Summertime and the Living is…not so easy

by Barbara Behrmann, Ph.D.

© 2006 

I was recently relaxing at a local pool when my “peripheral” hearing honed in on a conversation between a lifeguard and a woman with two young children.  He was on the phone to find out if he had correctly understood pool rules.  Minutes earlier, the mom had been sitting at the edge of the pool, contentedly watching her three year old frolic in the water, as she discreetly nursed her baby – that is, until the lifeguard asked her to stop.  Why?  Because he (erroneously) told her, she was violating two rules:  no public exposure and no food at the pool.  

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least two other situations that involved confrontations between nursing mothers and authority figures at pools and beaches.  In one case, the rationale was, in part, that it was distracting to the life guards.  In the other, the woman was fined for “exposing her genitals in a public area.”  In both situations the mothers were ultimately cleared of any “wrong-doing,” but the damage was done:  mothers who want to avoid attention shouldn’t try to nurse in public.

I am writing this in the middle of the hottest time of year, when skimpy bathing suits are de rigueur  and life guards have plenty of opportunities for, shall we say, ample distractions besides mothers feeding and caring for their babies.

The media focuses more and more on all the reasons why women should nurse – and rightfully so.  But we are less likely to do so if we have to worry about being harassed.  Until our culture becomes more accepting of nursing mothers – and more knowledgeable about nursing – we compromise the health and well-being of our children.  We promote the message that breastfeeding is important, but unattainable, and that moms should vacate the public domain to feed our children in park bathrooms.  And we perpetuate the myth that breasts are designed to “turn-on” a man, but not to latch on a baby. (Paris Hilton can expose most of her breasts on the cover of Vanity Fair, yet a nursing baby on the cover of Mothering Magazine caused such an outcry that some stores sold it in brown paper packaging.)

Nursing is Your Right

I happen to live in New York, the state with the most progressive breastfeeding legislation in the country.  Not only was New York the first state to enact any form of breastfeeding legislation, but as of 1994 the law guarantees breastfeeding in public as a woman’s civil right – regardless of whether she is on public or private property.  Moreover, it clearly states that laws governing public exposure do not apply to breastfeeding!  The upshot is, wherever a nursing mother otherwise has the right to be, she has the right to nurse.          

Over 20 states (in the U.S.) have enacted legislation to clarify that women have the right to nurse in public without being accused of indecent exposure, lewd behavior or obscenity.   To find out what the law is in your state, go to:  http://www.lalecheleague.org/Law/summary.html.         

In some cases, it is a city that passes legislation.  Philadelphia, for example, prohibits both discrimination against breastfeeding moms and segregation of breastfeeding moms.  At the federal level, a 1999 law ensures that women have the right to breastfeed anywhere on federal property that women have a right to be with their children.        

The late Elizabeth N. Baldwin, Esq., devoted much of her career to legal issues surrounding breastfeeding.  Her words remain on the La Leche League website, an excellent source of legal information.  “No one,” she asserts, “has the right to tell a mother how to feed her baby, especially a way that increases the risk of illness to both mother and baby!”  Even in states without official legislation, you have the right to nurse wherever you go with your baby, be it in the public or private domain. 

So in this season of bathing suits, swimming, and hot weather, go ahead and nurse with confidence. And the more comfortable you appear, the less likely someone will bother you.  Besides, not only will you be doing the best thing for your children, but you will make it that much easier for the next woman sitting on the edge of the pool.

Note:  This article first appeared on Real Savvy Mom.

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Barbara L. Behrmann, Ph.D. is a writer, researcher, and author of The Breastfeeding Café: Mothers Share the Joys, Secrets & Challenges of Nursing, University of Michigan Press, 2005. She is a frequent speaker around the country and is available for talks, readings, and conducting birthing and breastfeeding writing circles. The mother of two formerly breastfed children, Barbara lives in upstate New York.