This blog happens to be starting smack dab in the middle of World Breastfeeding Week (Aug 1-7, 2008). I’m a big activist in support of breastfeeding (a lactivist, so to speak), so I thought I’d celebrate by making a post each day for the rest of the week that is related to breastfeeding. Today, I’ll be investigating the acceptance of public breastfeeding around the world. In the next days, I’ll be reviewing nursing bras, nursing tops, and detailing my BFAR relationship with my now one year old son.
I think I was lucky to start my breastfeeding experience here in Germany. In Germany and in other German-speaking countries, public breastfeeding is completely acceptable. Breastfeeding tops, while available (at H&M, for example) are rarely worn, most moms in Germany just lift up the hem of their shirt. I’ve even seen moms whip out breasts over a low-cut neckline. It’s quite normal to go into a coffee shop in a city and see 4-5 moms there breastfeeding their babies. If you are used to using nursing cover ups or draping blankets over the baby while nursing, and are planning on moving to or traveling in Germany, you will probably want to get accustomed to forgoing these cover ups. They will certainly draw attention to you and Germans may make comments or ask why you are covering up (Germans are not shy about talking to strangers and airing their opinions).
Germany is so pro-breastfeeding, in fact, that I have heard from some non-breastfeeding moms that they’ve been criticized for bottle-feeding a young baby in public. But sadly, most moms in Germany wean after about 6 or 7 months and breastfeeding toddlers is only slowly gaining acceptance. I’ve heard that publicly breastfeeding a toddler can draw criticism, but so far (fingers crossed) I haven’t encountered any while breastfeeding my one year old.
In the English-speaking world, things are a little different. In the US, UK, Ireland and Australia there is “official support” for public breastfeeding, but in my experience and the experience of friends, true “public support” varies widely by region. In Washington DC, especially among African-Americans, I felt very comfortable and accepted breastfeeding in public, while in the more affluent Virginia suburbs of DC, I was often stared at and given “looks,” so much so that I started to prefer staying at home and considered bottle-feeding when in public. The thought of weaning even crossed my mind during my two week stay in the area.
To bring in another area of the world, I was sure that my Thai mother would disapprove of my breastfeeding in public, since she is quite modest, but she was completely accepting. In reading what’s available on the web, southeast Asia seems to be very accepting of public breastfeeding, although in the cities it is expected that you be discrete.
To summarize (and generalize), what I’ve read seems to indicate that Scandinavian, Southeast Asian, African, South American, and German-speaking countries are very pro-public breastfeeding, while the public in Southern European and English-speaking countries along with Japan and Taiwan can be iffy about it.
What’s been your experience?
For more information:
- The Breastfeeding Around the World page on Lactivist.org has a nice collection of links to testimonials and statistics on breastfeeding around the world
- Wikipedia’s History of Breastfeeding Article
- La Leche League International site
- World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
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I haven’t tried breastfeeding in public, but a friend wrote this piece about it for the Telegraph, and the comments section is pretty,er, revealing!
Interesting piece from Our Bodies Our Blog
Great site, looks wonderful!
Thanks for the links, Susanna.
That Telegraph piece is quite revealing. And unfortunately, I’ve seen comments like that when stories are written in US papers about public breastfeeding too.
The Our Bodies piece is an interesting read, although I have the impression that the African-American community in Washington DC does practice breastfeeding to a higher degree than the surrounding “white” areas. I got a lot of positive and encouraging remarks from black women there.
The piece reminds me of a quote from a mom given in The Muslim Mom’s Breastfeeding FAQ, “Using formula because it is “just as good,” when breast milk is free is like turning down a scholarship to Harvard to pay for community college.”
Great insight Christina! I, also, am glad that my breastfeeding started in Germany– not only because it was acceptable to nurse everywhere, but because I had a wonderful midwife who worked with me towards successful breastfeeding. We did not have an easy start, but we are still nursing (19 months). My biggest support now that he’s a toddler? LLL. No kidding. Finding like minded moms makes it REALLY easy to ignore the “outsiders who just don’t understand.”
Marias last blog post..Nursing beyond one
As a native Clevelander (as in Ohio), I was looking forward to continuing to BF my dear Bubba Joe who was 14 months old when we moved to the NRW region of Germany.
I’ve had more negative experiences BFing a toddler, from family and friends, to strangers and moreso, to Bubba Joe’s pediatrician who commented about the toxins in my milk poisoning my son. (yikes!)
I’ve tried to contact the LLL here in Germany (supposedly english speaking group in Muenster) with no success.
But I’ve realized I’m a lactivist … a hard-core BFing mama. Nothing is gonna deter me from giving my all (and therefore, my boobie’s “all”) to my Bubba Joe, who BTW is now 27 months old!
Alices last blog post..Kitchens
@maria: We had a really tough start as well, and unfortunately my midwife wasn’t at all helpful. You’ll get to read about that on Thursday!
@alice: I’m so sorry about all the problems here. Have you considered changing pediatricians? Toxins in milk??? So ein Quatsch! I’m glad you won’t be deterred though, and if you do ever need some support, you’ve got it here, with Maria still bfing at 19 months and Oliver and I still going strong at 12 months (and I’m really hoping Bavaria will turn out to be a more enlightened place for me than NRW was for you).
Thanks C.
We’re sticking with this ped because well, we like him all things considered. Bubba Joe was a preemie – has had lots and lots of illnesses but is a-ok otherwise (i.e. he gets into LOTS of trouble daily!). Where we live, there do not seem to be many options for good peds. And other than the toxins comment, we really like him.
Thanks for starting this website. I look forward to visiting often as well as having the support network here.
Hopefully you’ll continue to have a great BFing relationship … I’ve maintained relationships back “home” with other moms. That helps lots too.
Alices last blog post..Oops! (a kitchen update)
Hey Christina and others, what a great resource you’ve started up.
Okay, I’m not a mom so I don’t know anything about the world of BF. But one day I might consider a lactivist lifestyle. So if it’s okay to ask you and your BFing readers: what are the major benefits of BFing into toddlerhood? Wouldn’t it be harder as the child grows older to wean him/her off? If 6 to 7 months is too soon, when is a good time to stop BFing a toddler?
Hezamarie– Kellymom has a great summary fact sheet on the benefits of nursing a toddler: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
Weaning is another story. I am dedicated to child lead weaning to an extent, but that does not mean that I do not or can not set limits. There is a period of toddlerhood when it would be harder to wean– primarily in the 12-18 month range at our house. However, lately (son is 19 months), The Boy can understand waiting, and at this age, I could easily delay or reduce nursing sessions. Once a child comprehends (around 2), you can do more. A lot of women have weaning parties and such around the child’s third birthday. I recommend– How Weaning Happens– http://www.llli.org/NB/NBSepOct99p186.html– for more detailed information on gentle weaning practices.
@hezamarie: I think Maria answered your questions pretty well, I found another link: http://www.bflrc.com/newman/breastfeeding/toddler.htm that explains the benefits too. Like Maria, I’m planning on letting Oliver decide pretty much when he wants to wean. I really couldn’t imagine weaning Oliver right now, he seems to really need nursing so much still, and the benefits of continued nursing have been proven in studies, so why not?
@maria: Your second link isn’t working.
Strange. Sorry about that. It opens if I go through the LLL website, but not through the direct link. Anyway, The book is called How Weaning Happens by Diane Bengsen.
http://store.llli.org/public/product/56
I live in a liberal southern town in the US. I did not (until now?) consider myself a lactavist. I whip out by breasat EVERYWHERE to feed my 5mo old son. I try to be reasonably discreet – but I never use a cover – its darn hot here ! I use nursing shirts for my own comfort as I do not like to expose my belly. A cover would be way to sweaty and impractial. I find reactions pretty accepting here. I had an impromptu brestfeeding session at the Target tonight, that was unplanned. I found a couch in their college dorm /seasonal section near furniture and fed him. People acted normal, and a few people noticeably averted theireyes. Mothers seem to give me a smile or nod as if to say “I understand honey- I’ve done it myself” look. That said, I was in Phoenix with my friend a few years back– in the restroom — and a few women entered and left immediately upon seeing her breastfeeding. I was angry. First, if you cannot feed in the ladies room, where can you? Second, I was sad that she had been made to feel so uncomfortable as to be relegated to the bathroom as it was. I actually flat out refuse to breastfeed in the bathroom (except Nordstroms, which has a separate lounge area with couches and is decadent– far away from the toilet). Do you eat while on the toilet or in the bathoom? I don’t, and my kid shouldn’t either. That’s just nasty. I only have nursed there when I am very very vey far from the toilets )like Nordstroms). Sorry to ramble. LOL.
What a great idea to set up this place for exchanging opinions about this from different cultures.
I’m spanish and live in Madrid. It’s supposed to be a very modern and open society (i.e one of the few countries where homosexual marriage is legal ) but in my opinion and talking for my experience there are still some of prejudices or “duality” respect breastfeeding.
There is encouragment of doing it and it’s defended as the most natural and best way to feed the babies, in the maternity hospitals, the pediatricians…Though still BF toddlers (at least in public) is weird.
Many women work out from home and we only have 16 weeks of “maternity leave” (when the baby is about 4 months old) which makes complicate to continue with Bfeeding, despite by law you have 1 hour (!) of spare time at day for that until the baby is 9 months old… Not enough..
So, many of us weaning when baby is 4 months or continue but only Bfing in the night…Unless you reduce the hours you work or you extend your maternity leave.
I also had many troubles at first with BF and searched support, but I found many contradictions. Sadly my midwife instead helping me, depressed me…Well, I finally got to manage it
I must say that here if you ask many people could say that is very natural breastfeeding in public.
Though in fact the (few) times I have done it I have felt unconfortable, like “WOW a breast”…kind of morbid curiosity fixed on that.
It’s not very usual to see many spanish women breastfeeding on public (latins ones extent BF much more than us and is much more habitual, but..I haven’t seen many of them doing it in public), anyway, I think that little by little there are more of us.
So, my experience with that was not very good in public (others could say other thing), maybe for my shyness, or because I needed a relaxing place for doing it..or for the size of my breasts that are like magnets to eyes!!
And I really would love to see more moms doing it and not feeling observed…
Thanks Maria for the tip. The write up put some things into perspective for me so I think I will get the book! Also Christina, great on-line info.
Are there any readers that work in an office and continue BFing beyond 6 to 7 month mark? If so, how does that work?
@maria: Sounds like an interesting book, I’ll get it too.
@rachael: That sucks about your friend in Phoenix, but I’m glad Durham is a BF friendly zone. I actually don’t like bfing in the Nordstrom bathroom. At the Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, Nordstrom, the sofa is next to the changing table, so I had family after family coming through changing poopy diapers. The older kids were running around, screaming, etc. I didn’t find it to be a pleasant or relaxing environment!
@sial: The more we get out there and BF in public, the more people will get used to it and it will be common place.
Also, one hour a day isn’t long enough for bfing breaks. Sometimes my son is on the breast for an hour during one feeding (sometimes it’s only 10 minutes, but still…)
@hezamarie: Most moms I know who work pump during the day and refrigerate it, then have the day care give the milk to the baby the next day. Some also just wean during the day and breastfeed in the evening and at night. As long as the baby gets some bmilk, he’s getting the benefits from bfing.
Heza– I am working outside the home, and I still breastfeed. When I first started back, I would pump 3 times per day– two breaks plus lunch. Around 13-15 months, I weaned from my pump while nursing when we are together. I still nurse my son (19 months), but have stopped pumping unless we are apart for more than 9-10 hours.
I also reverse cycled some– meaning that I would nurse him a lot in the evening, morning and overnight. He didn’t really care much for bottles, but we did find one that worked. He still preferred to nurse though.
I hope that helps, and you can always email me directly if you have more specific questions– now or when the need arises.
I’m surprised that you had problems, when nursing the VA suburbs. I’m a nursing mom in Arlington, and I’ve nursed my child every location around. I used a cover, because that was what I was comfortable with but most of the other moms I know nursed w/o one, and they never mentioned the issues you describe. If you’re somewhere with a lot of younger, single folks (say, Clarendon with all the 20-somethings), I’d guess you may encounter more people who aren’t used to seeing a woman nurse, but even there, I never had any problems.
I remember one time, our playgroup was meeting at a coffee house in Arlington, the babies ranged from about 1-5 months. Almost all of us were breastfeeding at the time. We ended up taking over a back room since the couches were free, but there was one other occupied table – 2 men, seemed like a business meeting or interview. We assumed they would probably choose to find another table (mainly because we had so many moms and babies), but they stayed the entire time. During that time , almost every mom nursed at one point or the other (I was the only one who used a cover). They carried on the entire time, for about an hour until their meeting was done, kind of funny!
Another time, I was walking somewhere about town in Arlington, with the baby in a front carrier. when she was hungry, I put the cover on, and nursed while walking. (I nurse by pulling my top down – small chested, lol – so it worked out really well with the Mei Tai and the cover). At some point, there was a homeless guy in a park across the street, he saw us ,and shouted “is there a baby under there?” , i said “yes”. Him – “can I see?” me – “uh, she’s eating now”. Him – “oh….(with realization…) OH. Never mind!”. I wasn’t sure what his reaction would be, I was soooo relieved it was along those lines and not something more lewd, lol.
@hezamarie – I pumped until my daughter turned 1. At first I went to a special location they had, but that just took too much time. I requested a lock for my door, that worked out much better, since I could continue to work as I pumped. She had 3 bottles of EBM a day at daycare.
Most of the time, I pumped 3 times during the day, and then once more at night (around 11pm). I would also do the 11pm pump on weekends to help build up an extra stash.
By around 10 months, my supply started dipping, and I started going into my supply. At around 10 1/2 months, I started mixing some of her bottles with whole cows milk (at first I thought I would have had to mix with formula, but the daycare suggested I talk to my doctor, since she was older. I did, and he said it was fine!). So from about 10 1/2 months until 1 year, she had a mix, with the ratio of cow’s milk gradually increasing. (By then, I also was just pumping twice during the day, and would also occasionally skip the 11pm one). The week she turned one, I was ready to quit pumping for good, but her ped suggested I go one more week, and have them mix her warm EBM with cold cow’s milk, to get her used to the change in temperatures, which worked out well. Then she was on all cow’s milk ,at first room temp, but then eventually cold.
I’m so glad I did it for the whole year…but was SOOOoooo glad when I was done, lol. I don’t miss pumping at all!! I’m still nursing her at the night and mornings (and once during the day on weekends), I’m not sure when I’ll wean (she’s 15 months now). I want to have a plan versus stopping because I’m frustrated (I still love it, except she has early morning marathon sessions which kill me). Maybe at around 18 months, I’m not sure…
@sue: I was getting looks out in the Reston/Fairfax area at the upscale chains (like PF Chang’s). I kind of have the impression that the closer you get to DC, the better it is. My husband is usually completely oblivious, but even he noticed the looks and they made him uncomfortable too. Sounds like during my next visit, I should stick more to the Arlington and Alexandria areas!
In case you’re interested, here’s a recent discussion on Chow about breastfeeding in restaurants that I think aptly illustrates what many American bfing moms have to deal with.
This is great info to know.
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