CDTraveler

This suggests to me someone who no experience with actually traveling with a breastfed infant.

"prepare bottles of breast milk in advance" involves:
a) having enough supply available to pump after feeding
b) traveling with a pump
c) having a way to sterilize bottles and pump while traveling
d) having a way to store and transport breast milk at a safe temperature, and despite the various rules and laws regarding this, the TSA still makes it damn hard for women to travel with frozen/chilled breast milk
e) having a way to bring the milk to an appropriate temperature for feeding
f) having an infant who will take milk from a bottle

whereas simply breastfeeding the infant involves loosen clothing, position non-screaming, calm baby, feed baby.

Flyingmama

And you would be wrong. Forty years ago we had no choice. Whipping out a breast in public was simply not done, baby or no baby, and could well result in a charge of indecent exposure. I managed it on a number of transAtlantic flights with careful preparation. Was my baby happy about it? Probably not, but she survived. And I didn't wind up in jail.

rickg523

The fact that you could have ended up in jail for feeding a baby is exactly what has informed the decision to decriminalize breastfeeding and make it a socially acceptable activity.

Scots_Al

Near enough.

roberino

Let’s be fair to OP. They did at least ask ifthis is now normal. The tone was of surprise rather than gammon-faced outrage.

redvelvetmartinis

It's as abnormal as any other person needing to eat, I suppose.

LapLap

I’ve been on the other side of this. Do you know where the designated baby feeding areas are (or were 10 years ago) in large public buildings and institutions?

In toilets.

Typically a bench or plastic seat right next to the baby changing area. Nothing like a whiff of soiled diapers and a ringside view of the smeared angry eye between a wriggling kid’s splayed legs to relax oneself whilst submitting oneself to a feed (breastfeeding isn’t necessarily the most pleasant or comfortable of experiences for those of us who do it, there’s good reason so few mums continue after a few weeks)

It’s a shame you felt unnerved during your meal. Hopefully, you’ll challenge yourself on why that was and feel less unnerved the next time. Eventually you might even become a support and ally to a friend, partner, niece, perhaps even daughter, and baulk at the idea of them banishing themselves from your presence at feeding time (which for some babies can be, or feel as if it’s, 50% or more of the time they’re awake.)

Lightly bobbing head in front of a breast or crying and wailing? You definitely got the better deal - congratulations!

GUWonder

Forty years ago, it wasn’t a rare sight to see public nursing of babies in Muslim-majority areas of South and Central Asia. And in India, I have seen too many a woman nurse a baby publicly while begging; having the baby and saying they needed money for food in order to be able to better nurse the baby was a rather common ploy by beggars around higher end marketplaces.

Eastbay1K

I've also seen some booths at airports. For a time at OAK, the entry code was 8008 (i.e., looks like BOOB). I can't imagine that anyone going into a small enclosed space, especially unmasked and unvaxxed (the infant) could be good for anyone's health right now.

I'd much rather have mom feed the kid in a comfortable (for her and kid) setting than society getting all Hester Prynned on her.

LondonElite

How much can you possibly see with the baby's head in the way? I am amazed this is even a discussion.

Loren Pechtel

It's going to be exposed for a moment at the start and at the end.

LondonElite

Possibly. And so what?

guv1976

These are Mamava pods, intended for those nursing mothers who prefer privacy when breastfeeding. But yes, during a pandemic, utilizing such a unit might not be the smartest thing to do.

guv1976

More information about (and additional photos of) Mamava pods here:

https://flyithaca.com/2017/12/introd...ional-airport/

wharvey

I see nothing wrong with how the mother chose to feed her child.

If it offends you, just do not look.