Imagine sitting in the food court of a mall, enjoying your food, when you  turn your head to see an infant enjoying his food too – being breastfed by his mother. How would you respond?

Well, I can tell you that I was a little bit disturbed by this scene. I was not disturbed by the breasts, because one day I’ll be in the same position, but just at the fact that the woman didn’t seem to mind breastfeeding in public. She did have a blanket on her shoulder covering her, but it didn’t seem to cover much. I hastily turned my head in shock.

The controversy of women breastfeeding in public is not a new issue. David Moye’s article .”Breastfeeding Mom Claims An Officer Threatened To Arrest Her,” details a Columbus, Georgia mother’s experience with the police. According to Moye’s article, Savannah Shukla was nearly arrested for breastfeeding inside of the Piggly Wiggly supermarket. The officer who approached her said that her breastfeeding could be offensive to others, to which Shukla replied that she was allowed to do so by state law. The officer disagreed, and Shukla was nearly arrested.

This should not have been an issue because Shukla shouldn’t have been breastfeeding in the store in the first place. It’s a grocery store. Yes, nobody should to be all in your face as you breastfeed, but it’s not the appropriate setting to do so, because the woman is breaking a social norm. Shukla said she told the officer that Georgia state law allows mothers to breastfeed anywhere “as long as I’m authorized to be there.” People aren’t used to seeing a person uncovered that way. It’s not like we’re outside at the beach, which would be a much more  appropriate environment.

Breastfeeding is natural – no one will argue that. No one will argue that women should not fulfill their motherly duties. What should be argued is that breastfeeding should not involve the woman being totally unaware of others. Women who breastfeed in public should put themselves in others’ position. Women just need to face the mere fact that they have to be cognizant of others and their feelings toward the issue.

Some cultures honor and support modesty and having women breastfeed in public goes against this. Imagine a person, whose religion or upbringing taught modesty, witnessing a woman breastfeed in public– they would be uncomfortable and shocked. Cultures that support modesty should not be forced to accept behavior in public places that goes against their norms.

All in all, women should be much more aware of their surroundings and those around them when they breastfeed in public. I am not against a baby’s right to eat, but I am for mothers’ being more aware of others when they feed them.