Breastfeeding and Breast Comfort (NOT JUST FOR THE WOMEN)

Contributor: indiglo indiglo
I don't personally think being breastfed or not has anything to do with how I feel about breasts. I was breastfed exclusively for a long time, but I sure don't remember anything about it. LOL I also plan to breastfeed, if I should ever have little ones.

I don't have a problem with breasts, but I do think in the States they need to be covered in public, generally speaking, because people over-sexualize everything. In my culture it is not unusual to see a woman just whip out her breast to nurse her baby, I see it all the time, and it does not bother me in the least. (In fact, it's a beautiful, natural thing imo.) Most people I find, however, are very uncomfortable with that sort of thing. It's really too bad.
03/24/2011
Contributor: sexyk515 sexyk515
i done it wit 2 of my kids i think its great
03/24/2011
Contributor: Retro Retro
Quote:
Originally posted by Emma (Girl With Fire)
So there has been a thread on breastfeeding in public, and one on women going braless and they got me thinking. I remember at some point reading about the link between having breastfed as a child and having a higher comfort level around breasts. So I ... more
Breasts are one of my favorite things. I was breastfeed under 6 months but do have some types I don't like to look at
05/27/2011
Contributor: padmeamidala padmeamidala
Quote:
Originally posted by Emma (Girl With Fire)
So there has been a thread on breastfeeding in public, and one on women going braless and they got me thinking. I remember at some point reading about the link between having breastfed as a child and having a higher comfort level around breasts. So I ... more
I was not breastfed. My mom gave me formula from the beginning. And I'm completely comfortable around breasts.
06/19/2011
Contributor: Errant Venture Errant Venture
I don't know if I was breastfed or not, but I'm comfortable with breasts - even when a mother pops them out in public to breastfeed.
06/30/2011
Contributor: Noira Celestia Noira Celestia
I was not breastfed and was not comfortable with breasts for a long time. Then I had a baby and breastfed my baby and became comfortable with them when I realized what they are for.
07/07/2011
Contributor: SiNn SiNn
Quote:
Originally posted by Emma (Girl With Fire)
So there has been a thread on breastfeeding in public, and one on women going braless and they got me thinking. I remember at some point reading about the link between having breastfed as a child and having a higher comfort level around breasts. So I ... more
im all for it they make covers now so it isnt all out but if it wore nothing is more beautiful then that
07/07/2011
Contributor: MaryExy MaryExy
My mom breastfed but then filled bottles for public use. I know very little about breastfeeding, but I don't really see a downside to using bottles for public, unless maybe that's the only time you can ever feed the baby. If places have a more secluded place for women to breastfeed, I think I'd prefer that. I think I'd find it a bit awkward if I saw a mom breastfeeding her kid in a supermarket line or at the front of a restaurant, mainly for 2 reasons: 1. I've never seen anything saying that using a bottle for such occasions would ruin a child's development, and 2. it's taboo to reveal your breasts in public. If someone's breastfeeding on a beach or somewhere else where it's normal for men to be shirtless, I don't think it'd bother me? I've honestly never really thought about it, in general I think I'd just be a bit distracted if I saw a women breastfeeding in public, thinking "Why not fill a bottle or two for this? Isn't it awkward doing that in front of strangers, even if the baby's head covers everything?"
07/07/2011
Contributor: Noira Celestia Noira Celestia
Quote:
Originally posted by MaryExy
My mom breastfed but then filled bottles for public use. I know very little about breastfeeding, but I don't really see a downside to using bottles for public, unless maybe that's the only time you can ever feed the baby. If places have a ... more
Well some babies won't take bottles if they've been breastfeeding for a while (my daughter wouldn't) and a bottle requires pumping and some women's breasts just don't respond to pump. Not to mention breastfeeding really needs to be normalized in society in general, then people won't have to feel uncomfortable around if they were able to be exposed to it more.
07/07/2011
Contributor: Jesse Jesse
Its not like theres only one woman with boobs out there. People should just accept breastfeeding women and give them the liberty they deserve its not like theyre out there prostituting themselves or something..
07/07/2011
Contributor: playtimeohsofun playtimeohsofun
i wasnt breastfed but did breastfed both my children i have no issue with women doing this in public but i never did i went to car n covered with blanket i not want anyone 2 see me do it im ok with women but no men except my dad n husband
07/15/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
I was breastfed, but only for about 6 weeks. I was doing fine, and supposedly some doctor who never even saw ME and never saw my mother feed me told her "Your milk is only water. Give the baby formula." So, my mother, never one to say no to authority, did so. The thing was, she was living with both my grandmother and my great grandmother, both of whom had breastfed children into toddlerhood. I KNOW they tried to help her and talk her out of weaning me, but they was just "Stupid Off the Boat Italians" to her, so I got the other stuff. Formula made me terribly sick, while I had done well on human milk. I spend my entire childhood constipated and uncomfortable. My GI system only healed when I gave up dairy products completely in my early 20s, oddly enough, because my own children couldn't tolerate the protein from dairy products that came through my milk. Saving them saved me.

I've also breastfed my own kids, until they weaned themselves (anywhere from 15 months to 4 years.)

I am also a Lactation Consultant and very comfortable around breasts. I was before this was my calling, and continue to be.

I boobs!!
07/17/2011
Contributor: Noira Celestia Noira Celestia
Quote:
Originally posted by P'Gell
I was breastfed, but only for about 6 weeks. I was doing fine, and supposedly some doctor who never even saw ME and never saw my mother feed me told her "Your milk is only water. Give the baby formula." So, my mother, never one to say no to ... more
Oh that's great that you're a lactation consultant!
07/17/2011
Contributor: ss143 ss143
I wasn't breastfed tho I have breastfed my boys and the youngest is still nursing at 2.5 at home or in public( don't think he will ever want to give it up lol)I am totally fine with breast.
07/17/2011
Contributor: Ms. Spice Ms. Spice
i was breastfed and i personally think nudity is no big deal. my parents walked around the house naked all the time when i was a kid so i was weirded out when i found out other people's parents did not do that. if i saw somebody nude on the street, i really could care less. they're not harming anyone
07/17/2011
Contributor: LostBoy988 LostBoy988
The human body should be seen as natural and not some sort of monster in public view.
07/17/2011
Contributor: lanky lanky
i wasnt breastfed
07/17/2011
Contributor: Vanessa Weiss Vanessa Weiss
I was not breast-fed, but I certainly have no problem with people doing it in public or private as they see fit as long as they are normal, sane and discreet about it... I don't like anybody doing anything "just for show" or to "prove a point." I've had a few friends who were militant breast-feeding lactivist types and I sort of felt embarrassed that they'd... sorta find the most conspicuous way and place to feed. And I couldn't help but wonder how it affected their children, being used as a prop for shock tactic breastfeeding :\
07/17/2011
Contributor: NuclearTeapot NuclearTeapot
I was not breastfed, but it was not because my mom did not want to. She tried with me and my brother and sought help from her doctor. Despite a lot of attempts, apparently my mom's boobs just were not made to feed babies.

I don't care about people breastfeeding. I actually think it is quite a lovely thing to see in public. However, it makes me sad that some breast feeding mother's find it necessary to torment mother's who do not, like my mother. Some women told her that she was just not trying hard enough, that she was doing something terrible to my brother and I.

Like most things in life everyone needs to take a deep breath, analyze and do what is best for their own personal situation and chill the fuck out.
07/17/2011
Contributor: CherryDyke CherryDyke
It's all up to personal choice. Breast feeding is right for so women, and not for others.
09/06/2011
Contributor: Passionate Pastor Passionate Pastor
I was not breastfeed and I think public breastfeeding is fine as long as she is discreet and covered up.
10/23/2011
Contributor: P'Gell P'Gell
Quote:
Originally posted by CherryDyke
It's all up to personal choice. Breast feeding is right for so women, and not for others.
It may not be the right "choice" for all mothers, but human milk is the right choice for virtually all babies. The things is, they only get what their mothers allow them to have.

I'm a Lactation Consultant and have seen virtually every configuration and complication of breastfeeding. There is more to it than "choice." What about the baby's "choice?" I've had frantic phone calls from mothers whose babies cannot tolerate any formulea, wanting, even after they had the chance earlier, to try to bring in a milk supply. Both these women and their babies are suffering, due to a "choice" not to breastfeed that turned out to be a disaster. For those willing to do the work to bring back in their supply, it's wonderful. For those who don't work any harder at it than they did when they "chose" not to supply their babies with their milk, or who refuse to locate the right kind of help, both baby and mother suffer terribly. The baby more than the mother. (And no, a 15 minute session with an in-hosptial "Lactation Nurse" isn't going to solve any breastfeeding problems, nor help a complicated issue at all. Private Practice LCs and a LOT of hard work are the only solutions for some situations.)

I sometimes do a taste test with pre-digested formula in the classes I give for High School students. Nobody who tastes that stuff thinks they will "choose" artificial feeding after the taste test. (Due to liability and availability issues, I do not use human milk in my taste tests, although I'd love to.)

Seeing as only approx 1 in 1000 to 1 in 10,000 women physically cannot breastfeed, it is rare to not be able to. I deeply feel for the very few women who simply can't and have done ALL they can do try their best. For those who simply don't want to try, I'll not comment.
10/25/2011
Contributor: Missmarc Missmarc
There is nothing wrong with breastfeeding in public and human milk nourishment is better than almost any infant formula. I actually find it kind of hot when a woman breastfeeds in public, I can't stop staring Is that bad?
12/04/2011
Contributor: leelee leelee
Quote:
Originally posted by kawigrl
wasn't breast feed- i'm not entirely comfortable when people feed in public
I'm the same
01/26/2012
Contributor: PeachieClean PeachieClean
I was never breastfed, but I'm cool with boobs. It's a little odd in public here, since it's really cold most of the year and illegal, but whatever. Apparently having sex with virgins is also illegal in my state.
01/27/2012
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
I wasn't breast fed, but I fully support a woman's choice to breast fed her children anywhere--even in public.
01/28/2012
Contributor: SkylarrStarr SkylarrStarr
I am cool with boobs and breast feeding in public BUT not while eating, or sitting at a table where others are eating. I watched this happen where I work, and i found it to be uncomfortable.
01/28/2012
Contributor: K101 K101
Quote:
Originally posted by kawigrl
wasn't breast feed- i'm not entirely comfortable when people feed in public
I'm the same!

I have to say though, breasts are very different from your face. There's a huge difference in showing your face and showing your breasts! They were made for feeding and to be private areas. No matter what, most people will still think of them as a private part of their body. Sort of a sacred part and I don't want to show everyone my sacred parts because then they wouldn't be sacred. This, I'm not talking about breastfeeding in public though. I'm takling about comparing them to a face. However, I do think someone should make an effort to cover up in public. Anyways, In my opinion, breasts (mine anyways) are a little bit like my vagina. I only want my partner seeing that stuff and keeping them private is part of the "bonding" experience during intimacy with a partner. If you were to run around showing your privates to anybody, there's nothing all that intimate or special when you're gettin' down with your partner. We like having that to ourselves. Ya know? Kind of like something ONLY we share with each other. That's just us. I wouldn't breastfeed. They make formula with plenty of nutrition and all that jazzy jazz. Of course, that is MY opinion though. I can throw in that breast feeding does not necessarily mean you're child will be smarter than all the other little doodlers. My nephew, a teen whom my parents and I shared the "raising reponsibilites" with, is like super genius. Ha. Ha. No, he's no Jimmy Neutron, I suppose, but he's been in gifted class since he was 4 and has been singled out by Yale and they're actually keeping an eye on his test scores ALREADY! Ahh! OK, maybe I'm bragging here, but I just wanted to throw that one in there too. I do not believe that being breastfed will necessarily make a child smarter than others. There are benefits for the child... but... I'll be honest here. I couldn't let my nipple be sucked and chewed on. Sorry! Lol.
01/28/2012
Contributor: K101 K101
Quote:
Originally posted by Jimbo Jones
I was breastfed as a baby, and my partner breastfed all of our children until past the age of two. I am not uncomfortable around breasts, but I don't think women should be exposing themselves just to expose themselves. I think breastfeeding in ... more
This is how I feel. Mostly. I'm not too comfortable with ANYONE showing their breasts just to show em'. Like you said, discretion is very much appreciated. I'm not just uncomfortable with woman boobs, but male boobs too!
01/28/2012
Contributor: ViVix ViVix
Quote:
Originally posted by Emma (Girl With Fire)
So there has been a thread on breastfeeding in public, and one on women going braless and they got me thinking. I remember at some point reading about the link between having breastfed as a child and having a higher comfort level around breasts. So I ... more
I breastfed, but I still feel a little odd when someone does it without covering up in public!
01/30/2012