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Breastfeeding Protest In Michigan
When my first-born was just a month old, my husband and I went to a favorite Italian restaurant. After we ordered our dinner, our baby wanted feeding, so I went into the ladies room where there was a nice armed chair in which to nurse her. Our waitress came in a few minutes later and informed me that the chef-owner wanted me to return to the table to enjoy my meal and anyone who couldn’t deal with me feeding the baby could just leave.
Unlike many younger women, I was trained to nurse discreetly, pulling my shirt up instead of opening it down so that my breast was not exposed. It was simply a matter of good manners in my mind, and it still is. Public nudity is offensive to many people and unnecessary when breastfeeding. And therein lies the crux of the story about the breastfeeding protest in Michigan.
On November 8, District Judge Robert Hentchel called out a 32-year-old mother named Natalie Hegedus who was nursing her baby in the back of the courtroom. Hentchel asked Hegedus if she thought what she was doing was appropriate in his courtroom. Hegedus was embarrassed by the exchange and plans to file a complaint with the state’s judicial tenure commission. The fact is, were Hegedus actually nursing “discreetly,” as she claimed, the Judge would not have been able to tell she was nursing.
No Injustice Against Nursing In Public, also known as NINJA NIPs, is planning to hold a breastfeed-in later this month in front of the Van Buren County courthouse in Paw Paw to protest Judge Hentchel’s actions. It’s December, this is Michigan we’re talking about….maybe the NINJA NIPs group might want to re-think this idea. The potentials for comedians…the image of breastfeeding women in Michigan’s winter weather…the idea is mindboggling. And that’s not even discussing the discomfort for the mothers and babies.
This photo is from Your Jewish News illustrates my point. This is the kind of breastfeeding in public that people object to. The article actually called the planned protest “nude” breastfeeding. It is possible to breastfeed a baby discreetly, to not offend anyone, to do it in a manner that makes it appear that a woman is simply holding her baby. It’s not a question of whose rights are being infringed. It’s a question of manners. If a woman wouldn’t walk down the street topless, why should she feel compelled to expose her breast to feed her baby?
I breastfed both my children, and I was doing it at a time when doctors didn’t know buttkiss about breastfeeding. When I developed an infection, I had to consult a veterinarian for advice (pump the infected breast, continue feeding on the good one, take antibiotics that are safe for the baby) I’m a strong advocate for breastfeeding. But I acknowledge that some people are very uncomfortable in the presence of public nudity, and I believe it is not necessary to offend to feed one’s baby.
Maybe what NINJA NIPs and La Leche League and other breastfeeding advocacy groups could consider is teaching discreet nursing. All those years ago, if that chef had not believed that, like all women my age, I would nurse discreetly, he would never have sent that waitress to get me out of the ladies room. He was running a family restaurant, not a strip club. Rights come with responsibilities. Mothers have a right to nurse their babies whenever and wherever their babies need feeding, but they also have a responsibility to be aware of their surroundings and sensibilities of other people. It is not an infringement of a mother’s rights to expect her to be discreet and not infringe on other people’s rights.
Related articles
- NINJA NIPs to Stage a Courthouse ‘Nurse-In’ Protest in Michigan (abovethelaw.com)
- Judge Tells Breastfeeding Mother That Laws ‘Don’t Apply’ in Court (abovethelaw.com)
- And in other news from the early 1900s… (eoghann.com)
- Breastfeeding basics: benefits for mothers (examiner.com)
5 Responses to Breastfeeding Protest In Michigan
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Chavelamomela
December 4, 2011 at 10:08 am
I have read reports that the woman who was kicked out of the courtroom for nursing was actually doing so discretely. A court officer brought it to the attention of the judge. I also think she was supposed to come up to the Judge at that point and she asked the court officer to wait a minute as she was nursing her baby…then she was kicked out by the judge.
This has nothing to do with discretion. I have NEVER seen a mom “whip it out” in public as shown in the 2nd photo. Most women simply want to feed their babies and calm them quickly. They shouldn’t have to be worried more about the needs of the person in the next booth at the restaurant than the needs of their baby.
As “A mom in Israel” indicated, “discretion” is a vague word open to interpretation. It shouldn’t be the mom’s burden to prove she’s doing it discretely. Some may say (and I’ve heard it said!) that the sassy patterns of the breastfeeding covers are “indiscreet” because they call attention to the fact that there’s a nursing baby beneath them. By protecting a woman’s right to nurse her baby wherever she is, we’re also protecting her right to nurse discretely!
(And yes, I happen to nurse discretely in public for my own modesty reasons, but I am supportive of women being able to nurse in any fashion she sees fit wherever she is permitted to be.)
Channa
December 3, 2011 at 11:41 pm
There is a large range between exposing an entire breast, as in the picture you showed (which is a look I have never seen in real life, and I’ve seen a lot of women nurse in public), and breastfeeding so discreetly that no one can tell you are doing it. Personally I have always landed somewhere in the middle, because no matter how much I try to keep skin covered, there still is a certain amount of fumbling to get bra opened, then getting baby latched, then trying to keep covered as distractable baby pops off to look around at any little noise. And that’s not even talking about babies who make loud noises when they nurse, need a nipple shield to nurse, or enjoy pulling at their mother’s shirt while nursing. “If someone can tell you’re breastfeeding, you’re being indiscreet” is completely unreasonable.
Hannah @A Mother in Israel
December 3, 2011 at 11:41 am
1. You meant to use the Yiddish word “bupkes.” not buttkiss.
2. Your vet gave you bad advice. There’s no medical reason not to feed the baby on the affected side.
3. Most women don’t nurse like in the picture. Whenever people complain about public breastfeeding they always give the most extreme example. You’ll see more breast on your local billboard than on your average nursing mother. But if it still bothers you, look away.
5. You wrote: “It is not an infringement of a mother’s rights to expect her to be discreet and not infringe on other people’s rights.” In fact, it is. Because the definition of discreet is in the eyes of the beholder. Formula lobbyists have shown up at state legislatures to push for including “discreet” in breastfeeding laws. Once the word is in the law, a nursing mother will have to prove that she is discreet enough to avoid having to move. And that’s just not fair to her and her hungry baby. The baby’s rights come first.
If you don’t like it, don’t look.
Sarah
December 1, 2011 at 2:40 pm
Manners have nothing to do with this situation. A woman has the right to breastfeed, whenever and however she sees fit.
Do you know exactly how this woman in the courtroom was breastfeeding? I own many breastfeeding shirts, explicitly designed to only expose the bare minimum, and even with those specifically designed shirts, you can most definitely tell what I am doing when I am nursing. Were you there? Did you see a picture? If not, you are simply speculating how that woman was breastfeeding.
Bottom line: if a woman wants to expose their breast from the top down, that’s their business. And in a day and age where we see chronic illness, obesity and horrible health choices day after day, we should be encouraging women to breastfeed ANY WAY THEY SEE FIT, not tearing them down for their methodology.
Shame. On. You.
Herald
November 30, 2011 at 11:06 pm
Personally, I have no problem with women breastfeeding like the one in the picture. However, there are many in the US who have all kinds of problems with the breast period. Part of being out in public is an awareness of what is appropriate to the venue you are in. In almost all public venues discretion is a must.
My wife breastfeed all four of our children whenever and wherever necessary with no problems. She also did it discretely. Awhile back we ran into one of our oldest son’s classmates from high school in WalMart breastfeeding her baby. She was not making a scene and there were no problems. She also had a baby blanket draped over one shoulder and was quite discrete. A little discretion and consideration goes a long way to getting more people comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding.
By the way, I loved your comment about the Vet. While in college I worked for a Vet and he loved to tell his stories about educating people doctors about problems they never were taught about in Med School.