Should Women Breastfeed in Public?

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The evidence is overwhelming and incontrovertible that human milk is the biologically appropriate food for human children. The World Health Organization steadfastly supports breastfeeding for all children, recommending that mothers nurse their children for a minimum of two years.[1] Breastfeeding is ideal for children, protecting them from ear, respiratory[2] and gastrointestinal infections[3] and allergies[4], just to name a few common childhood ailments. The maternal benefits to women who breastfeed include reduced risks of breast and ovarian cancers[5] and osteoporosis[6].

But wait, there’s more! Breastfeeding isn’t just good for children and mothers, it’s good for everyone! Breastfeeding saves everyone money. A conservative 2001 report estimates that at least $3.6 billion in health care costs could be saved annually if children were breastfed at the rates stated in the 2010 Health People goals laid down by the US Surgeon General (75% of babies breastfed at birth, 50% breastfeeding at 6 months)[7]. Formula feeding is subsidized by the American taxpayers through WIC programs, which spends over $578 million dollars on infant formula annually[8]. The average American also pays for formula feeding in high health care insurance premiums to cover the increased illness rates in mothers and children who have not breastfed[9]. Women who feed their children formula miss more days of work than those who breastfeed in order to stay home and care for sick children[10]. This results in lower income for working families, and reduces income tax revenues which pay for government programs and services that benefit everyone.


Breastfeeding is also good for our environment. Pasture and feed for dairy cows, manufacturing, packaging, and shipping of formula and bottles as well as product marketing all have negative impacts on our environment. Breastfeeding, on the other hand, is one of the most ecologically sound sources of nutrition possible, with the human milk going straight from producer to consumer with the only environmental impact to consider being those associated with the need for intake of more calories on the part of the nursing mother.[11]

So, what does all of this have to do with breastfeeding in public? The unfortunate fact is that despite all the proven benefits of human milk for human children, our culture’s lack of acceptance for breastfeeding in public is a barrier to mothers in choosing to breastfeed their children. In a nationwide study, 61% of WIC mothers cited embarrassment over feeding in public as a significant deterrent from choosing to breastfeed, ranking second-highest on the list of barriers to breastfeeding[12]. Acceptance of breastfeeding in public is just what the doctor ordered; the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on breastfeeding urges pediatricians to “promote breastfeeding as a cultural norm and encourage family and societal support for breastfeeding.”[13] Our culture needs to embrace breastfeeding in public as normal, natural, and healthy. This would encourage more mothers to breastfeed and we would all reap the benefits.