Breastfeeding in Public in the South

Hi,

I have a two year old who is still nursing and I live in the Chattanooga area. I have nursed in public - at restaurants, church, parks, on hiking trails, wherever the need arose especially when my girl was younger and have friends that have also. I have not had any bad experiences in any places that I have chosen to nurse. Many times I did have a nursing blanket or something that I put over her, especially when she was in a phase of trying to move my clothing. Even now, if for some reason I need to nurse in public, I will (although my daughter is not nursing much anymore) and I will either use my hand, or my clothing to cover her. I do not remember anyone ever making negative comments (or too many posative ones either) about us nursing. I feel that it is your choice and if you are comfortable with nursing in public then go for it. If not, there is usually a quiet place away from the group that you can go and nurse, even if that means sitting on a chair in restroom. Some tourist places even have nursing rooms for moms to make it more comfortable for a mom and her child.

There are some support groups for breastfeeding moms if that is what you call it, like the La Leche League and I know there is an attachment parenting group in Chattanooga if you want to find others with similar desires when it comes to breastfeeding.

Hello P., im from this area too. And i couldnt help but respond b/c this is something that irritates me. This is something that god has give you. Its not something everyone woman can do. Society excepts other things so much easier than this, and this to me is so backwards. If your uncomfortable than you shouldnt do it. But if you want the best for your baby, and you obviously cant stay in your house 24/7, then you need to do what is right for both of you. Im all for it and think society needs to stick to minding their own business or they need to stay home. Take care of your little one. And next time someone says anything or looks at you for this, ask them if they want to fit the bill for formula, or for the dr. Bills if your baby cant tolerate formula.
S.

The reason you haven't seen any mothers breastfeeding in public is that we're very good at hiding it. I nurse in public when I go out and I haven't had a negative comment yet. One way you can be more discreet about it is to use a sling. Just put your baby in the sling and you can nurse him in there without attracting attention. Try not to look nervous or like you're doing something weird. The more comfortable you are with it, the more comfortable other people will be with it. Even if you get a negative comment, just remember that you are doing the best for your little one and you have a legal right to breastfeed in public.

I live in Rossville, GA so I know the area. I breastfed my baby until she was 18 months. You can be as discreet as you feel if you want to. There is always a fitting room or you can go to your car if you feel like you need to. It sounds to me that with the Hooter Hider you are being responsible and as considerate as you should be. Personally, I didn't care what people said or the way they looked at me because my child's health and well being was WAY more important to me than those peoples opinion. You should not feel embarrased and I feel sorry for the people who made you feel that way - they have issues (not you).

I also live in Chattanooga and I have seen maybe two people BF'ing and it made me very happy. I'm still breastfeeding my little girl who is 20 months old, I have BF in public before and tried to just make sure I was as covered as possible but let me tell you, that hooter hider is fine now but when your little one is older he/she will probably pull it off. I think as long as you are careful it will be fine, however there will always be the odd ahole that has something nasty to say, just ignore them. The good outweighs the bad.

I have tried to nurse in the car before and it's just so uncomfortable I hated it. Before I tried going in the bathrooms, and hiding but when we did that neither of us could get comfortable enough and relax enough to get a let down so I gave up on that and decided to heck with it, I'd just nurse when and where I needed to. She's old enough now we don't usually nurse unless we are at home but if we needed to I would not hesitate. It's also great to see another breastfeeding Mama! It's still sad when I see so many that aren't breastfed. You just be proud and do what you need to do!