Should a Woman Breastfeed in a Public Restroom?

I went through the dilemma countless times with my first baby: Should I nurse in a public restroom? I always tried to schedule my time out of the house around nursing sessions. I meticulously planned trips to the grocery store, gas station and mall. Countless times I postponed outings or canceled them altogether if they could not be accomplished without nursing my baby in public. However, the decision of whether or not to breastfeed in public could not always be avoided. I faced nursing in the car, on mall benches and yes, in a public restroom.

I remember one time particularly well. My husband's family was taking us out to eat at a restaurant after church. Our baby was two months old at the time. I began dreading the event earlier that morning when I realized his lunch time feed would be due at the time we got to the restaurant. In addition to this, the restaurant parking lot was very busy and so nursing in the car wasn't an option.

Insecure with breastfeeding in public, as well as afraid of what my in-laws would think, when we got inside the restaurant, I headed to the bathroom. Far from an efficient nurser, my son took anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes to eat. So, being averse to the idea of sitting on a toilet while feeding my baby, I stood in a bathroom stall for a full forty minutes, holding my baby to breast. The time was agonizing and slow as I listened to one person after another enter the stall next to me, make their bathroom noises, flush the toilet and leave. I was also embarrassed by the people standing in the bathroom waiting for me to get out so they could use my stall. The experience was humiliating and not one I would ever desire to relive.

However, those were the early days. As I grew in my confidence as a mother and had another baby (whom I still nurse at 14 months) I have come to ponder the questions, "Would I eat my lunch in a bathroom?" No! "Should I expect my baby to eat in a bathroom?" Absolutely not!

If you are a timid breastfeeding mother, be brave! Endure the sometimes rude looks and comments you might receive and nurse in the booth at the restaurant. There is nothing indiscreet or immodest in nourishing your child in this way. I have found it is possible to nurse in public while displaying very little, if any skin on my breast. You are not compromising your dignity by breastfeeding in a public place. However, you are absolutely compromising your dignity by breastfeeding your baby in a room designated for releasing human waste!