The Mile High Breastfeeding Club
Posted by realityrounds on June 26, 2009
So, what is the weirdest place you have ever breastfed? Of course, breastfeeding should be encouraged and accepted in our society, where no place is considered “weird” to breastfeed. But alas, this is not the case. So, I was inspired to write this post while reading a story on the Stork Stories blog. The theme of the story was breastfeeding in public, and the author provided a lot of links related to this topic. The comments on her story were great.
Some of them made me think of the stupid articles in women’s (and men’s) magazines concerning the “strangest places you have had sex.” Breastfeeding should not be a covert, secretive operation, like having sex in a public place would be. Breastfeeding is feeding an infant for God’s sake. Why should we hide it?
Here are the “Weirdest” places I have breastfed my kids. Again, why they are considered weird is beyond me. I guess they are just the most public and awkward places:
1. In an airplane, 30,000 feet above the earth. Thankfully I was sitting by the nicest old man who sympathized with my predicament. I had to nurse my chubby 9 month old in a coach seat, with her torso spread out on my chest, and her chubby, chubby legs, sprawled out on the gentleman sitting next to me. She kicked him the entire time she ate, then popped up and gave him the biggest smile. He smiled back, and then offered me his seat to change her diaper on (and did not do it). Chivalry is not dead!
2. In an Old Folks Home. I was visiting my elderly grammie in the home’s cafeteria. My newborn starting crying, so I nursed her right there at the table, covered by a blanket. I must say, I did get some skunk eye looks from the 80 year old plus crowd. My theory is that generation did not breastfeed. Could that be right?
3. In the bathroom stall in a non-baby friendly restaurant. Yuck. I was so intimated to nurse my newborn at the restaurant table, so I took her in the bathroom with me to nurse. It was horrible and gross. Everytime a toilet would flush, she would startle and pull off the boob. That was the last time I was ever intimated into not feeding my babies in public.
So, what was the most awkward place you ever had to nurse your baby?
RR
Rose said
-Laying down on the beach at Virginia Beach.
-While shopping (i’d croch down in an empty aisle to get proper latch, then stand up, have my husband do a check to make sure no boobage was showing, and keep walking around the store)
pinky said
I was raised Irish Catholic. We just don’t do nudity well. Unless we are drunk. Kidding…But I am very shy. So I always nursed in bathrooms. I did that for 10 months. I was just too nervous to breast feed in public. Except for the breat feeding support group I went to each monday. I think I have a picture of me breast feeding there. The lady gave it to me to show me no boobage was showing.
The folks who are 80 now, I don’t think they did breast feed. My Grandmother would be around 100 if she was still alive. She breast fed the first 4 of her kids. She thought it was healthier and if she saw women breast feeding she would tell them, good job that is good for your baby. She was not the shy type.
My hope is that in 10-20 more years it will again be the most natural thing to see both babies and toddlers nurse.
realityrounds said
I was also raised Irish Catholic. I am the last of eight kids, and my mom had no choice but to breastfeed. I would be curious to see what the breastfeeding rates in the motherland (Ireland) are.
takingheart said
First of all… RR… love love love that you said, “old folks home!”
I am always shocked to here about people feeding their babies in the bathroom… do we eat supper on the toilet? Why should our babies? I’m not a tree hugger by any means… but that right there tells us what is wrong with our culture’s world view on nursing an infant.
My strangest breastfeeding encounter? Would have to be sitting in an Easter service where my brother & sister n-laws both were becoming Catholic… and I got caught breastfeeding my babe by the holy water in the back… longest service EVER… not so good for a repaired epis that is only 5 days out. Ouch! Oh… and a priest walked up an asked if I needed anything? Yikes!
Wal-mart parking lot (the back lot) was also a popular favorite.
realityrounds said
I am not very politically correct: I nurse in public and say things like “old folks home” If you think Easter mass is long, try going to a Catholic Wedding.
midwest woman said
try going to a catholic anything..passed out in grade school during a lent service from fasting and the millenium required to complete the rosary chant.
Birth_Lactation said
Great Post! Thanks for the link back…
I have nursed on an airplane and at the airport ticket desk..and in line to get on the plane. He was young and there were a lot of delays that day. My first public feeding in the Publix grocery store helped my confidence…. I also nursed on the beach..but I think I sat in the car since it was so hot and a drive on beach in FL. I can’t remember! 30 years ago, there was such a big resurgence of a breastfeeding culture and I was inspired by many of those rebels and activists even though I wasn’t an actist until much later.
Stork Stories
lpnmon said
A tattoo shop. My youngest sister turned 18 when my son was a couple months old, and we had long planned to get tats together when she was old enough, so off we went. None of the young, heavily tattooed guys even batted an eye.
I’m lucky to have lots of support from my family. My mom and grandma both tell of fighting with nurses to nurse their babies; grandma was apparently the only one in the hospital then that did nurse. Sad. She says great grandma was a farm girl and had more sense than the “city girls”-she knew how babies were supposed to eat and would have been really upset if her grandkids had been given formula.
-lpnmon
realityrounds said
So far, the tattoo shop breastfeeding story beats them all. I love the image of the big tatted up men not batting an eye at the nursing mom. Fabulous!
midwest woman said
squished between 2 businessmen on a puddle jumper flight…daughter kept wiggling blanket off. Never saw two men so interested in their Wall Street Journals than these guys were.
realityrounds said
LOL
Amy Romano said
I just commented about this on PhDinParenting’s “Would You, Could You Nurse in Public” post here. I nurse wherever, whenever and have only had anyone comment about it once (in almost 5 years of combined nursing). That person said loudly to his friend, “you know what I hate? Babies who breast feed.”) I decided that loser wasn’t worthy of a response. Anyway, here are my all time favorites:
1. While teaching a research methods class to nursing students at Yale
2. While giving a reading in a episcopal church during my brother-in-law’s wedding (i timed it badly, but everyone thought it was fantastic because it actually really fit with the reading I was giving)
3. At a board meeting, while giving a verbal report to Lamaze’s board of directors.
4. In various furniture displays at Ikea (I’ve done this multiple times!)
realityrounds said
I remember a very accomplished NNP nursing her baby during a lecture on complex congenital heart defects. I certainly will never forget that lecture. This NNP set a good example for all the young nurses she was lecturing to.
Scrapper Mom said
Let’s see…
-Top of the Washington monument and in the elevator on the way back down.
-Air and Space Museum in DC
-In church while my FIL (a deacon) was giving a reading about “nursing at the breast” it was awesome!
-A second time in church with my 2nd child. When she finished (I don’t think anyone knew what I was doing) I put her up on my shoulder and she let out a loud burp! That was the worst part!!
-I attempted it yesterday on a moving hayride while strawberry picking, but that turned out to not be a good idea! So I waited until we stopped!
realityrounds said
Have boobs, will travel!
Shavahn said
I have a few:
I also breastfed on an airplane; luckily I was sandwiched between two middle-aged women, not two business men!! Although I also nursed next to a young heavily tattooed veteran missing a leg, also on an airplane. Very nice man, we had a nice conversation, didn’t seem bothered at all by it.
My worst was probably in class one day; I had to bring my daughter for some reason, don’t remember why, but she started getting fussy, so I latched her on. I was thankful that I was the student in that class, not the teacher!
Akiko said
Every elderly woman over 70 that I know breast fed their children. Formula was expensive. I never breastfed in public. I always planned ahead and brought pumped milk in a clean bottle for her. No nipple confusion here. She ate whatever I gave her. I did not like to breastfeed in public because the thought of stuffing my spit covered breast into my hot, sweaty bra grossed me out. After having one yeast infection on my nipples that was enough. When I breast fed at home I alway rinsed my breasts off afterwards and dried them before putting my bra back on. Bacteria and fungus loves milk. All of that sugar and moisture in a nice dark place. I watch my friends feed their infants, shove their boob into their nasty, soured bra (that sour smell is bacteria)and then 20 minutes later pull out the same boob and stick it in the child’s mouth again. But these same mothers would freak if their baby chewed on a toy dropped on the ground.
Eileen said
What about pumping? I had to pump in a nasty bathroom in the American terminal at Dallas Fort-Worth Airport. After seeing the state of the restroom (it was pretty dirty), I went to the American “Admirals Club” to see if they would take pity on me and let me pump in their (most tidy) toilet. The tight-lipped woman at the reception looked at me with such indignation and then had the nerve to say (in front of their elite male members), “we’d be happy to let you use the bathroom…for $50!” I kid you not! They wanted $50 for the 10-15 minutes it would take me to pump. I refused and went back to the nasty bathroom stall at gate 64…gross.
Akiko said
Some breastfeeding is not beneficial. Let’s hope not everyone decides to do it.
http://www.11alive.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=131757&catid=186
lpnmon said
Ehh…. how intoxicated was she? How high was her BAL? How much alcohol was in the milk itself? How much did the baby actually drink? How old is the baby? All of these things need to be considered before automatically saying that she was doing something dangerous. I hope that she has a good lawyer that can find some expert witnesses to answer these questions.
-lpnmon
Autumn said
My mom is 82, she had her first baby in 1954 and, at the normal newborn weightloss, she was told “But Mrs N- You can’t breastfeed, she’s loosing weight!” and no it was no where near 10% either.
When it comes to drinking and breastfeeding it looks like the biggest danger is from the alcohol impaired judgment of mom because the milk the baby gets generally has less than 1% alcohol in it. The BAC is the alcohol that would be in the milk. Since the legal threshold for dwi in most states is 0.08% BAC that would come down to less than a tenth of 1% and you would be too messed up to do much if you pushed your BAC over a %, think about it!
realityrounds said
Autumn,
You are correct. It is more about the mothers judgment/impairment related to her drinking, then to her drinking itself. For example, intoxicated moms who bedshare with their newborns have a much higher risk of smothering their babies than non-impaired moms. On a different note, some studies have shown that it may be more beneficial for moms who are cocaine positive to continue to breastfeed their babies, than to separate them and allow a foster parent to feed them formula. Powerful stuff on the benefits of breastfeeding.
Akiko said
So they arrested that lady on false charges since it is not dangerous to be highly intoxicated and breast feed. What good news. Does cocaine also not pass into breast milk? I was told not to breast feed while on certain medications for my high blood pressure and heart arrhythmia. but I did it anyway. I figured my milk was healthier than formula even with the drugs in it if any got through.
Rose said
I have pumped in strange places before…well, more interesting than strange. In a moving car (husband was driving). During my NCLEX review class (state board exam for nurses), which was at a college, in a public bathroom stall. My pump motor made the normal pump noises, and i always wondered what other ppl comng into the bathroom and hearing those noises thought was going on in the stall. (esp if they had never seen a pump before). electric toothbrush? vibrator? lol
courtney said
1. The first time I nursed in public was in a hot Asian airport with a crowd of about 30 Asian men watching.
2. For 24 hours and 10,000 miles in an airplane flying across the world.
3. On the beach in Bali.
4. In the family dressing room at The Gap.
mamamia said
I know I breastfed on a 12 hour flight, including layover, and must not have worried about it because barely remember it. On the beach, and didn’t worry about washing, just jumped into the ocean afterwards. In a crowded restaurant during a banquet, baby gets hungry too. Since I didn’t work until my kids were weaned, I nursed where ever and when ever need. No worrying about warming bottles, enough milk, proper insulation, clean nipples, etc. Just did it. But, also being Irish Catholic, it took a few months before I could nurse in front of my family, and would excuse myself to a bedroom when I nursed. Go figure, no stranger anxiety, but embarrased in front of my Dad!
enjoybirth said
I have breastfed almost everywhere. Many planes, speaking to my women’s group in church, on the beach, in resteraunts.
I once breastfed my 6 week old at a dinner table at a dinner party with my husbands business associates. I didn’t use a blanket or a hooter hider, but I had a cool breastfeeding dress, so was modest. No one said anything, so I think they were cool with it.
Emilie said
The strangest place I’ve breastfed is in the backseat of my car, while going 80 km/h, with both myself and the baby still securely strapped into our seats (safety first!). Talk about contortion!
Annette said
When my second child was born, he was first of three in three months for our group of five childbirth educators. The students got me, nursing him as I taught, or no classes at all. No one objected, and they all cheered when he rolled over the very first time on his quilt on the floor.
In 1973 I had to sell my house in LA. Flew down with my one-week old, nursed on the plane and anywhere he needed. I felt I needed to go to my room at my inlaws, where I was staying. One time his great-grandfather, a tall, white-haired, retired General Electric executive, stopped to chat as I nursed. His comment:
“When I was a boy, a woman wouldn’t show her ankles in public, but didn’t think a thing of nursing her baby in church!” (Time frame probably 1920’s or so.)
His is my favorite quote on breastfeeding.