lg10

I totally agree that we should not feel any pressure to "cover up" and I have
nursed my three children on hundreds of flights all over the world, ages
zero to approximately 3yo as needed.

However, if the OP's question was asked honestly, then I guess
I should tell him - I have indeed gotten some ignorant comments.
When nursing my six-week-old
on a TWA flight years ago, the flight attendant asked me to cover up with
a disgusting airplane blanket (this was in July and boiling hot, anyway, even
if I would have touched that filthy thing to my precious body/baby). I
refused, nicely, and she gave me the evil eye the rest of the flight. On
another occasion, a couple moved away from where I was sitting and nursing,
in the boarding area, muttering passive-aggressively about it.

I guess, though, that statistically, I'm still 99% or more "no problem" wrt
nursing in public. BTW I agree with the poster who asked why the OP,
and not his wife, was asking....

As for whether it is judgmental to say "breastfeeding is best," it might well
be, but then so is saying "smoking is bad" - and apparently the medical
research shows approximately the same year-over-year mortality for
exposure to parental second hand smoke vs. complete formula feeding.

BTW I am worried about the OP's kid's chances for a good breastfeeding
relationship, since dad seems ambivalent, even asking if it might be
more convenient for the anonymous audience if they bring bottles
instead.

--LG

mary_228

Aside from the bottle/formula hassles, breastfeeding is a really great way to comfort a fussy baby. And I think all passengers can/should appreciate that aspect. Perhaps only nursing moms know that there's more to breastfeeding than "food". I wish more traveling moms would nurse their children!

One of my three children had terrible "latching on" issues and I continually had to reposition the baby for my own comfort, which would be very hard to do with a coverup. I usually had my husband try to block the view of neighboring passengers, but basically had no embarassment about the process.

amarain

If anyone makes a comment or gives her poisonous looks for nursing on the plane, I would simply inform that person that the other option is to let the baby scream at the top of her lungs for the rest of the flight, so if they would prefer that, just let me know.

Natiaka

I agree!
I think you will find (since your main concern seems to be how others perceive you and your wife) that most people will be thankful the child is being fed and is content. Breastfeeding is in everyones interest! Don't expect a negative reaction...quite the opposite in fact. A just fed child is usually a happy child and, at that age, usually an asleep one as well. Breastfeeding is more than food. It will comfort and reassure your son and that usually spells silence or even better..adorable baby babbling! Just keep in mind, the odds are, the majority of people on the plane have either had kids themselves or had nieces and nephews. They are probably praying, as soon as they see a little hungry fidgeting, that you feed him. Please encourage your wife to do so.

Italy98

+1 ^

I believe that anyone outside the US will not say anything or be offended by breast feeding.

Travel safe and enjoy

jrhmdtraum

Here is a question for the masses brought on by discussion on another thread.

Is it appropriate (if legal) (and legal in all countries) to breast feed on the airplane - or should you pump at home and feed with a bottle while on the plane (or go to the head and feed?).

Gaucho100K

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; Series60/5.0 NokiaN97-3/10.2.012; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1; en-us) AppleWebKit/525 (KHTML, like Gecko) WicKed/7.1.12344)

huh.....?

Where on earth is it illegal for nursing mothers to feed their child...!!??

jrhmdtraum

It has been some years, used to be illegal IN PUBLIC in Eastern Europe, Most of Asia and Florida - not sure how laws have changed.

lg10

Just to update in terms of what might or might not be international
guidelines, and some thoughts I did not see on that other thread:

In the event that one could convince the baby to accept a bottle instead of
nursing, that doesn't begin to solve the issue of mom's discomfort from not
nursing/pumping for so long. Also, men may not realize this, but pumping is
difficult, often painful, and never as productive as direct nursing of the baby.

In my research on this topic, I learned that nearly all western European countries
and some eastern ones have pro-breastfeeding legislation (i.e. illegal to
interfere/harass) and none has anti-breastfeeding legislation. It is also
my impression that Europeans are less uptight about nudity and breasts
in general. (Though of course, usual disclaimer: breastfeeding is not
about nudity or sexuality; it is a form of eating that is nearly always
done so discreetly as to be indiscernable.)

I have no
relevant knowledge or experience about Asian countries. In the US, of
course, law and custom permit/encourage nursing on airplanes. Even the
most rabidly anti-child people on FT are often extremely encouraging of
"shut that baby up and nurse him!"....

In any case, I would hesitate to use other countries' (if not travelling there) customs/legislation
as a guidepost in this matter. After all, in some countries women aren't
permitted to drive or to wear nail polish, and that doesn't mean it's
a normative guideline for the average woman on FT.

--LG

GUWonder

When was public nursing of babies illegal in most of Asia? As far as I knew, never as long as it was done without exposure of the breast(s) to the general public.

While it is not always the case, breast pumping and feeding the baby via bottle of pumped milk can be as productive as or more productive than direct nursing of the baby since the quantity of milk consumed can be more directly monitored and the baby can sometimes more easily and timely consume the required volume of milk via a bottle than via a breast.

meisterau

LG must be a man as pumping has always been as comfortable than breast feeding (at least one of my kids) as often the little devils nibble, etc. With the use of pumping and freezing milk, I have worked and flown and breast fed my kids until they were over 6 months of age. It is impossible to be a working mother and not to do so. I have many, many miles with and without my kids while post baby and have pumped in the plane (and saved the milk at times) in the loo/bathroom.

As most women will agree, it is great to have the baby bottle feed at times (when you are at work, when your husband wants to feed, etc). I am extremely uncomfortable "exposing myself" next to a stranger right next to me - although I have descretely breast fed in public (and been accousted by police while in the South).

I would argue that no custom nor FT "encourages" breast feeding over breast - bottle feeding in close contact.

meisterau

I totally disagree. I have over a million miles flying for state dept post partum. I have breast fed my kids until they were over 6 months of age which is impossible without pumping and freezing milk. I guess the La Leches want Mom to stay and home and be "a good Mom". There is NO data that shows pumping to decrease the supply - in fact it may increase the supply as you end up doing it more frequently, thus releasing more of the "make milk" hormone.

If my husband has flown and sat next to me, I have breast fed in the window, last row in FC. If I fly by myself, I am not comfortable "exposing" myself next to a stranger and have bottled the child.

For the last two kids, I used a child seat which all (FAA, FA, Acad of Pediatrics) say is safer and left the kids in it while bottle fed them.

So, my answer is to put the child in a child seat and bottle feed them. Do NOT take the child out to breast feed. While it may be "ok", it is not safe for the child and may or may not bother the person next to you.

I am sure that the FA of 13 years above has seen kids fly when the plane has hit turbulence.

lg10

BAD GUESS I am a working mom of 3; bfed all of them into toddlerhood; logged many thousands of air miles with and without them. Pumping is a necessary chore under some circumstances (away from baby) but from my and my friends` experiences, definitely not first choice. GUWonder has a point that it makes milk intake harder to measure (though not impossible if you have a baby scale) to bf instead of bottles. On the other hand, in most cases you don`t need to know the exact oz. I realize sometimes you do; one of my kids had eating issues and we needed that data. But it is widely accepted that a baby will be more efficient getting milk than a pump will, except for tiny preemies.

erik123

Women initiating breastfeeding is close to 100% in Asia/Africa (without the use of pumps which are unavailable/impractical/unhygienic to most mothers).

There can be no exclusive right to be breastfed in law because some women can't breastfeed and/or health conditions could make it dangerous for the infant (e.g. HIV/AIDS). The laws that are on the books - in many countries - provide an enabling environment that promote breast feeding (as per WHO recommendation). This includes laws related to: no marketing of formula, lactation support, information for new mothers, legality of breastfeeding in public.

The fact that a small minority of women (and probably a lot of men) are uncomfortable with exposing themselves in public (typically in the west because breast have a sexual connotation) can be ignored in most countries.

FWIW - the link below outlines what the State Dept. (and others) are doing to promote breastfeeding for Government Employees. Clearly they are not concerned (in fact strongly support) mom's breastfeeding in public.

http://www.opm.gov/Employment_and_Be...sing/index.asp

l etoile

I don't think it was ever illegal in Florida. IN 1993, Florida led the US in making sure it was legal for a woman to breastfeed in public, but that doesn't mean it was ever illegal there.