Breastfeeding in public? Nursing room in malls?

[lbs23]

Hi there.
Will be back to HK for the first time with my 6mths old son. I'm still breastfeeding the baby and I'm just wondering

*Do people give you weird looks if you breastfeed in public? (which I assume they do...)

*Which shopping malls have proper nursing/change rooms?

Thanks!

 

[carang]

i never, ever had a problem. but i didn't make a big deal of it and was fairly able to be discrete while doing it. i never used a cover as i thought:
1) too hot for baby
2) more conspicuous
3) i couldn't see to get baby latched.

there is a list on this website of places to feed. if you do a search you may be able to find it.

good luck

 

[FutureHKmom]

The Elements Mall in Kowloon above Kowloon station has a great baby room for changing the baby and breastfeeding. Pacific Place mall also has one though I've not used it for BF. I think the Harbour City mall also has a BF room - but there is always a line outside whenever I go (on weekends) so I've not used it. I've never BF in public outside a feeding room in malls just because I thought I would be too self-concious and my son would never concentrate on feeding if we were outside!

 

[carang]

i, on the other hand, just got on with it. i couldn't be bothered searching around, then waiting in line for a room if my kids were hungry.

i even did it on the mtr once.

 

[nicolejoy]

I used a cover (bebe au lait, not too hot and easy for me to see the bub to get her latched on) and mostly nursed in coffee shops etc. I found the nursing rooms too inconvenient - there aren't enough of them and sometimes you have to wait to use them. I found that sitting in a coffee shop with a nursing cover, no one even knew what I was doing AND I felt comfortable. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable nursing in public without a cover, although many women are fine with it and I think that's their choice - if you want to do that, good on you

 

[carang]

exactly! to each her own... it's what makes YOU comfortable... if other people have a problem with it, it is exactly that...THEIR PROBLEM. you are just feeding your child.

(caps not intended as shouting, just as emphasis)

 

[solidstars]

i use the bebe au lait nursing cover as well, though baby now hates it (he's 9+months now) but will nurse for a bit before trying to 'get out' to see the world outside.

i love the elements mall baby's room.

personally i guess i'd be too self conscious to nurse in public in full view of crowds/people but actually i've found quiet corners a few times and BF without the cover. but then, i can't do it with my husband as HE'S more self conscious than i am (he's always asking me to cover up more)

 

[nicolejoy]

My hubby too solidstars. I have nursed in public a couple of times without the cover - and I pretty much said to the hubby "I know what she needs, I can either feed her or we can listen to her cry for half an hr til we find an empty baby room" - in those situations he was more than happy for me to feed her even without a cover!

My daughter went through a stage where she didn't like the cover, but I still kept at it and she figured that if she wanted milk, she had to be under there. The bebe au lait has the benefit that at least she can see out a BIT... she would always stick her hand out the peep hole and play with my face...

Carang, I agree completely. But I do kind of have a problem who use breastfeeding as their "protest" and make you feel bad for wanting to use a cover. Some women make it sound like if you breastfeed with a cover, you're ashamed of it or something. My thoughts are - I don't say that they SHOULD use a cover, so why tell me that I SHOULDN'T??

(I also use caps for emphasis - it's easier than learning all the formatting for "bold" and "italics" )

 

[carang]

i think that the trauma of my birthing experiences caused something in me to snap. i never used bf as a protest (although i know what you are talking about). i hate bf "nazis" (i don't use that term lightly) that make women feel guilty for not doing it the "right" way.

i honestly think that women have nothing to be ashamed of and actually something to be proud of if they choose to bf their babies. i don't think they should be "sitting in" in places to prove a point. however, if i was feeding my child and someone came over and asked me to stop, i would probably have taken their head off.

if you are more comfortable with a cover, go for it. if you are more comfortable without a cover, go for it. if you are more comfortable using a bottle, go for it.

what i DO have a problem with is a society that causes women to feel ashamed of breastfeeding in public. it's not like we are doing a striptease on the table tops of starbucks, for goodness sake! we are feeding our children!

 

[solidstars]

i agree with you carang, if someone came over and made an issue about it as i was BFing i would probably tear their head off as well.

my husband's still very sceptical about me Bf in public, he's always fiddling with my nursing cover. baby likes to play/peek out the bebe au lait hole too. several times i've snapped at him as it really irritated me (in my mind, feeding baby was more important than whether i was 'showing' or not)

but hey, when in rome, do as the romans do, i guess.