Breastfeeding in public

Breastfeeding in public is the practice of breastfeeding babies in a public or semi-public place in open view of the general public. Social attitudes and legal protection of the practice varies widely. In many countries, both Third World and a number of Western countries, breastfeeding in public is common and generally not regarded as an issue. In those countries, laws protect the nursing mother. In many parts of the world including Australia, some parts of the United States, and Europe, along with some countries in Asia, women have an express legal right to nurse in public and in the workplace. A few countries, such as Saudi Arabia, expressly forbid women to expose their breasts in public, even to breastfeed.

Even though the practice may be legal or socially accepted, some mothers may nevertheless be reluctant to expose a breast in public to breastfeed due to actual or potential objections by other people, negative comments, or harassment. It is estimated that around 63% of mothers across the world have publicly breast-fed. The media has reported a number of incidents in which workers or members of the public have objected to or forbidden women breastfeeding. Some mothers avoid the negative attention and choose to move to another location. But some mothers have protested their treatment, and if the practice is permitted by law, have taken legal action or engaged in protests. Protests have included a public boycott of the offenders business, organizing a "nurse-in" or a breastfeeding flash mob, in which groups of nursing mothers gather at the location where the complaint originated and nursed their babies at the same time. In response, some companies have apologised and agreed to train their employees.

In many areas of Africa breastfeeding in public is the norm. Babies are commonly carried on a mother's back in a length of cloth and merely moved to the front for feeding. The nursing mother may shield the view of the baby nursing, but generally no attempt is made to hide the baby and the mother's breast from view. When a baby is seen crying in public it is assumed that the woman with the infant is not the child's mother, since it is normally thought that she would feed the infant if she were the mother.

Sierra Leone has the highest infant mortality rate in the world. During a goodwill trip to the country, actress Salma Hayek breastfed on camera a hungry week-old infant whose mother could not produce milk. She said she did it to reduce the stigma associated with breastfeeding and to encourage infant nutrition.

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