[Avodah] Parameters of breastfeeding in public

[Liron Kopinsky]

Hi All,
I have been discussing the idea of breastfeeding in public (with a cover, of
course) with my wife and we were wondering if anyone had some thoughts on
the subject.


Some things we have been thinking about:

Historically, woman always had to breastfeed at least somewhat in public, as
many people lived in 1 bedroom homes and women breastfed for far longer than
average today. Assuming the male psyche has changed recently and sexualized
breasts to a much greater extent, is that something we actually have to be
worried about, or can we just say "there should be nothing sexual about
nursing a baby and to heck with whatever people will be caused to think."?

What about when breastfeeding is necessary for the physical/emotional
comfort of a child?  Nursing during take off and landing on an airplane, for
example.  Nursing a toddler who hurt himself in the park.

What about a woman's desire to be a part of society?  Retreating to one's
room to nurse, especially during the early month's of a baby's life, can
take 40 minutes and is often quite lonely.

How important is it to retreat to a private place to breastfeed when the
private option is uncomfortable or unsanitary?  Why should we expect babies
to eat in bathrooms when we would find it gross to do so ourselves?


What does it mean to be "tznius"?

Does this mean refraining from doing anything that has the smallest
possibility of tempting someone to think inappropriate thoughts? If this is
the case, breastfeeding in public would always be problematic.  Do we need
to live our lives worries about the lowest common denominator?

Or does it rather fall under the category of lifnei iver, in which case it
may be problematic to nurse at the shabbos table in front of other Jews, but
in the mall, where there are many other things to look at and most people
aren't Jewish anyway, it wouldn't be a problem.


Or does it mean not doing anything with the purpose of getting attention, in
which case, the nursing should be fine anywhere as the goal is to feed the
baby.

Kol Tuv,
Liron (and Adina) Kopinsky
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