Breastfeeding in public
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A breastfeeding infant
Breastfeeding in public deals with the social
attitudes to nursing mothers breastfeeding their
babies in a public or semi-public place and to laws which either deprive them
of the right or which recognize their choice to do so.
Some people are uncomfortable with seeing a mother
breastfeed her baby,[1] and
some societies consider breastfeeding in a public place to be indecent.
Some nursing mothers may feel reluctant to breastfeed in
public,[2][3] either
because of their upbringing or because of their own attitudes to exposing their
breast in public to breastfeed, or because of anticipated reactions of others.
Many countries have laws which make breastfeeding in a public place legal and
disallow businesses from prohibiting it in the workplace.
Attitudes by region
[edit]Canada
In Canada, Section
28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms gives equal rights and freedoms to men and women. The
Canadian Charter does not explicitly mention breastfeeding. However, a
1989 Supreme Court of Canada decision
in Brooks v.
Safeway Canada held that as pregnancy was
a condition unique to women, discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is a form
of sex discrimination. Some commentators note,
however, that the case was concerned with maternity
pay and not with the right to breastfeed in public.
In June 2009, 27-year-old Tanya Constable was approached by
a Walmart employee
in the baby section of the Langford, British Columbia retail
store and told, "You can't be here," suggesting that she move to the
washroom instead. According to Constable, when she asked to speak to the
manager, "The manager said that if someone complains, the store's policy
is to ask them to move." Constable then decided to leave the store rather
than breastfeed her 11-month-old daughter in the washroom.
Walmart Canada later apologized for asking the mother to move and said
that,"Customers can breastfeed in whatever manner they see fit anywhere in
the store."[4]
[edit]China
In Shanghai, breastfeeding in public is considered
embarrassing. There have been calls for the establishment of baby care
facilities in public places.[5][6]
[edit]Germany
While public breastfeeding has been widely accepted
especially since the Movement
of 1968 when Nurse-Inns (German: Still-Inns) in public places,
university lectures or even Bundestag sessions
were a common sight, there is no legislature that specifically addresses
breastfeeding in public.[7]
Paragraph 2 Article 6 of the Basic
Law for the Federal Republic of Germany provides that "the care
and upbringing of children as the natural right of parents" while
paragraph 4 "entitles every mother to the protection and care of the
community".[8]
In recent decades acceptance for public breastfeeding
appears to have decreased and according to surveys an increasing number of
mothers try to avoid breastfeeding in public whenever possible. In a recent
Bundestag session a member of the SPD party had to
leave the floor after members of the Christian Democratic Union
(Germany) complained that they felt disturbed by the breastfeeding
mother.[9]
[edit]Saudi
Arabia
[edit]Taiwan
The Public Breastfeeding Act since November 2010 safeguards
the right to breastfeed in public, and to forbid, eject, or interfere
breastfeeding in public is to be fined 6000 to 30000 new
Taiwan dollars.[12]
[edit]United
Kingdom
Breastfeeding in public (restaurants, cafes, libraries etc.)
is protected under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 under the
provision of goods, facilities and services section. If the child is under 6
months old, the mother has additional protection under a 2008 amendment to the
act which protects maternity rights.
A UK Department of Health survey found that 84% (about 5 out
of 6 people) find breastfeeding in public acceptable if done discreetly,
however 67% (2 out of 3) of mothers are worried about general opinion being
against public breastfeeding.[13] To
combat these fears in Scotland, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation
safeguarding the freedom of women to breastfeed in public in 2005.[14] The
legislation allows for fines of up to £2500
for preventing breastfeeding in public places.[15]
The Equality
Act 2010 also prohibits discrimination against women who are
breastfeeding.[16]
[edit]United
States
Most US jurisdictions permit breastfeeding in public.[17][18] In
the United States, for instance, a federal law enacted in 1999[19] specifically
provides that "a woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a
Federal building or on Federal property, if the woman and her child are
otherwise authorized to be present at the location."
However, these laws generally do not apply to rules imposed
by private organisations or on private property, such as restaurants, airlines,
shopping malls etc.
[edit]Recent
controversies
In November 2006, Emily Gillette, a 27-year-old from Santa Fe, New Mexico was refused service
in Burlington, Vermont after being asked to
leave a Freedom Airlines flight by a flight attendant
after she refused to breastfeed her baby under a blanket.[20]
During June 2007, Brooke Ryan was dining in a booth at the
rear of an Applebee's restaurant when she decided to
breastfeed her 7-month-old son. While she said she attempted to be discreet,
another patron complained that her partially revealed breast was "indecent
exposure." Both a waitress and the manager asked her to cover up. She
handed him a copy of the Kentucky law[21] that
permitted public breastfeeding, but he would not relent. She ended up feeding
her son in her car and later organized several "nurse-in" protests in
front of the restaurant and other public places.[22]
In Parenting magazine there was a debate on whether moms
have the right to breastfeed anywhere they would like. The results were 85%
said yes and 15% said no.[dubious – discuss]
[edit]Barbara
Walters
In 2005, Barbara
Walters remarked on her talk show The View that
she felt uncomfortable sitting next to a breastfeeding mother during a flight.
Her comments upset some viewers who began organizing protests over the
internet. A group of about 200 mothers staged a public "nurse in"
where they breastfed their babies outside ABC's headquarters in New York.[23]
[edit]Facebook
controversy
Facebook has come under fire for removing photos of
mothers breastfeeding their children, citing offensive content in violation of
the Facebook Terms of Service.[24] Facebook
claimed that these photos violated their decency code by showing an exposed
breast, even when the baby covered the nipple. This action was described as
hypocritical, since Facebook took several days to respond to calls to
deactivate a paid advertisement for a dating service that used a photo of a
topless model.[25]
The breastfeeding controversy continued following public
protests and the growth in the online membership in the Facebook group titled
"Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! (Official petition to
Facebook)."[26]
