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Babies are the foundation of the future and they have to eat! Breastfeeding, if mothers can do it, has been proven beyond any doubt to be best for babies from a health point of view. It also helps to cement the bond between mothers and babies.

People who object to breastfeeding in public don't give mothers credit for being smart and modest. Mothers are only interested in feeding their infants, not showing off private parts of their bodies. It can so easily be done without anything being seen. The strategic use of a light blanket, a large blouse and a lot of common sense make all the difference in the world.

When I was a young mother, I breastfed my children when they got hungry without causing at public ruckus at all. Why do babies need to eat so often? Because they have very small stomachs that can hold only a small amount of food. That's why they may need feedings every three hours or even less. It's hard enough for parents to adjust their lives to accommodate a new baby. If they had to stay home to avoid feeding in public, they would be trapped at home unnecessarily.

"In public" doesn't have to mean on stage at Carnegie Hall: a bench at a mall or a park; a chair at the beach; a seat in a restaurant can serve the purpose. If the mother is determined to feed the baby discreetly, she can easily accomplish it.

In addition to the baby's urgent need to eat, the mother has an urgent physical need to feed the baby when he cries. Nature arranged the system to work amazingly well. The baby's cries cause the milk to "let down" in the breasts. If it is not expressed, it backs up, causing painful infections. Even the cry of someone else's baby can have the same effect. Furthermore, the mother's body is arranged to generate as much milk as her baby needs. The more the baby eats, the more the breasts produce. It takes time, commitment and energy to breastfeed successfully. If the mother and baby find themselves in a public place, they just have to proceed with the feeding.

I think that members of the public certainly have a right to expect nursing mothers to breastfeed discretely. Non-family members should never be forced to see someone's naked breasts in a breastfeeding situation. But at the same time, the public has to accommodate the natural process upon which many babies and mothers depend.

Learn more about this author, Sandra Choukroun.
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