Breast Feeding During Mass?

[Still_Trying]

Let’s be fair here. People need to realize that breastfeeding a child is not an act of immodesty! Is it possible to do it immodestly, yes, and the same could be said for just about anything. But the act in itself is natural and was created by God, the very same God who makes Himself present body blood soul and divinity on the altar, and if He had a problem wiht it, believe me, I think He would speak up!. Let me tell you something, men don’t get a rise out of seeing a woman feed her baby. They are far more likely to develop immodest thoughts over the teenage girl in a nearby pew who, although possibly full covered, is wearing skin tight clothing, leaving little to the imagination. Context, context, context. Instead of rushing to judge, congratulate the woman for feeding her baby the way God intended.

Sure, it’s natural and created by God…but so are pooping, burping, and a variety of other “natural” functions.

I don’t think it’s appropriate during mass. Just my 2 cents.

 

[deb1]

Let’s be fair here. People need to realize that breastfeeding a child is not an act of immodesty! Is it possible to do it immodestly, yes, and the same could be said for just about anything. But the act in itself is natural and was created by God, the very same God who makes Himself present body blood soul and divinity on the altar, and if He had a problem wiht it, believe me, I think He would speak up!. Let me tell you something, men don’t get a rise out of seeing a woman feed her baby. They are far more likely to develop immodest thoughts over the teenage girl in a nearby pew who, although possibly full covered, is wearing skin tight clothing, leaving little to the imagination. Context, context, context. Instead of rushing to judge, congratulate the woman for feeding her baby the way God intended.

Sure, it’s natural and created by God…but so are pooping, burping, and a variety of other “natural” functions.

I don’t think it’s appropriate during mass. Just my 2 cents.

Sigh.

Would you feel this way even if the mother is very discreet and well covered?

 

[deb1]

Let’s be fair here. People need to realize that breastfeeding a child is not an act of immodesty! Is it possible to do it immodestly, yes, and the same could be said for just about anything. But the act in itself is natural and was created by God, the very same God who makes Himself present body blood soul and divinity on the altar, and if He had a problem wiht it, believe me, I think He would speak up!. Let me tell you something, men don’t get a rise out of seeing a woman feed her baby. They are far more likely to develop immodest thoughts over the teenage girl in a nearby pew who, although possibly full covered, is wearing skin tight clothing, leaving little to the imagination. Context, context, context. Instead of rushing to judge, congratulate the woman for feeding her baby the way God intended.

Sure, it’s natural and created by God…but so are pooping, burping, and a variety of other “natural” functions.

I don’t think it’s appropriate during mass. Just my 2 cents.

 

[deb1]

Still Trying, would you feel that way even if the mother was very discreet and covered?

I really, really tried to be modest when breastfeeding. But it used to annoy me that if I was in public people expected me to go to a tiny, bathroom stall and feed my child with the door shut as if I was doing something shaming. This became especially hard when my hubby was sent away by the military and I had to do all the shopping with three other children.

I wasn’t Catholic at the time, but I have no idea how I would have handled Mass during that time.

Aren’t there many cultures that have a less narrow view about breast feeding in public?

I seem to remember a very famous painting of a woman breastfeeding on a public train.

 

[St_John]

Sure, it’s natural and created by God…but so are pooping, burping, and a variety of other “natural” functions.

I don’t think it’s appropriate during mass. Just my 2 cents.

Babies poop and burp regularly in church, fyi. Is that offensive?

 

[Karin]

Babies poop and burp regularly in church, fyi. Is that offensive?

NO they dont…that is the silliest thing I have ever heard…you DO know that they hold their poop and burp till they are outside of Church…they would never do this in CHurch…HOW DARE THEY!

(Please note I am joking…note the sarcasm )

 

[magdelaine]

Aren’t there many cultures that have a less narrow view about breast feeding in public?

Yes, there are. My own theory about this and our own culture is that we have hypersexualized the breast at the same time as disassociating its function from the form. It is basically the same thing as disassociating sex with making babies; nowadays in the culture at large the purpose of sex is for just about anything and everything else other than making babies. The breast’s function is to feed the baby. I’m really sorry if this offends anyone, but I really have to see it as a problem with the way a person views breasts in the first place. I try to be very discreet, but I still feed my 15 month old at almost every Mass as it is the only way to keep him relatively quiet and have us all sit together. I haven’t yet been on the recieving end of any offended glances or comments, praise God.

 

[thechrismyster]

Even if she hung out in the cry room, there are some that would be offended. Once I overheard a couple women griping because they saw a mother breastfeeding in the women’s bathroom.

no matter WHAT you do in today’s world… someone, somewhere will be ‘offended’ by anything you do. you just can’t care about people getting offended. do what you need to do. i broke out of that self made prison years ago. The people who you offend are the last whom opinions should matter to you in the first place. if you’re not doing anything wrong, don’t apologize and do your thing.

i’m sure there were women breastfeeding during the sermon on the mount.

 

[Catholic90]

I don’t think it’s appropriate during mass. Just my 2 cents.

Then you would also have to say it would inappropriate to feed an infant with a bottle, just to be consistent.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

I think it can be done if done modestly/discreetly, but I think one should plan to avoid it if possible.

 

[Karin]

I think it can be done if done modestly/discreetly, but I think one should plan to avoid it if possible.

like you to explain that line of thinking to a baby who is hungrey and wants to eat

 

[magdelaine]

like you to explain that line of thinking to a baby who is hungrey and wants to eat

I think I can help explain this, as I do nurse a 15 mo at Mass… Obviously with an infant there is no question that you will bf during Mass as infants <5 mo (or at least mine) nurse every one to two hours. But you can try to nurse older babies just before so they won’t be hungry, and once a baby is snacking on crackers and such, you can bring those to Mass (although I hate doing that because it’s messy, noisy, etc.). I do try to bring snacks and drinks for my baby to Mass, but nursing, for me, is as much a way to parent as it is to feed…and if he is quiet then we all enjoy Mass that much more.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

like you to explain that line of thinking to a baby who is hungrey and wants to eat

No problem. All I can speak on is what I have experienced. I have two babies, both nursed full time, I have been to daily (shorter) Mass alone with both, neither had specific patterns of eating (time between feedings varied greatly), I feed them as soon as I see signs of hunger (I don’t and wait until they are crying or desperate), and one did not take a bottle. With that said, I have never had to bf in the Church during Mass (I’ve never done it).

Note, I did say avoid it if possible, but there are all sorts of options. Like a previous poster mentioned, there are other alternatives for older babies. For younger ones, if they take a bottle you can have some milk pumped ready just in case (and that takes planning if you are like me and you don’t always have pumped milk). If not (or if you aren’t fond of giving pumped milk), you can try to time the feedings that day to feed them just before Mass and hopefully that will last the 1.5 hrs it may take to get to Church and go to Mass. You could also leave the main Church area, if possible, to feed the baby. I have fed babies in empty Church classrooms, empty cry rooms, cars, foyers, by statues, or any other place I could find that seemed appropriate (as in not stinky or dirty or anything else that I would think was not a good place to feed a baby). I had to do these things because not only were both babies noisy eaters, my first would throw up often and a lot too and I did not want her to do it in the Church. Sure, it took extra planning, but it was doable (in my case so far, may not be in other’s cases).

 

[Jennifer_J]

No problem. All I can speak on is what I have experienced. I have two babies, both nursed full time, I have been to daily (shorter) Mass alone with both, neither had specific patterns of eating (time between feedings varied greatly), I feed them as soon as I see signs of hunger (I don’t and wait until they are crying or desperate), and one did not take a bottle. With that said, I have never had to bf in the Church during Mass (I’ve never done it).

Note, I did say avoid it if possible, but there are all sorts of options. Like a previous poster mentioned, there are other alternatives for older babies. For younger ones, if they take a bottle you can have some milk pumped ready just in case (and that takes planning if you are like me and you don’t always have pumped milk). If not (or if you aren’t fond of giving pumped milk), you can try to time the feedings that day to feed them just before Mass and hopefully that will last the 1.5 hrs it may take to get to Church and go to Mass. You could also leave the main Church area, if possible, to feed the baby. I have fed babies in empty Church classrooms, empty cry rooms, cars, foyers, by statues, or any other place I could find that seemed appropriate (as in not stinky or dirty or anything else that I would think was not a good place to feed a baby). I had to do these things because not only were both babies noisy eaters, my first would throw up often and a lot too and I did not want her to do it in the Church. Sure, it took extra planning, but it was doable (in my case so far, may not be in other’s cases).

please note I quoted you, lifeisbeautiful, but I am also speaking to the poster above you (Magdelaine) as well, esp about the snacks I need to figure out the multiple quote thing! LOL

But why avoid? What’s the purpose? There is nothing inherantly wrong with breast feeding babies, so unless there are other issues (noisy, lots of spit up, hard to latch due to physical issues) I see no need to NOT attend Mass (leaving the Church proper for another classroom, etc) to feed my baby the way God intended. Pumps and bottles aren’t used in our house anymore (I don’t work outside the home). Why is a bottle or gasp SNACKS okay at Mass and breastfeeding isn’t? I truly don’t understand this logic. If you can’t breastfeed at Mass (it’s to be avoided) then the rule is NO FOOD for babies and toddlers at Mass (no bottles, no juice boxes, no goldfish, no cheerios, no nothing!). And btw, my children do not snack at Mass, they aren’t allowed toys either, they just end up fighting over them.

I would also mention that those of us who use ecological breastfeeding to space our babies, the use of pumps and bottles and making baby wait too long to nurse can mess with your cycles. Just a thought…

I have tried the feeding right before Mass and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t–more often than not, it doesn’t for various reasons (not hungry then, asleep, distracted by siblings). they do seem to have a mind and stomach of their own, don’t they!

I appreciate your opinion, just don’t understand the reason to avoid breastfeeding in Mass when you say bottles and snacks are fine.

Jennifer

 

[Catholic90]

For younger ones, if they take a bottle you can have some milk pumped ready just in case (and that takes planning if you are like me and you don’t always have pumped milk). If not (or if you aren’t fond of giving pumped milk), you can try to time the feedings that day to feed them just before Mass and hopefully that will last the 1.5 hrs it may take to get to Church and go to Mass.

Why, oh why, is it ok to give a** bottle** at mass, but not breastfeed? That, to me, is hypocritical. It is over-sexualizing the breast. The breast if God’s intended way to feed babies. Not bottles.

If it is ok to bottle feed, then it is also okay to breastfeed.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

But why avoid? What’s the purpose?..

Although like I mentioned, the main reasons were they are noisy eaters and my first threw up a lot, I would avoid it if I could just because it can be a distraction for others, regardless if they should or should not be distracted by me bf. If it makes others nervous etc, why should I plan on it if I can possibly avoid it?

There is a difference between bf and bottle feeding (breast milk) and it is that one involves a breast and the other doesn’t. Like it or not, whether it should or it shouldn’t, it can be distracting to others (ask several people that have posted on here). In our society modesty includes wearing shirts and not revealing a bare breast in public. I am not saying that a bf mother will show anything when bf, but I am just trying to point out why the possibility may make others uncomfortable. I am not against feeding a hungry baby in Mass, the rule isn’t “No Food”. The rule is if I can avoid distracting others I will, even if it takes a little more work on my part, if I can’t, my baby’s needs are first, so I try to do it as discreetly and modestly as possible.

 

[lifeisbeautiful]

Why, oh why, is it ok to give a** bottle** at mass, but not breastfeed? That, to me, is hypocritical. It is over-sexualizing the breast. The breast if God’s intended way to feed babies. Not bottles.

If it is ok to bottle feed, then it is also okay to breastfeed.

I did not say it was never ok to breastfeed at Mass (like I said, pumped milk etc may not work for others). I just presented a bottle as an alternative that may be used to avoid bf in Mass.
I’m a bit confused about the whole “over-sexualization” of breasts. Why can men go topless while women can’t?

 

[magdelaine]

I would also mention that those of us who use ecological breastfeeding to space our babies, the use of pumps and bottles and making baby wait too long to nurse can mess with your cycles. Just a thought…

This is always on my mind as well, with the caveat that, although bf may be “distracting” to those that are not expecting to see it, I’m at least not using contraception to space my kids! If we were all being obedient to the magisterium it would be something I think we would see at Mass a LOT more often.

 

[Catholic90]

I’m a bit confused about the whole “over-sexualization” of breasts. Why can men go topless while women can’t?

Some people think ‘breast’ and all they think is is ‘sex’. So when they see a baby eating, they don’t think ‘baby is eating’, they think ‘sex!’ because a breast is involved. Some people think women get a ‘kick’ from breastfeeding because the breast is involved (my BIL was one of misinformed until his wife had kids and nursed them).

I wish I could go topless in the hot summer months! It’s just not fair! So, tank tops and spaghetti straps are as far as it goes for me! But believe me, I would love it. That would take care of the tan line issue for shoulders when wearing different cuts of tops!

 

[BlyssfulDreamer]

You NEVER fed your children in public? Were you home 24/7?? Babies get hungry often. I’m on the go… what’s the alternative? Let them go hungry? Sit in a public restroom? (with 4 other kids… too funny… I suppose we could each grab a stall?) Sit in my car? Hello? Chicago winters are cold cold cold. No thanks. I don’t give a hoot who’s bothered by what’s going on under the blanket that’s totally covering me.

Winters are cold here too and my children never went hungry and No I didn’t breast feed them in public. I never sat in a BR stall nor a cold car…I used a supplemental bottle when we had to be out and I breast fed in private…certainly would have never thought about doing it in church. …which leads me to believe that some might be exhibitionists (incognito)

:heart:Blyss