No Boobs in the Cry Room

A few weeks ago I posted something on my Facebook status regarding breastfeeding support. Most of my friends know that I breastfeed my daughter, and while I am not of the Breastfeed-or-Die clan I am pretty well versed in the pros and cons of both breastfeeding and formula feeding and have opinions on both.

Well, as you can imagine, my status sparked a conversation with a younger girl with whom I used to work. In so many words, she stated that she too supports breastfeeding but she doesn't want to "look over and see boobs in the middle of Sunday morning mass. That's what cry rooms are for," she claimed.

Well now. As you can imagine, this struck a chord with me. As a breastfeeding mother and an equal rights activist for ALL I was slightly offended. "I'm sorry if I'm mistaken here, but I was under the impression that cry rooms were meant to be a place where you take your crying baby, as not to disturb the rest of the congregation. You'll have to excuse that assumption as I'm not exactly a member of the church but that is what the name implies. Now, I can't speak for other mothers, but I can read my baby's hunger cues and get her fed well before she starts crying, so there's no real need for me to take her to the cry room, is there?"

I got an immediate response. "Sure there is. Don't you think that waving your bare breast around in the House of the Lord, or in any public area for that matter, is inappropriate?"

Hah! Inappropriate! Boy oh boy.

"Let me tell you what I find to be inappropriate: First of all, the fact that a mother who feeds her child formula from a bottle wouldn't have to leave the room yet I am basically punished for feeding my child the best possible food for her and blacklisted from any public area while doing so. Yes, let's reward the mom who feeds her baby what scientists call "artificial milk." That's right - it's artificial. It's a half-assed chemical reproduction of the better choice.

"Second of all, I find it completely inappropriate that society has marked breasts as first being sexual devices and only second as what they were naturally intended to be. If GOD has a problem with me using my breasts the way he intended them to be used in his house then I shall choose not to visit Him. Although I doubt that is the case.

"Last but not least, I find it HIGHLY inappropriate that you claim to support breastfeeding. As a breastfeeding mother, when people tell me something like what you've just said I hear 'Oh, it's okay to breastfeed, so long as it's convenient for me and doesn't offend me. Because that's who it's about anyway, right? Me.'

"I am all for modesty. While I disagree with the way society has forced our view on breasts as sexual objects I understand that that is the world we live in and if I feed my daughter in public I will do so as discreetly as possible. But I refuse to shy away from giving my daughter what is best and I refuse to be inconvenienced by people who go out of their way to be offended by it. I'm sorry if this seems harsh but I am tired of being looked down upon for making what I believe to be the healthiest, most responsible choices for my child. I appreciate your opinion but that's not the kind of 'support' I need."