"t seems more likely that more moms nursing overall equals more babies on the boob in public, which increases the likelihood that a handful of nincompoops will take offense and make a fuss."

I agree. And I do applaud the increasing rates of moms who give breastfeeding a shot.

I think, though, we do need more support/education/awareness to keep those numbers up. Little things, mostly: like, getting health insurance to cover the purchase or rental of a breast pump. Getting WIC to give out quality breast pumps an supplies (now they give out formula, but nothing that helps with lactation). Getting more lactation consultants into hospitals and pediatrician's offices. Educating pediatricians and OB-GYN's about lactation (so many moms are incorrectly advised to quit nursing when they encounter mastitis, or when they are given medication). Giving moms the time, space and respect to pump at work. Giving moms the respect when they discreetly nurse in public. But most of all, reminding women how truly fantastic breast feeding is for baby,. for mom, for the environment and the pocketbook.

The nincompoops are very low on my list of priorities.

Is that there are more breast feeding mothers. It's all about numbers. Statistically, you will run across nincompoops more today than you were predisposed to yesterday.

They shall perish soon though. Exposure kills ignorance.

... in a generation of adults who never watched anyone breastfeed. We don't generally live in extended families, so we never watched an older sister or auntie breastfeed a young cousin or nephew. It wasn't done, so we never saw it done. We have a while until we get to where boob = lunch, (rather than boob = playboy centerfold) but I can assure you, to both the mom and the baby, it's lunch. Nothing more nor less. A very nutritious, naturally manufactured lunch, but lunch all the same. Food. Just like scrambled eggs, peanut butter and jelly, sushi, beans on toast, or lamb chops.

Get used to it, all of us... in the workplace (and the cafe, the bus stop, the park, the airport, the grocery store)... anywhere it's OK to eat a sandwich, it's ok to feed a baby.

And nope, that does NOT include a bathroom stall.

Twenty or so years ago I remember, during family get-togethers, an aunt of mine breastfeeding her children. She was subtle about it, using a cloth over her shoulder to cover up. She didn't disappear to a different room but didn't draw attention to what she was doing. I have no problem with that.

Last December my brother had a baby, and the weekend in February that my wife and I visited, my sister-in-law, several times while sitting in the middle of everyone, dropped her shirt, let her boob hang out and then started nursing without bothering to cover up in the slightest. That, I found, to be unacceptable and uncomfortable.

I am all for doing the things that make kids as healthy as possible, and I believe nothing can substitute for Mother Nature's mother's milk. And I understand that mothers don't want to have to leave an area to go hide in secrecy to nurse. If an attempt is made at decency, I'm fine with that. But please don't stick your boob, and your nursing infant, in my face as if it is the most natural thing in the world to see.

Uh, Haltclere:

It IS the "most natural thing in the world." Duh.

I would be interested in references to peer reviewed and statistically validated studies that show that babies in the United States who are exclusively breast fed have lower incidence of ear infections, respirator tract infections, SIDS, obesity, eczema and diarrhea. I am farily confident that the diarrhea reference relates to third world country studies. I would also be interested in citation to peer reviewed and statistically validated studies that show that mothers who breast feed have lower rates of ovarian and breast cancer.

I'm fine with it. Unfortunately there's nothing to guarantee I won't have to, since there are always people who go nuts with any idea, even a generally good one.

In my experience, breast-feeding sucked. Literally. I hated every minute, and so did my daughter, although we gave it the old college try for seven weeks. Whereafter my daugher and I were both much happier with formula. Especially because she never got one ear infection or allergy, or had more than the usual amount of diarrhea for an infant. She slept through the night about a week after she went on formula, which made us all happier.

The only thing that sucked more than breast-feeding was pumping. Made me feel like a dairy cow on the milking machine.

That said, I'm all for other women breastfeeding and happy for those who find it a joyful experience.

But I'm not surprised to learn that a lot of women give it up before the government wants them to. There are more reasons than going back to work or being uncomfortable nursing in public to stop breastfeeding.

I had a baby in Louisville Kentucky this past October, and I've been breastfeeding him ever since.

Because I live in a rather conservative part of the country--and because I'd heard my own family make comments about others nursing in public in the past--I feared the worst. Newspaper articles about women being harangued, cited, and arrested for public indecency while nursing babies didn't help any.

So I armed myself with information and prepared to fight a ground war for lactating moms. Well, I'm glad I was ready with my defenses, but the truth is I haven't needed any. I've nursed my baby at home, in other people's houses, in parks, in restaurants, on planes, on the beach, and everywhere else I've been for the past nine months. I've nursed in front of family and friends, in front of kids and grandparents, around men and women alike. I haven't always been discreet about it, and I've never encountered so much as a nasty stare. (A few uncomfortable glances from my brothers, maybe, but that's all.)

At first I used a cover all the time, but by the time my son got squirmier and the weather got warmer, my wrap became a thing of the past and discretion flew out the window. I try to wear clothes that work well for nursing, and I position myself carefully wherever I am, but anyone who wants to get an eyeful certainly can.

And yet, no censorious looks or comments have come my way. In fact, in recent months I've even heard family members defend public breastfeeding as though they can't remember a time when it made them uncomfortable.

The lessons I'm taking away from this experience are, in no particular order:

1. The message about breastfeeding is out there.

2. Most people can be eased into public nursing if you give them time and a chance to get used to it.

3. If the nursing mother seems comfortable, odds are so will those around her.

So far as I can tell, the haters are far outnumbered. There may be many obstacles between a would-be nursing mother and success, but the fear of public disapproval or castigation need not be one of them. Nurse away!