they want.
