Poll: Breast feeding

Recommended Videos

AnnaIME

Empress of Baked Goods
Dec 15, 2009
146
0
0
Wolverine18 said:
Well "breast milk is better" is true, but then you can bottle breast milk too you know.
Well, some women can, and others can't. Babies and pumps don't actually suck the milk out, they stimulate the breast to sort of shoot the milk out. (Yes, the pressure can be quite high. Yes, if baby chooses to let go, nosey spectators can get an eye-ful.) For some women, the milk just won't come unless there is a warm, hungry, hormone-triggering baby ready to recieve.

Then there's the matter of breastfeeding being a skill that both mother and baby have to learn. Eating from a bottle is a matter of just swallowing fast enough and not choking. Suckling is hard work for a small baby. If they don't learn the skill and build enough strength, they can lose the ability to suckle altogether.

Thirdly: milk from the breast is fresh, at the right temperature and nearly always ready. Pumped milk from a bottle has to be refrigerated and heated, risking loss of quality. Pumps and bottles have to be cleaned. When you have a baby, there is plenty of necessary work without adding more.

Forthly: when a baby feeds from the breast, the first sucks have a different composition than the last, ensuring that the baby gets enough liquid before it gets sated. Pumped milk is the same all through the bottle.

Should all these aspects be disregarded because some people feel "awkward"?
 
Apr 5, 2008
3,736
0
0
Yes it is natural, and yes it is unequivocally healthier for a baby, but whether or not all the teenage boys in this thread agree or not, breasts are more than just their biological purpose. Breasts, if not a woman's entire body has a sexual effect. Breasts can and most likely will cause arousal in men, even (or despite) serving their biological purpose. Breast feeding in public isn't "disgusting" by any means, but it is awkward. We have rules of decency (which are satanic by islamic standards for one thing!) and exposing breasts goes against those rules.

Anyone who compares a woman's chest with a man's is being foolish. A man's chest might well be masculine but it doesn't represent or provoke sexuality. It is accepted the world over as such. While many societies don't think anything of breasts (and their being exposed is commonplace and unexciting), in western societies at least, that is not the case. There are breast pumps which can be used to bottle breast milk for feeding babies in public.
 

Helmholtz Watson

New member
Nov 7, 2011
2,497
0
0
Lilani said:
TestECull said:
Rather than typing out an elaborate response, I'll put it this way. Some women don't want to bother storing and carrying around the bottle, and some women just want to breastfeed.


Not your body, not your baby, not your problem. Nasty old men get to strut around in public with their shirts off, and they have no constructive reason for doing so. They just do it for the hell of it, because they want to. And I don't go around asking them to stop doing it because I don't like it. I look away and move on with my life.
First off, "I don't feel like it" is a poor answer. TestECull provided a reasonable alternative to showing breast in public and your justification is childish. As for the old men comment, TestECull already stated that he was in favor of allowing women to walk around topless, and the old men are not breast feeding. When you start seeing old men breast feed, then your comment might be relevant. Until then however, it is just a red herring.

OP:As long as the women isn't doing it in a confined space and she has a blanket covering it, I'm fine with it. Also, no restaurants.

Capcha:Close quarters <---A place I definitely don't want to be when a women is breast feeding.
 

Conn1496

New member
Apr 21, 2011
265
0
0
Well it's natural isn't it? Quite a lot of human behaviour decribed as "odd", "unnatural" or otherwise is actually pretty common in humans as well as other species. After all, we are animals at the core of it. Highly sentient animals capable of creating wonderous things, but all in all still animals.
 

karloss01

New member
Jul 5, 2009
991
0
0
All I can say it was an interesting experiance when my high school teacher did it in class...
 

CardinalPiggles

New member
Jun 24, 2010
3,226
0
0
Gilhelmi said:
I never understood something. Why do people take offense when a woman is breast feeding in public?

That is what breast are for, it is healthier (in most cases) then formula, especially in the early months of life. The only, ONLY, thing I can think of is the sanitation argument and even that is rather weak, because the breast does not touch the table and the babies mouth (usually) does not touch the table. But the babies mouth is going too be dirty anyway so its a moot point.

I just say let women do what they believe to be best for their child and let them do it in public.
Seiman supposedly has plenty of protein in it, and you don't see men getting sucked off in public.
 

Phasmal

Sailor Jupiter Woman
Jun 10, 2011
3,676
0
0
Helmholtz Watson said:
OP:As long as the women isn't doing it in a confined space and she has a blanket covering it, I'm fine with it. Also, no restaurants.

Capcha:Close quarters <---A place I definitely don't want to be when a women is breast feeding.
At a risk of sounding childish myself, if I were breastfeeding (under a blanket- naturally) in a restuarant and some guy comes up and asked me to stop, I would probably reply with a less-than-graceful `Clear off`.
When you've got kids you've got other things to think about than strangers getting all precious because they can't look away. Nobody forces you to look.

KingsGambit said:
Yes it is natural, and yes it is unequivocally healthier for a baby, but whether or not all the teenage boys in this thread agree or not, breasts are more than just their biological purpose. Breasts, if not a woman's entire body has a sexual effect. Breasts can and most likely will cause arousal in men, even (or despite) serving their biological purpose. Breast feeding in public isn't "disgusting" by any means, but it is awkward. We have rules of decency (which are satanic by islamic standards for one thing!) and exposing breasts goes against those rules.
22 year old woman here, not teenage boy.
Biological purpose is what they were put there for. Not every society sexualises breasts. Ours does- and while I'll accept that when I'm sitting in the garden and it's boiling out I can't take off my shirt while my guy friends can- breastfeeding is legal. If you don't like it- Don't look.
 

Yopaz

Sarcastic overlord
Jun 3, 2009
6,092
0
0
I find nothing wrong with a woman breast feeding in public. It's natural, breast milk contains the right mixture of proteins for humans. It's not something I like to watch so I do tend to look away, but that's just me being kinda awkward.

Now if I didn't have an opinion the only thing it would take to convince me would be the question of what I prefer. A woman discretely breast feeding her kid in public or a baby screaming his lungs out because he's hungry. I will easily prefer a woman breast feeding over the screaming baby.
 

ReadyAmyFire

New member
May 4, 2012
289
0
0
TestECull said:
Do it in private. Nobody else wants to see your kid suckling away. We don't care if you think breastmilk is bestmilk, they invented breast pumps for a reason.

For that matter nobody else wants to see your kid in the first place.

I don't, however, have any issue with women being allowed to go topless in public. This is fine by me. Just don't latch the little shitstorm onto one of 'em while in visual range.
Do you also take issue with animals in fields (cows etc.) suckling their young as you go past in a car/bus/train?

Either way, unless it's illegal no-ones opinion on the matter would stop me from feeding my child.
 
Apr 5, 2008
3,736
0
0
Phasmal said:
At a risk of sounding childish myself, if I were breastfeeding (under a blanket- naturally) in a restuarant and some guy comes up and asked me to stop, I would probably reply with a less-than-graceful `Clear off`.
When you've got kids you've got other things to think about than strangers getting all precious because they can't look away. Nobody forces you to look.

Biological purpose is what they were put there for. Not every society sexualises breasts. Ours does- and while I'll accept that when I'm sitting in the garden and it's boiling out I can't take off my shirt while my guy friends can- breastfeeding is legal. If you don't like it- Don't look.
I personally don't give a damn, I was explaining why it's generally frowned on and I can see the point. I realise it is a woman's prerogative to tell people to back off, and fair though it might be, I think ignoring the fact that breasts do have a sexual purpose in addition to their biological one is naive, bordering on foolish (this isn't intended as an insult). Saying people are or aren't "forced" to look is irrelevant. At the most fundamental level, men are aroused by the sight of them, hence the laws/rules/morals on decency. Whether the mother appreciates it or not it can and often does make other people extremely uncomfortable.

PS. To return to your point about using a blanket, or if a venue was considerate and offered a more secluded area to offer a mother privacy and comfort, then I would suggest that more than satisfies any notions of decency.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

Be the Leaf
Mar 16, 2011
6,157
0
0
It's much healthier for the baby and promotes bonding between the mother and baby. There is a big movement in the NHS at the moment to get mothers to breast feed because quite frankly its so much better for both the baby and the mother.

I guess guys need to think about what is best for the children rather than there own personal embarrassment.

Taken from the NHS website:

Breast milk is the only natural food designed for your baby.
Breastfeeding protects your baby from infections and diseases.
Breast milk provides health benefits for your baby.
Breastfeeding provides health benefits for mum.

Baby has:

less chance of diarrhoea and vomiting and having to go to hospital as a result
fewer chest and ear infections and having to go to hospital as a result
less chance of being constipated
less likelihood of becoming obese and therefore developing type 2 diabetes and other illnesses later in life
less chance of developing eczema

Breastfeeding is good for mums as it:

lowers your risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer
naturally uses up to 500 calories a day
saves money on infant formula, the sterilising equipment and feeding equipment can be costly
can help to build a strong bond between you and your baby

All those benefits you would deny the child and the mother because you get a little blushy when you see a boob? -.- Good show.

Technically you are saying you would rather increase the risk that a woman gets cancer than you could possibly see a naked boob in public.
 

Phasmal

Sailor Jupiter Woman
Jun 10, 2011
3,676
0
0
KingsGambit said:
I realise it is a woman's prerogative to tell people to back off, and fair though it might be, I think ignoring the fact that breasts do have a sexual purpose in addition to their biological one is naive, bordering on foolish (this isn't intended as an insult). Saying people are or aren't "forced" to look is irrelevant. At the most fundamental level, men are aroused by the sight of them, hence the laws/rules/morals on decency. Whether the mother appreciates it or not it can and often does make other people extremely uncomfortable.
I'm not ignoring it at all, I'm saying that if you're so uncontrollably aroused by breasts you can't help but stare awkwardly when a woman is feeding her child, the problem is not with the woman- so she isn't the one who should have to restrict the feeding of her child.
If a man sees a woman breastfeeding and is aroused, then what? The world doesn't explode, he might feel awkward, but he can just look away.
If I can accept that I have to be uncomfortably hot sometimes cause I cant take my shirt off on a sunny day like dudes can, dudes can accept that if I choose to pop out a sprog, it's not their right to judge where I feed said sprog.
 

Tono Makt

New member
Mar 24, 2012
537
0
0
manic_depressive13 said:
Some people are just stupid prudes. Not much else to it. Women should be allowed to go topless just like men can if they so choose.
This.

Add to it that there are many people who impose the sexual functions of the breast (which is a cultural function which varies from culture to culture) above the biological function of the breast, and that's where trouble comes in. Breasts are biological objects first - storing of milk for feeding infants - before they are a sexual object.
 

tthor

New member
Apr 9, 2008
2,931
0
0
who gives a fuck, its just breast feeding, thats kinda what those things were designed for. As long as the person has one of those little privacy blankets or whatever to partially cover up, i don't mind a single bit.
 

gazumped

New member
Dec 1, 2010
718
0
0
KingsGambit said:
Yes it is natural, and yes it is unequivocally healthier for a baby, but whether or not all the teenage boys in this thread agree or not, breasts are more than just their biological purpose. Breasts, if not a woman's entire body has a sexual effect. Breasts can and most likely will cause arousal in men, even (or despite) serving their biological purpose. Breast feeding in public isn't "disgusting" by any means, but it is awkward. We have rules of decency (which are satanic by islamic standards for one thing!) and exposing breasts goes against those rules.
Yeah, by Islamic standards women should cover their hair because their hair can and most likely will cause arousal in men.

You know what turns me on? Necks. And earlobes. They should be covered up, cover 'em up so I don't have to suffer being all aroused!

Breasts are only made more taboo and sexualised by saying they're something we have to cover up. I get awkward around breastfeeding women because I worry if I look in their direction they'll feel like I'm a pervert or something. They probably won't, but I've been told that BOOBS = SEX all my life, despite the fact that in practice, necks and ears get a lot more action (that's not just me, right? Right, guys? >_>)

So, yeah, liberate the boobies! Let's have 'em all o'er the place! If we could just get used to seeing them all the time they wouldn't be anywhere near as much of a big deal. In fact, like you said, bodies in general can have a sexual effect, but it's not illegal to go outside not covered head to toe, so... seems silly to pick and choose? I don't know.
 

Skipper zammo

New member
Oct 11, 2011
88
0
0
Moonlight Butterfly said:
It's much healthier for the baby and promotes bonding between the mother and baby. There is a big movement in the NHS at the moment to get mothers to breast feed because quite frankly its so much better for both the baby and the mother.

I guess guys need to think about what is best for the children rather than there own personal embarrassment.

Taken from the NHS website:

Breast milk is the only natural food designed for your baby.
Breastfeeding protects your baby from infections and diseases.
Breast milk provides health benefits for your baby.
Breastfeeding provides health benefits for mum.
less chance of diarrhoea and vomiting and having to go to hospital as a result
fewer chest and ear infections and having to go to hospital as a result
less chance of being constipated
less likelihood of becoming obese and therefore developing type 2 diabetes and other illnesses later in life
less chance of developing eczema

Breastfeeding is good for mums as it:

lowers your risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer
naturally uses up to 500 calories a day
saves money on infant formula, the sterilising equipment and feeding equipment can be costly
can help to build a strong bond between you and your baby

All those benefits you would deny the child and the mother because you get a little blushy when you see a boob? -.-
All that is irrelevant, No one is suggesting that women shouldn't breast feed. they're only suggesting have a little consideration for other people and try not to do it in a public place in front of strangers.

When your at home feel free to breast feed whoever you want. But when you go outside just bring a bottle of it with you so that if there isn't anywhere more secluded and out of the way you can go you can feed from a bottle. The baby is still be breast feeding over 90% of the time. But on the odd occasion when you on a bus or whatever he can drink the same breast milk out of a bottle.
 

Callate

New member
Dec 5, 2008
5,118
0
0
"Just use a pump!"...

I love experts who know nothing about their subject, have no interest in learning anything about it, and yet want the right to sneer dismissively at people because they have the answers.

So, here's a few things.

One, breast pumps are expensive. Good ones cost about as much as your game console, and they require far more maintenance to use in a comfortable and sanitary fashion. Time and money. Which is one thing if, say, it's a matter of a working mother who needs nutrition to be available to her child while she's away; it's quite another if it's just the matter of offending the sensibilities of self-centered prudes who think the world caters to them, an outlook whose comparison to a nursing child seems more than slightly ironic.

Two, not every woman can use a breast pump. Expressing milk can be difficult. Some women have to take classes just to learn how to feed their child, and some end up giving up and using formula because they just can't do it. This is a good part of the reason groups like "La Leche League" exist. And if feeding a child from your body is hard, just try feeding a machine- the maternal feelings necessary can be rather difficult to summon.

Three, bottle feeding can be a lot more difficult than you would think. Milk has to be kept fresh, and then it usually needs to be warmed. Depending on the age of the child, you may need specific bottle tips to keep the fluid flowing at the right rate and prevent the child from taking in too much air. So there's a whole other set of gear... which could, again, be completely unnecessary if uncomfortable people who feel no one owes human infants any consideration since they aren't helpless crying infants anymore (more or less) could use their mighty neck muscles to turn their heads forty-five degrees.

In short, the ability to feed a child, including in public, is a basic function useful to the existence of the human race. The attitude that those performing such a simple act should bend over backwards to avoid offending you is something the human race is progressing beyond with or without you.
 

Moonlight Butterfly

Be the Leaf
Mar 16, 2011
6,157
0
0
Skipper zammo said:
Moonlight Butterfly said:
It's much healthier for the baby and promotes bonding between the mother and baby. There is a big movement in the NHS at the moment to get mothers to breast feed because quite frankly its so much better for both the baby and the mother.

I guess guys need to think about what is best for the children rather than there own personal embarrassment.

Taken from the NHS website:

Breast milk is the only natural food designed for your baby.
Breastfeeding protects your baby from infections and diseases.
Breast milk provides health benefits for your baby.
Breastfeeding provides health benefits for mum.
less chance of diarrhoea and vomiting and having to go to hospital as a result
fewer chest and ear infections and having to go to hospital as a result
less chance of being constipated
less likelihood of becoming obese and therefore developing type 2 diabetes and other illnesses later in life
less chance of developing eczema

Breastfeeding is good for mums as it:

lowers your risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer
naturally uses up to 500 calories a day
saves money on infant formula, the sterilising equipment and feeding equipment can be costly
can help to build a strong bond between you and your baby

All those benefits you would deny the child and the mother because you get a little blushy when you see a boob? -.-
All that is irrelevant, No one is suggesting that women shouldn't breast feed. they're only suggesting have a little consideration for other people and try not to do it in a public place in front of strangers.

When your at home feel free to breast feed whoever you want. But when you go outside just bring a bottle of it with you so that if there isn't anywhere more secluded and out of the way you can go you can feed from a bottle. The baby is still be breast feeding over 90% of the time. But on the odd occasion when you on a bus or whatever he can drink the same breast milk out of a bottle.
Some of those benefits come from taking it directly from the breast. If women store up too much milk it can increase the risk of breast cancer.

I just really don't see how you could possibly consider your own embarrassment more important than the health of a mother and a child.

After all you are all so keen to see boobies in videogames ;)
 

Skipper zammo

New member
Oct 11, 2011
88
0
0
Moonlight Butterfly said:
After all you are all so keen to see boobies in videogames ;)
I'm sorry, where did that come from?

From what part of my post did you glean that I'm keen on seeing boobies in my video games?


Now i;m not gonna blame you for not having read my first post, but if you had you'd see that i'm in fact not bothered by breast feeding. I was just making suggestions in order to help people that are. People are irrational sometimes and I can sympathise with that. And like I said all I was suggesting is that maybe on the odd occasion where it's likely to bother people maybe you could not breast you child right then.

I was never breast fed neither were my sisters and we're all healthy except for my asthma. I really don't think occasionally drinking milk that's not from a tit is going to have any real negative affect on a baby.