Posted on 08/10/2005 10:03:55 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Women in favor of public breastfeeding are demanding the right the nurse their infants in the stands at sports arenas, but say they feel pressured to leave their pricey seats and feed their babies in bathrooms or first aid stations.
``They've paid for their seat, they have the right to be in that seat, so they have the right to breastfeed their baby there – that's our understanding of the law,'' said Lezlie Densmore of La Leche League in Massachusetts.
None of the area's three major sports venues have written policies on breastfeeding, creating confusion among mothers over what is allowed.
# At Gillette Stadium, a spokesman said women can nurse anywhere. But a security official told a Herald reporter inquiring about the policy that mothers must breastfeed in designated areas.
# At Fenway, both a fan service representative and a security official said if a fan finds a nursing mother ``offensive'' it is up to park security to decide whether the mother must go to a more discreet area.
# At TD Banknorth Garden, public nursing is handled on a ``case-by-case basis,'' said spokeswoman Courtney McIlhenny.
Dorchester mother Patty Daidone-Hardy said she was told by Gillette Stadium officials on Monday that she could nurse her 3-month-old son in a restroom or other area away from the stands.
She said feeding her baby in a bathroom would be ``unsanitary.''
``Breast milk is my son's only source of nutrition,'' she said. ``I felt like I was committing a crime because I had to nurse my son.''
Gillette spokesman Stacey James said women can breastfeed anywhere in the stadium, including the stands. James said he didn't know why a security officer would tell a caller ``we have family restrooms'' for nursing. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bostonherald.com ...
Now wide recievers will have an excuse when their coach asked them why they lost track of the ball.
any mother who would take a 3 month infant to Fenwyt or the Garden is, IMHO, an UNFIT mother..
Stay home and feed your babies. Do you really think it's good to drag babies all over the place, especially a sporting event with all the drunks? Put their needs first. I would never take an infant to a game - yuck!
Oh, not this shi'ite again. If she's decently dressed, nobody's going to notice. (And if somebody's staring around the bleachers looking for bo*bs, maybe professional sports isn't all it's cracked up to be!)
Exactly, I think they should stay home ...
My wife breastfed both our girls. Strangely, nobody ever came up to her and lifted the blanket to see what was going on underneath it. Luckily for them.
Classy chicks, these.
I guess men should be allowed to urinate in the stands to make it even.
You know................even people on the right side of things can embarrass the hell out of you! This is just so disgusting! Maybe I"m just outta touch. But, when I was a nursing Mother, I would never have taken my precious baby to a loud, dirty, people filled, germ infested sports arena.
If the baby is going to interfere with your lifestyle, then maybe you should give the baby up for adoption to a family who regards children as more important than season tickets to the Patriots.
Absolutely right.
And since I've paid for my seat, I've got the right to urinate right here too!
After all, the stadium sold me the beer. Why should I have to miss part of the game because of the stadium's actions?
Shades of the hilarious cheerleader scene from The Replacements.
It's a breast and a baby that's feeding from it, big deal. If it bothers you, don't stare. I really don't enjoy watching people pick their nose, or honk a snot ball out, so I make a point not to stare at it if I notice it happening.
I, personally, would be hesistant to take a baby of nursing age to a sporting event, but that's just my individual opinion.
After enough beer....
I agree. Certainly not putting the baby's needs first.
Most new mothers with an ounce of common sense wouldn't either...
Typical "me, me, me" first, never mind about the kid's health at that age.
Stay home for Pete's sake.
There are already enough boobs in the bleachers, as it is.
"I've got nipples, Focker, can you milk me?" (Meet the Parents 1)
From what you wrote, your wife used a blanket to cover up herself and the nursing baby.
What you and others might not be aware of is this IN-YOUR-FACE form of nursing, that refuses to use a blanket, whips out a boob, sticks it in baby's mouth and sits there for all the world to see.
I am so sick of going to stores, movie theatres, restaurants, and yes, to CHURCH, and seeing Mother's nursing their babies without benefit of any sort of covering, and looking around with this defiant look, "What? Wanna say something about what I'm doing?"
Whatever happened to privacy, and a sense of decency?
These arrogant, brazen displays have brought this outcry on themselves. The public is tired of seeing Mother's with babies hanging off of them everywhere. What? Is it some badge of courage, for a woman to nurse in public and then DARE someone to say something?
Until the camera shows fans in the stands. That would be funny.
I have no words, oh wait, yes I do, this is absurd, any mother who takes an infant to a sports arena of any kind should be deemed unfit. STAY HOME WITH YOUR CHILD and watch the game on tv, no need to go to the park and if you're that desperate to put the game and your self satisfation AHEAD of your child's then have the decency to get a babysitter.
LOL!!
One shot on the Jumbo-Tron, and I bet that'll be the last time that happens!
Yech. A sports stadium strikes me as a very unsanitary place to nurse.
Nursing a child in public is not the same thing as peeing in public and don't you think the gawkers will be more interested in the cheerleaders shaking their enhanced mammaries on field than some kid having lunch?
...When did infants not to be taken by their mothers to public places? Did I miss a meeting? Is a breast feeding infants feeding tube so repulsive in public that we should ban the female mammary gland and it's function? Ahhh, a law...)
"I guess men should be allowed to urinate in the stands to make it even."
you mean we can't!!!
Sigh................here we go again. Let the battle begin.
Why in the world do you compare breast feeding to urinating?!
It's not even close to the same thing. That being said, I personally wouldn't take my two month old to a crowded stadium. I don't even like to take him to the grocery store, to be frank. Too many people like to touch babies without even thinking about it, or asking permission first. Right after they've coughed into their hands, too. Ugh.
This is all about attention and fund-raising... not about fixing any problem.
Where are the statistics demonstrating that there's been a problem? How many people have attended sporting events, and of them how many were nursing mothers with their babies?
Of those nursing mothers, how many documented problems did they have?
Something tells me that the percentage of sports stadium visitors reporting documented problems because of no written breast feeding policy is
.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
Oh! I loved this quote:
She said feeding her baby in a bathroom would be ``unsanitary.''
Could anybody rationally explain that one for me? I keep trying to imagine how any, uhm, "important element" in the breast feeding equation would get dirty....
Once this nursing mother in public got all hostile at me for no reason. Okay, I admit the flashbulb made the baby cry, but still...
Everything unobtrusive until something exciting happened and everybody stood up. . . and one of my wife's nursing pads went airborne.
We still laugh about it.
That's funny!
(I could see the imaginations start running wild over what exciting event occurred.)
So mothers should stay at home from the time their babies are born until they are through breast-feeding??
You are, of course, correct. My wife is appropriately modest and would not dream of doing something so immodest.
My point was that it is entirely possible to breastfeed a child anywhere, if that is what you are trying to do, rather than trying to make a political point.
Lets see, nekkid breasts AND football? The problem would be.....?
I always think it's funny that men will pay to see bo*bs, or even *almost* see them ... imagine you might if something slipped ... like with sports cheerleaders or Hooters waitresses. But if there's a baby eating, suddenly it's horrific.
That said, I've nursed babies all over the place, including the bleachers at a minor-league baseball game, and nobody ever noticed (or cared, if they did notice).
`They've paid for their seat, they have the right to be in that seat, so they have the right to breastfeed their baby there
I'm not aware of this particular "right". Is it printed on the ticket somewhere?
The "La Leche League"? Geez. The dreaded triple-L!
Santa Maria, it's Lezlie!
Interesting way to spell her name, ay?
I don't know these women so I don't know why they must go to sporting events.They may have a good reason or maybe not.Women who nurse can't always stay at home. Laws are on the books protecting those who nurse.Breast milk is just better than formula.Unlike the bottle the breast is always sanitary.
Okay, so why does a player have to leave the game if blood is drawn until it stops? Because HIV is transmitted through blood. So why doesn't a lactating mother have to leave the venue also? HIV can be transmitted through breast milk.
Also the baby is not paying for entry to the stadium and no "outside" food is allowed. Get a sitter.
LOL!
Don't get me wrong: I love babies, I love breasts, and I generally don't have any problems with breast feeding babies in public places. The problem I have is paying big bucks for a good stadium seat only to have to deal with a screaming, pooping, puking baby. The only babes that I want to see at a game have short skirts, long legs, and well developed chest muscles. There you have it -- I'm a pig.
me too, Tax-chick, years ago when breastfeeding wasn't so "fashionable"...
no-one ever knew anything other than I had a baby in my arms. My blouse covered the top, and a receiving blanket covered the rest. What is with these women that they do not know how to breastfeed properly in public.
I never went to a sports event, mostly because I am not that big on sports, but went anywhere else that I wanted to, and without having to haul a whole lot of paraphenalia with me, then worry about keeping formula cool enough for safety... a couple of diapers, and off I could go, for a whole day if I wanted.
I think they just want to call attention to themselves. Sad, I think.
The context is this: `They've paid for their seat, they have the right to be in that seat, so they have the right to breastfeed their baby there I'm not aware of this particular "right". Is it printed on the ticket somewhere?No. The context is a kid having lunch.
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