Breastfeeding in Public

While it’s every woman’s right to breastfeed her baby in public, actually doing it can be a little overwhelming for some new mums. Here are some must-read tips from mums and experts on feeding when you’re out.

1. Plan ahead
There are many breastfeeding-friendly restaurants, cafés and shops out there, and the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) has an extensive state-by-state list of venues that it has accredited as such. Many of these will display a ‘Breastfeeding welcome here’ sign for mums to see.

To be accredited, venues have to ensure their staff and management have a welcoming attitude towards breastfeeding mums, that they provide a smoke-free environment and have room to manoeuvre prams. For this list of venues that welcome breastfeeding mums, head to ABA's site

2. What to wear
If you’re breastfeeding, you’ll already be wearing clothes that provide easy access for your baby – but that’s not the only criteria for breastfeeding in public. You may feel you need to think about wearing clothes that don’t leave you completely exposed, particularly if your little one pulls off suddenly.

If you’re prepared to invest in a few custom-made nursing tops, these can enable discreet feeding. Offering all sorts of ingenious access, they can ensure you can have bub latched on and feeding and no-one will have seen a thing.

“I wear a low-cut singlet top under a loose shirt. I then pull the singlet down and the top up and breastfeed without exposing my breasts or tummy.” Melanie, mum of one

3. It’s a wrap
Muslin and light cotton wraps have so many uses besides wrapping bubba and one excellent extra use is providing a little more privacy when you’re feeding her. Drape the wrap over your shoulder and then over your baby’s head and no-one will see a thing. This is also good for a nosy baby: blocking her view of anything but your breast may stop her from pulling off, looking around and being distracted from feeding.

4. Know your rights
Under Australian law, breastfeeding is a right, not a privilege, and babies can be breastfed anywhere at any time.

Under the Federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 it is illegal in Australia to discriminate against a person on the grounds of their sex and, in 2002, the Government amended this act to explicitly recognise breastfeeding (including the act of expressing milk) as “a characteristic that appertains generally to women”.

This amendment aimed to address any confusion, because while the act had always protected the rights of breastfeeding women, it did not specifically mention breastfeeding.

The states and territories have also enacted laws to protect the rights of breastfeeding women.

What all this means is that it is against the law to discriminate against a woman because she is breastfeeding, or to ask her to stop.
ABA spokesperson Carey Wood says that if someone has an issue with a woman breastfeeding, the person making the complaint is the one who should remove him or herself from the situation. “It’s their problem,” she says, because breastfeeding is a completely normal way to feed a baby.

5. Get some support
Fellow breastfeeding mums, playgroups and the ABA are a wealth of knowledge when to comes to all matters breastfeeding, including feeding in public. Local mums will be able to tell you feeding-friendly shops and cafés and where there might be good parent rooms.

Breastfeeding support groups, like local ABA ones, can also help you overcome any anxieties or issues you may have about breastfeeding in public.

You can also call the National Breastfeeding Helpline, established by the Government, for free help, advice and support, 24/7, on 1800 686 2 686.

6. The lay of the land
If you’re out and about and know that you will need to feed your littlie at some stage, locate a suitable spot for when that time arrives. Your baby may be fine being fed surrounded by lots of people and noise. But if you have a baby who is easily distracted – and after the age of six months many are – you may want to pick out a quiet corner or secluded spot to feed her before she gets hungry and starts fussing.

“We had a big family picnic and my bub won’t feed properly if he hears people around him. He’ll constantly pull off and smile at everybody, leaving me with everything hanging out. So I opened all the windows of the car, reclined the seat a little and fed in the passenger’s seat.”
Hayleigh, mum of one

7. Keep bub focused
If you’ve got a curious baby who finds it hard to focus on feeding, preferring to engage with everyone else around her between sucks, this can make things tricky when feeding in public.

The wrap (see point three) is a good way to block any interesting visual distractions, and finding a secluded spot (point six) can also help with keeping bub focused on the feeding job at hand.

Some mums also find wearing an interesting necklace or beads can give bubba something to focus on while she’s feeding besides what’s happening around her.

“My son is such a stickybeak that when I’m feeding I will take off my charm bracelet and let him play with it. He sort of gets into a zone then, feeds efficiently and ignores what’s happening around him.”
Georgina, mum of two

8. Know you’re doing a community service
The ABA’s Carey thanks mums who feed in public for helping “normalise” the whole concept of breastfeeding.

“These mums are showing the community that breastfeeding is normal for feeding a baby,” she says. “When kids and young people see mums breastfeed their children it is seen as normal. Other women will see it and realise that when they have their babies, they too can breastfeed and go out.”

9. What the public thinks
It seems not everybody is comfortable with public breastfeeding (but don’t let any of this stop you!)…

Last year, a Queensland University of Technology study of people aged 18 to 29 found that more than half of the women believed it would be uncomfortable to breastfeed in public and a majority of the men and women did not want their children to be breastfed in public for fear of embarrassment.

A Newspoll survey in 2009 found that more than one in four people viewed breastfeeding in public as unacceptable. In fact, 26 per cent thought breastfeeding in a restaurant or café wasn’t on and 19 per cent weren’t happy about breastfeeding in shopping centres.