Wednesday, May 23, 2007

RACHEL IN PHILADELPHIA

A couple of weeks ago, some friends and I visited a family friend's niece who had recently had a baby girl. While we were visiting, we noticed that the baby was hungry.

Being a good mom, the new mother unbuttoned her shirt, took off her bra, and breast-fed the baby right in front of us. Abby, was it right or wrong of her to expose her breasts in front of visitors when breast-feeding the child? -- RACHEL IN PHILADELPHIA

Why is it that some people associate any type of nakedness with lewdness? As if a mom breastfeeding in her home is the same thing as some creepy guy flashing his johnson to kids in the park. It's not like this mom was flashing her vagina at you to show where the baby came out.

So your poor eyes had to see a set of naked breasts. Wasn't there time to avert your eyes sometime during the unbuttoning of the shirt and removal of the bra? It's not like you had to stare--actually, it might be a bit creepy if you did.

Clearly the mom was comfortable breastfeeding among family friends. If you were uneasy, look the other way, go help out in the kitchen, or make some sort of comment to make the breastfeeding mother self-conscious. Something like, "Wow, those jugs look like they'd have plenty/not much milk in them." Or, "What's your estimate on the number of ounces of milk per mammary?" And if you really want to make sure it never happens again, simply take the seat next to the mother and say in a very ambiguous tone: "I've always wondered what breast milk tastes like..."

Your advice, readers?

No comments: