Breastfeeding in public
Encyclopedia
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
their babies in a public or semi-public place and to laws which either deprive them of the right or which recognize their choice to do so.
Some people are uncomfortable with seeing a mother breastfeed her baby, and some societies consider breastfeeding in a public place to be indecent.
Some nursing mothers may feel reluctant to breastfeed in public, either because of their upbringing or because of their own attitudes to exposing their breast in public to breastfeed, or because of anticipated reactions of others. Many countries have laws which make breastfeeding in a public place legal and disallow businesses from prohibiting it in the workplace.
Canada
In CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Section 28
Section Twenty-eight of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Section Twenty-eight of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a part of the Constitution of Canada's Charter of Rights. It does not contain a right so much as it provides a guide as to how to interpret rights in the Charter...
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
gives equal rights and freedoms to men and women. The Canadian Charter does not explicitly mention breastfeeding. However, a 1989 Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
decision in Brooks v. Safeway Canada
Brooks v. Safeway Canada
Brooks v. Safeway Canada [1989] 1 S.C.R. 1219 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on employer discrimination of pregnant employees. The Court found that Safeway violated the provincial Human Rights Act by failing to provide equal compensation for those who missed work due to pregnancy....
held that as pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
was a condition unique to women, discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is a form of sex discrimination. Some commentators note, however, that the case was concerned with maternity pay
Parental leave
Parental leave is an employee benefit that provides paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child's welfare. Often, the term parental leave includes maternity, paternity, and adoption leave...
and not with the right to breastfeed in public.
In June 2009, 27-year-old Tanya Constable, who was breastfeeding her baby, was approached by a Walmart employee in the baby section of the Langford, British Columbia
Langford, British Columbia
Langford is a city of 22,459 residents on southern Vancouver Island, within the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is considered one of Greater Victoria's Western Communities...
retail store and told, "You can't be here," suggesting that she move to the washroom instead. According to Constable, when she asked to speak to the manager, "The manager said that if someone complains, the store's policy is to ask them to move." Constable then decided to leave the store rather than breastfeed her 11-month-old daughter in the washroom
Washroom
A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of "public", by customers of other...
. Walmart Canada later apologized for asking the mother to move and said that,"Customers can breastfeed in whatever manner they see fit anywhere in the store."
China
In Shanghai, breastfeeding in public is considered embarrassing. There have been calls for the establishment of baby care facilities in public places.Germany
While public breastfeeding has been widely accepted especially since the Movement of 1968 when Nurse-Inns in public places, university lectures or even BundestagBundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
sessions were a common sight, there is no legislature that specifically addresses breastfeeding in public.
Paragraph 2 Article 6 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany provides that "the care and upbringing of children as the natural right of parents" while paragraph 4 "entitles every mother to the protection and care of the community".
In recent decades acceptance for public breastfeeding appears to have decreased and according to surveys an increasing number of mothers try to avoid breastfeeding in public whenever possible. In a recent Bundestag session a member of the SPD party had to leave the floor after members of the Christian Democratic Union (Germany) complained that they felt disturbed by the breastfeeding mother.
Philippines
In the Philippines, breastfeeding is protected by various laws, such as the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. and the Milk Code of the Philippines (Executive Order 51) . Mothers are allowed to breastfeed in public. Employers are required to allow lactating employees breaks to breastfeed or express breastmilk. Offices, public establishments like malls and schools, and government institutions are required to establish lactation stations separate from the bathroom, where mothers can breastfeed their babies or express milk. The Milk Code prohibits the advertising of infant formula or bottle teats targeted at babies 24 months old and below.Saudi Arabia
Women in Saudi Arabia openly breastfeed their infants even though they may be fully veiled.Taiwan
The Public Breastfeeding Act since November 2010 safeguards the right to breastfeed in public, and to forbid, eject, or interfere breastfeeding in public is to be fined 6000 to 30000 new Taiwan dollarNew Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...
s.
United Kingdom
Breastfeeding in public (restaurants, cafes, libraries etc.) is protected under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises...
under the provision of goods, facilities and services section. If the child is under 6 months old, the mother has additional protection under a 2008 amendment to the act which protects maternity rights.
A UK Department of Health survey found that 84% (about 5 out of 6 people) find breastfeeding in public acceptable if done discreetly, however 67% (2 out of 3) of mothers are worried about general opinion being against public breastfeeding. To combat these fears in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation safeguarding the freedom of women to breastfeed in public in 2005. The legislation allows for fines of up to £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2500 for preventing breastfeeding in public places.
The Equality Act 2010 also prohibits discrimination against women who are breastfeeding.
United States
Most US jurisdictions permit breastfeeding in public. In the United States, for instance, a federal law enacted in 1999 specifically provides that "a woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a Federal building or on Federal property, if the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be present at the location." However, these laws do not apply to private organizations or to locations on private property, like restaurants, airlines, or shopping malls. As a result, a number of states have enacted legislation to specifically legalize public nursing.Public breastfeeding
In November 2006, Emily Gillette, a 27-year-old from Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
was refused service in Burlington, Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
after being asked to leave a Freedom Airlines
Freedom Airlines
Freedom Airlines, Inc. was an American FAA Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number FDKA087K issued on April 1, 2002. The Nevada Corporation is headquartered in Irving, Texas and is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group...
flight by a flight attendant after she refused to breastfeed her baby under a blanket.
During June 2007, Brooke Ryan was dining in a booth at the rear of an Applebee's
Applebee's
Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...
restaurant when she decided to breastfeed her 7-month-old son. While she said she attempted to be discreet, another patron complained that her partially revealed breast was "indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
." Both a waitress and the manager asked her to cover up. She handed him a copy of the Kentucky law that permitted public breastfeeding, but he would not relent. She ended up feeding her son in her car and later organized several "nurse-in" protests in front of the restaurant and other public places.
BabyTalk magazine cover
In 2006, the editors of BabyTalk magazine received numerous complaints from readers after the cover of the August issue depicted a baby nursing at a bare breast. Even though the model's nipple was not shown, readers—many of them mothers—wrote that the image was "gross". In a follow-up poll, one-quarter of 4000 readers who responded thought the cover was negative. Babytalk editor Susan Kane commented, "There's a huge Puritanical streak in Americans." In a 2004 survey conducted by the American Dietetic Association, only 43% of the 3,719 respondents believed women ought to have the right to breast-feed in public.U.K. parenting magazine
In June, 2010, a deputy editor for the leading U.K. parenting magazine Mother & Baby set off a storm of protest when she described breastfeeding as "creepy." Kathryn Blundell told readers that she bottlefed her child from birth because "I wanted my body back [and] to give my boobs at least a chance to stay on my chest rather than dangling around my stomach." She upset readers when she wrote about her breasts, "They're part of my sexuality, too – not just breasts, but fun bags. And when you have that attitude (and I admit I made no attempt to change it), seeing your teeny, tiny, innocent baby latching on where only a lover has been before feels, well, a little creepy." The anti-breastfeeding tone of her article prompted six complaints to the British Press Complaints CommissionPress Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission is a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC is funded by the annual levy it charges newspapers and magazines...
and set off considerable online debate. The magazine received dozens of positive responses as well.
Barbara Walters
In 2005, Barbara WaltersBarbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
remarked on her talk show The View that she felt uncomfortable sitting next to a breastfeeding mother during a flight. Her comments upset some viewers who began organizing protests over the internet. A group of about 200 mothers staged a public "nurse in" where they breastfed their babies outside ABC's headquarters in New York.
Facebook controversy
Facebook has come under fire for removing photos of mothers breastfeeding their children, citing offensive content in violation of the Facebook Terms of Service. Facebook claimed that these photos violated their decency code by showing an exposed breast, even when the baby covered the nipple. This action was described as hypocritical, since Facebook took several days to respond to calls to deactivate a paid advertisement for a dating service that used a photo of a topless model.The breastfeeding controversy continued following public protests and the growth in the online membership in the Facebook group titled "Hey, Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene! (Official petition to Facebook)."
U.S. legislation permitting breastfeeding
A United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
appropriations bill (HR 2490) with an amendment specifically permitting breastfeeding was signed into law on September 29, 1999. It stipulated that no government funds may be used to enforce any prohibition on women breastfeeding their children in Federal buildings or on Federal property. Further, a U.S. Public Law enacted in 1999, specifically provides that "a woman may breastfeed her child at any location in a Federal building or on Federal property, if the woman and her child are otherwise authorized to be present at the location." A majority of states have enacted state statutes specifically permitting the public exposure of the female breast for breastfeeding infants, or exempting such women from prosecution under applicable statutes, such as those regarding indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
.
As a result of these previously mentioned and other controversies, 47 states as of January 2009 have passed legislation that either explicitly allow women to breastfeed in public or exempt them from prosecution for public indecency
Public indecency
Public indecency refers to conduct undertaken in a non-private or publicly-viewable location, which are deemed indecent in nature, such as indecent exposure and sexual intercourse or masturbation in public view. Such activity is often illegal...
. Attempts during 2007 to codify a child's right to nurse were unsuccessful in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a United States federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. The law is the principal health care reform legislation of the 111th United States Congress...
amended the Fair Labor Standards Act
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a federal statute of the United States. The FLSA established a national minimum wage, guaranteed 'time-and-a-half' for overtime in certain jobs, and prohibited most employment of minors in "oppressive child labor," a term that is defined in the statute...
to require employers to provide a reasonable break time for an employee to breastfeed her child who is less than one year old. The employee must be allowed to breastfeed in a private place, other than a bathroom. The employer is not required to pay the employee during the break time. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to comply with the law if doing so would impose an undue hardship to the employer based on its size, finances, nature, or structure of its business.
See also
- Child's Right to Nurse ActChild's Right to Nurse ActThe Child's Right to Nurse Act is a U.S. legislative act which seeks to protect a child's right to be breastfed in any location where the mother-child pair are otherwise authorized to be. It was first introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates by Bonnie Brown . Delegates Long, Palumbo,...
- International Breastfeeding SymbolInternational Breastfeeding SymbolThe International Breastfeeding Symbol was created by Matt Daigle, a graphic artist and father. He created the symbol in response to a contest hosted by Mothering magazine. The winner was chosen in November 2006 out of a total of more than 500 entries...
- Mom's BreastaurantMom's BreastaurantMom's Breastaurant is a US 5013 charitable organization devoted to promoting breastfeeding, particularly at public events and festivals.-History:...