LiveTribe

According to one recent study, only about 36% of infants are exclusively breastfed in the modern era. In developing countries, in particular, poor feeding practices are said to contribute to the deaths of more than 800,000 kids under five each year.

At this point, breastfeeding is widely considered to be the safer and healthier choice for parents, over formulas, when it comes to feeding a child. But while nobody seems to have an issue with breastfeeding as a concept, when that act takes place in public, suddenly everyone wants to weigh in.

To say that breastfeeding in public is very controversial is an understatement. But why do people feel so strongly against something so natural? Should it be controversial at all? What does the law actually say about the matter?

The Argument Against Breastfeeding in Public

The major arguments against breastfeeding in public are also, by and large, moral ones. Women are often told to “cover up” during the act for a wide variety of reasons including, according to one church official, because “the sight of a bare breast causes men to lust and stumble.”

Others insist that breastfeeding mothers need to show a sense of modesty. They argue that breastfeeding a child in public degrades a community’s decency and is an attack on the last vestiges of time-honoured societal norms.

Many of those against public breastfeeding are typically people in the older generations more than their younger counterparts. Often, the reasons they often give for why women shouldn’t be allowed to do this usually have more to do with them than with the actual mothers in question.

Those in Favour…

Those who support a woman’s right to breastfeed her child in public acknowledge the reality of the modern woman in the first place. Obviously, the ideal situation for both the child and the mom is to be at home when a feeding becomes necessary. But things rarely, if ever, work out in an ideal way.

If a mother has to run errands, work, or attend to other needs, that child still needs to be fed. If her baby starts crying and that mother knows that nutrients are an absolute necessity, she really doesn’t have much of a choice.

“Breastfeeding is giving the baby food. It cannot be viewed in any different way” said one woman in an interview on this particular topic. Most supporters say that nobody should ever object to a mother breastfeeding because that child’s life literally depends on it – when you put it that way, it’s difficult to come down on the other side of this argument.

Yes, But What Does the Law Say?

Finally, one must turn their attention to the factor that perhaps matters most of all: the law.

Under the federal Sex Discrimination Act of 1984, it’s pretty clear that breastfeeding is not a privilege – it’s an absolute right. Not only are women allowed to breastfeed wherever and whenever they want, but discriminating against one of these women – either directly or indirectly – is totally illegal in Australia.

So even if you’re someone who comes down firmly against breastfeeding in public, it’s safe to say that the law is very firmly not on your side.

History probably isn’t, either, for the record.

It’s Time to Make Your Voice Heard

At LiveTribe, we also recently turned this particular topic to the members of our own community – as one might expect, their responses and opinions ran the gamut. Some users absolutely came out in favour of the act, with one respondent saying “if you see a woman breastfeeding her child and [you don’t like it], just walk away like you didn’t see anything.” Others took a decidedly different angle, going as far as to say that breastfeeding in public is “just one more step down the ladder of decency.”

Based on this, it’s safe to say that the controversy surrounding this topic shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Regardless of your specific opinion on this particular topic, it’s important to acknowledge one of your most important assets of all: your own voice. If you’d like to weigh in on the topic of breastfeeding in public, or any of our forums, become a Changemaker today.