Are We Really Still Talking About A Woman’s Right To Breastfeed In Public?

In the UK, like many countries around the world, women are very much protected by law to breastfeed their baby whenever and wherever they want. Recognising the protection breastfeeding brings to maternal and infant health, the economic savings, and the importance of equality, governments have firmly placed women in a strong legal position when it comes to breastfeeding. After all, it’s just a baby being fed, who could really argue with that?

Of course, we know that plenty of people manage to argue with ‘that’ just fine. At least a third of the UK public think breastfeeding in public is wrong, a figure that is even higher in the USA and France. Instead, more people in the UK think it is acceptable for a baby to be fed in the toilet than in a restaurant. Tabloid newspapers scream the same headlines over and over of women thrown off planes, trains and automobiles (well a bus, but yes seriously) … shops, restaurants, swimming pools … the list goes on. Unsurprisingly women are affected by this, with public attitudes stopping women from feeding in public, and ultimately then being part of the reason that they stop altogether.

To read the full article, click here.