Maggie Gyllenhaal Nurses in Public; Why Do Breasts Scare People so Much?

Last week actress Maggie Gyllenhaal was photographed by the papparazzi in a New York park while breastfeeding her baby. Since then, the internet has been buzzing with backlash against it. Many people are bothered by her breastfeeding in a public place. Why? Her baby was hungry and so she fed her. Most people eat when they are hungry and do not run off and hide under a blanket or in another room to do so. That baby needed to eat and her mother fed her.

Breastfeeding is recommended by the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics as the #1 choice for feeding infants, up to the age of two. Formula is not an equal method of feeding, it is a substitute. It is cost effective and the healthiest choice for babies. So nursing in public (NIP as it is known to mothers) should be accepted by the public as a good thing. Why is it when a mother is simply feeding her baby she is criticized and not praised?

In our country, breasts are over-sexualized by the media. We see women's breasts all the time on television, movies, everywhere. They are portrayed as recreational, not functional. Something for men to drool over and fantasize about. Women pay thousands of dollars to have them enlarged. All of this because breasts are seen as something sexual. In reality, they are purely functional. Humans, like many animals, were given breasts to feed their babies. Since the beginning of time, babies have been fed, not from bottles, but from their mother's breast. It is perfectly packaged, at the right temperature and with the right ingredients. Every nutrient the baby needs is right there. Plus, since babies are born without an immune system, the baby gets antibodies from its mother. That way, the baby is protected from getting sick while breastfeeding. In addition, the mother is given many health benefits as well. Studies have shown that women who have breastfed their children have lower incidence of breast cancer. And their children have higher IQ's. These and many other factors all poin tot the fact that breast is best. Yet for some reason no one wants to see it when it is happening.

Barbara Walters said on "The View" last year that she prefers when women use a blanket to cover up while nursing. That same week, Shakira danced and gyrated on stage in a string bikini on daytime television for all to see. That means Barbara is completely okay with Shakira's breasts but not the breasts of a mother who is feeding their child. If a woman chooses to feed her child in a public place, she should not nave to cover up with a blanket. That is sending the message that it is a shameful act and needs to be hidden. Breastfeeding a child is NOT a shameful or dirty act. It is simply a mother who is feeding her hungry child. She is not taking anyone else's feelings about breasts into consideration when she does this. She is concerned for her child's heath. It is not the baby's mother's problem that the public has watched too many episodes of Baywatch. It is a shame that American people today are brainwashed that breasts are here on earth for a very different reason than for feeding their babies.

Maggie Gyllenhaal should be praised. She opened her bra and fed her baby on a park bench. Anyone who has a problem with such a notion needs to reassess the way they see women and are influenced by the media. And don't forget to eat on that park bench tomorrow when you are hungry!