[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by RainOnMe

i think they should be able to breastfeed anywhere, but obviously not explicitly. If they take their shirt off, or are being silly about it, then they should be politely asked to be quieter about it.

Agreed, if they're taking their shirts off, then regardless if it's in a restaurant, mall, gym, etc..., they should be given a warning to put their shirt on and act appropriately, otherwise give them the boot.

Originally Posted by MrsCVBerg

I'm not the one who brought up the topic on this site, but I have had this debate elsewhere... Between myself and other mothers. I realize that the majority of the people on this site aren't parents.

Yet you asserted that non-mothers who haven't breastfed shouldn't have much value in what they say, hence, the majority of the site shouldn't discuss in this debate.

Originally Posted by MrsCVBerg

Breastfeeding is SO hard... People seem to think that it just comes naturally and it's easy to just pop your boob out and put a baby on it, but it doesn't work that way. It just bothers me when people make suggestions like giving the baby formula, pumping, or going into the bathroom to feed the baby. I mean, really? If the mother wants to exclusively (no bottles, pumping, etc... just the boob) breastfeed her child, she should have to go into a nasty public bathroom to do it?

If the mother wants to go to the bathroom to do it, then that's fine or if the way she's doing it in a restaurant is close to getting her booted out (i.e. stripping off the shirt), then she should go to the bathroom or elsewhere to do that.

Originally Posted by MrsCVBerg

My husband was all for breastfeeding our son. My family wasn't crazy about it because they wanted the chance to feed him too (bottle feeding), but all in all, they understood why I wanted to breastfeed. As far as coworkers go, I have none... I go to college full time and my husband supports us. But what does that matter?

Do you recall posting: "I think that if people in here were giving their input without knowing all of that, doing any research about why mothers want to breastfeed, or even bothering to learn anything about it, I think that they should probably not give too much input"?

Originally Posted by Myss

When it comes to the pros of establishing a bond between the mother and the baby through breastfeeding, how is that fair to the father? The baby is usually given to the mother first after birth, so there's already a bond forming due to that fact. I understand that there are antibodies in breastmilk that aren't in formula, but I don't think there's a significant difference in the child's health. But that's a different topic, we're not discussing breastfeeding vs bottle feeding.

Just with the bonding aspect, it doesn't seem to be a fair argument.

You have a point there and I can think of a few reasons for why it occurs. Either it's the enculturation that women take care of the children while the men don't as much. Cross-cultural studies have shown that mothers universally care for their family's wealth and child's well-being the same while the fathers in certain countries value the wealth before the child. I have the authors written down if you wish for the reference. Second, is oxytocin, which is a neurochemical known to be involved in the maternal relationship moreso than in the paternal relationship.

Originally Posted by MrsCVBerg

Considering the father doesn't have breasts

You must have failed courses in biology because males do have breasts as well as nipples and males can secrete fluids from their nipples, such as milk although it's not common and needs certain conditions for it to occur. Have you ever seen males with nipple piercings? Nothing more to say for this.