When it comes to breastfeeding, one of the concerns that often comes up is nursing in public. Different moms have different opinions about nursing in public, how and where to do it. Where you nurse may depend on your own comfort level, whether or not your baby is easily distracted and what local breastfeeding laws are in place that protect your right to feed your baby in public.
Most cities and states have laws that protect a mother’s right to nurse anywhere where children are welcome, although a few areas still do not, such as my own home state of Pennsylvania.
Although it wasn’t always easy, I would nurse in public when needed. I tried to think of it as an opportunity to open people up to the fact that nursing a baby is a positive thing. That said, I tried to seek out discrete places to nurse whenever possible.
If you prefer to nurse with as few people around as possible, others may tell you to find a bathroom. This is one place that I do not recommend going to nurse. Not only is gross (would you eat your lunch sitting on a public toilet stall), but it is also often noisy as well.
Here are some places that I found convenient for nursing in public.
During good weather, the car was always a convenient and comfortable spot to nurse.
At a restaurant, I always asked for a booth and generally sat on the side away from most of the traffic. My husband would often sit next to me on the aisle side when I nursed.
At the mall, I would usually seek out a more upscale department store, such as Neiman Marcus or Sax Fifth Avenue. These stores usually have a woman’s lounge that is provided for resting and is separate from the bathroom.
Babies R Us provides a mother’s room for nursing.
In a real pinch, I have nursed using a changing room at a department store while the rest of my family shopped.
At church, I would use the entrance room, usually vacant during service, or one of the unoccupied classrooms or offices (with permission).
I hope that helps!
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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