Breastfeeding Mothers

Although laws have been passed in every state except for Idaho to protect mothers who chose to breastfeed in public, women all around the United States are still being accosted for breastfeeding in public. Laws protect their right to breastfeed, but they do not protect the mothers from being thrown out of public buildings such as restaurants, churches, and schools. The people that threw them out do not have to face consequences even though they are breaking the law. Many mothers chose not to report these incidents because they fear being publicly shamed. Breastfeeding mothers should be allowed to breastfeed in public without fear of repercussions. In today’s society, women’s breasts tend to be oversexualized. Therefore, triggering …show more content…
For example, “many people and businesses who oppose nursing in public, the primary reason for their concern is decency. They feel that a woman 's breast is a private part of her anatomy and that exposing it in public, even to feed a child, is morally wrong” (Miller-Wilson). Since breastfeeding mothers don’t meet society’s obviously high standards of public decency (hence the morally wrong part), then women who put their breasts on display shouldn’t either. To believe that a woman has no justification for breastfeeding in public and a woman casually showing hers does, shows just how fallacious society is in their perception of breasts. Even though breastfeeding is natural, they still don’t believe it should be allowed in public. They back up that claim by saying that sex is natural, but people don’t have sex in public because it’s indecent. In a way, that is true. But, it depends on how people chose to look at it. Because a woman’s breasts aren’t just for pleasure. The main function of the breast is to provide sustenance for the baby. Therefore, backing up the previous claim about society over-sexualizing a woman’s breasts. Women have breast, not men, because they carry and birth the baby. Breasts are nature’s way of providing for the young. If society could look at a woman’s chest the way they look at a man’s chest, then breastfeeding in public wouldn’t be as big of …show more content…
This can impact the baby in a negative way. It has been proven that “breastfed babies have fewer infections and hospitalizations than formula-fed infants. During breastfeeding, antibodies and other germ-fighting factors pass from a mother to her baby and strengthen the immune system. This helps lower a baby 's chances of getting many infections” (Kidshealth). Breastfeeding has been known to increase the odds of the baby’s survival during the first year of life. Proving that there are more positive effects of breastfeeding than negative. Breastmilk is extremely beneficial and nutritious for the baby. It makes it easier for the baby to digest food. It also has substances that protect the baby from certain diseases and illnesses that formulas do not have. All in all, breastfeeding is undeniably healthier for the baby than bottle-feeding and much more efficient. Even if the mothers wanted to continue breastfeeding, their fear is stopping them. The benefits of breastfeeding should be enough of a reason for people to not bother a woman who is breastfeeding. Laws need to be put in place for the mothers who were wrongfully kicked out of public places. These mothers do not deserve the public humiliation that has been brought upon them. According to Dr. Sarah Kate Hooper, while she was on a