Hello,<\/p>\n
I have been pondering something for a few days now about public breastfeeding and modesty. There is a group of women I know who are “Pro public breastfeeding” They are not Christians at all, but I still feel like I should say something even though I don’t think it will do any good. In fact, I think it will push them farther away from waiting to know God. They are continually bashing Christian’s conservative beliefs and saying that we are part of the problem why they cannot feed their babies in public but this group of women claim they are tired of all the sexual immorality being okay in public (bikini-wearing, women showing off their cleavage, women half-naked on billboards) but they get kicked out of a restaurant, mall or grocery store if they breastfeed uncovered. They want to be treated equally. which I could understand if I did not have, obey and believe God’s word. For example one of them wrote:<\/p>\n
“When my son was just a few days old, I went to the grocery store, just him and me. As a newly postpartum mom, I should have been home resting and sending someone else to the store for me, but as a single parent with limited support, that was not an option. So I bundled him up in my Maya Ring Sling and proceeded to do my shopping. I had fed him before we left home, but in the middle of the store he started to cry. I didn’t yet know how to utilize the sling for breastfeeding, so I couldn’t walk and nurse at the same time while pushing my cart. I looked for a place to sit, but the only option was a bench right near the front door, where lots of people were milling around and I would be in full view, and I was too scared to deal with that at the time.<\/p>\n
So, instead, I left my cart full of groceries and went and hid in the bathroom. There was nowhere to sit, so I went into a stall. The bathroom smelled awful and it was filthy. I tried to balance my floppy, fragile new baby while I struggled to get my shirt up and my nursing bra unhooked. I was terrified the entire time that I would drop him, or that he would pick up some nasty germs from being in the bathroom. It was a disgusting, humiliating experience. I swore I would never do that again.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I have no idea what to say to this. I feel bad for them but I know showing your breast in public is wrong. I know when my son was born he ate every hour and sometimes twice but I pumped milk and formula-fed him so he was bottle-fed but I know breast milk is the best. And I know you can use a blanket or “breastfeeding cover” but some mothers say their babies freak out when they cover them up and pull the blanket or cover off. What did the Christian mothers do in the past when they breastfed? Is there anything recorded? Thanks so much for your time brother.<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
There are no details recorded about breastfeeding beyond mentioning that it was done and a few times when someone was weaned (Genesis 21:8; I Samuel 1:22-24; I Kings 11:20; Isaiah 28:9).<\/p>\n
The need for modesty remains. Complaints that someone hadn’t thought ahead or that they cannot train an infant so as to breastfeed while remaining modest are just simply poor excuses. Sure, it is difficult at first to coordinate everything — most things in life are that way. But it isn’t that they are unable to nurse a child and remain modest at the same time.<\/p>\n
That it would be nice for stores to have places where a mother can sit to nurse her child, I can agree but not all store owners think ahead. In the example given, the mother could have simply gone straight to the checkout, paid for her items, and then go to her car to feed the child or go home and then feed him. No, it isn’t pleasant doing these things with a screaming baby and a lot of new mothers are sleep deprived and don’t think of all the options, but the fact is the child won’t die if it must wait ten minutes before his next feeding.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Hello, I have been pondering something for a few days now about public breastfeeding and modesty. There is a group of women I know who are “Pro public breastfeeding” They are not Christians at all, but I still feel like I should say something even though I don’t think it will do any good.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[365],"class_list":["post-37913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-modesty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5292,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-talk-to-my-wife-about-modesty\/","url_meta":{"origin":37913,"position":0},"title":"How do I talk to my wife about modesty?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My wife struggles with modesty. I do my best to show and tell her that I support and love her regardless of her decisions, but it still makes me uncomfortable when she chooses to dress immodestly. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t find her attractive, because she is. I feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39873,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-music-videos-with-half-naked-women-not-sinful-because-they-are-so-common\/","url_meta":{"origin":37913,"position":1},"title":"Are music videos with half-naked women not sinful because they are so common?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Most music videos have half-nude women. They are aired almost non-stop every day, and we can't escape such, at least not when in a public place. Are they sinful in themselves? Answer: There is a marvelous gizmo on devices called a \"power button.\" Press it and you don't have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15065,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-and-where-can-women-teach-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":37913,"position":2},"title":"When and where can women teach today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 21, May 23, 2008. Question: When and where can women teach today? Answer: \"Let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54185,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-real-issue-in-modesty\/","url_meta":{"origin":37913,"position":3},"title":"The Real Issue in Modesty","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer I see a variety of discussions about modesty. Often they seem to devolve into disputes about issues like women's empowerment, men's lustful habits, and where exactly the lines on the body should be. I have no interest in starting another such dispute, so let's not go there.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/humble-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29019,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/modesty\/","url_meta":{"origin":37913,"position":4},"title":"Modesty","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Randi Roberts Sentry Magazine, September 2003 \"Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel -- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/modest-girl-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61155,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-women-to-wear-some-items-of-mens-clothing\/","url_meta":{"origin":37913,"position":5},"title":"Is it wrong for women to wear some items of men’s clothing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Sometimes when I'm at home I'll wear some of my husband's clothes because they're very comfortable for lounging (basketball shorts, t-shirts, things like that). I'll also wear his basketball shorts outside in the yard when I'm playing with the kids, once again because they're very comfortable and also much\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37913"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37913\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}