Comments on: Breastfeeding vs. Smoking: Effect on Bystanders

By: April

April — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:43:56 +0000

I can always look away when someone breastfeeds beside me. But I can't stop breathing when someone smokes besides me…

By: mudhooks

mudhooks — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:47:40 +0000

I I forgot to mention. When I was born, in 1956, while my mother was recovering from the Caesarian section, the nurse came in with a pill and my Mom took it and then said "What was that for?"

"Oh, it's just something to dry up your milk…"

My Mom was furious "But I want to breast-feed!"

The nurse looked at her as though she was some sort of hillbilly, "WHy would you want to do THAT!????"

Luckily, the medication needed to be taken over a few days so one pill didn't have any effect. But all the nurses treated her like she was some backwoods yokel for ever thinking of breast-feeding.

By: mudhooks

mudhooks — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:41:53 +0000

Sadly, I will never have the chance to breast-feed. But if I were a breast-feeding mother and someone told me it was "obscene" I would hold up any one of THOUSANDS of images of the Madonna nursing Jesus, many of which images are freely visible in churches.

There was an episode of "What Would You Do?" this morning and one of the segments was about what happens if someone is breast-feeding in public and and is told by a manager to stop. With only a very few exceptions, the mother had the FULL support of everyone in the place. They tried it with three different women: White, African American, and a young white girl. There are only three states in the US where breast-feeding in public is not legal. In Canada, it is against the law to tell someone to stop breast-feeding in pubic.

It is very easy to not look. Just do it.

By: Ross

Ross — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:47:07 +0000

A big part of why there can be a negative reaction in someone seeing a mother breastfeeding is that is brings up a person's trauma and loss about not being breastfed. There is a huge nurturance in being breast fed and if that was not something you received, you do not want to be in contact with your pain, hence the negative reaction to breastfeeding by some people.

By: just1girk

just1girk — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:24:11 +0000

In the late '70's & early 80's I breast fed my children & did so in public. I did put a lightweight blanket over my shoulder or simply made sure my blouse covered my breast. I am a private person & didn't feel the need to expose my breast, nipple & all, to the whole world. Never once did I have a negative experience with others' reactions or attitude.

I find it curious that the whole breastfeeding topic seems to have taken a giant step backwards in the last 30 years.

By: Erin Brickner

Erin Brickner — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:08:59 +0000

Too funny on the one hand but too sad on the other. Being a Libra, I see things from both sides and think it is really sad that I would have to defend my decision to nurse my child to my own child twenty years later and let her know that I am not judgmental about it. We in LLL as Leaders go through a lot of training to help mothers breastfeed without judging them and whatever happens that best suits their family. We are not paid and I happened to become a part of this empowering organization. I received the support I needed, kept my brain ready to learn a number of important science facts along with important brain research which I started in college as a zoology major. I loved my years within that wonderful organization and made many lifelong friends.

By: Lauren @ Hobo Mama

Lauren @ Hobo Mama — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:25:53 +0000

Ok, the Caesar salad points were the clincher!

That was marvelous. I love your "risks" of secondhand breastfeeding.

I just want to say I'm truly horrified by the toll of secondhand smoke on innocent bystanders, particularly children. Thanks for putting the numbers out there.

By: Smoking, Breastfeeding and Public Health | PhD in Parenting

Smoking, Breastfeeding and Public Health | PhD in Parenting — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:10:19 +0000

[...] July 22: Paige at Baby Dust Diaries discusses the impact on bystanders of smoking versus [...]

By: Dead Cow Girl

Dead Cow Girl — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:56:09 +0000

"1. You run the risk of seeing a human female breast being used in a manner that is not sexual and not serving the purpose of selling a product. "

THAT cracks me up! Awesome way to put it!

~ Off to inflict others with Second Hand Breastfeeding…

By: Dionna @ Code Name:

Dionna @ Code Name: — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:07:06 +0000

Second hand breastfeeding – now *that* is a term I think should be used in jest much more often. Hilarious!