Breastfeeding At Mass

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
i came across two articles, one from [url="http://theanchoressonline.com/2008/07/08/nursing-at-the-mall-and-at-mass/"]the Anchoress[/url], who linked to the article from [url="http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4022&Itemid=48"]insidecatholic.com[/url].

from the article from InsideCatholic.com:
[quote]This was an ah-ha moment for me. I realized that if, as I strongly believed, nursing was a part of God's plan for helping mothers bond with their babies and a way of using my body the way He designed it to be used, then of all places, I should feel comfortable breastfeeding my children in God's home. Christopher West, the Catholic author best known for his insightful commentary on John Paul II's Theology of the Body, describes a nursing mother as "one of the most precious, most beautiful, and most holy of all possible images of woman." So why should I feel ashamed nursing in church -- in the presence of the Most Holy Eucharist -- but not at the mall? Do I believe breasts are made to feed babies or are they just meant to be squeezed into rhinestone-clad bras for surfers to ogle on the Internet?[/quote]

from the anchoress:
[quote]People are entitled to their opinions, of course, but the debate about public breastfeeding always seems a little overmuch to me, since at its core it is about feeding a hungry baby, and there is nothing sexual about that. Too many people forget that “form follows function,” and get wholly caught up in something else. I’ve never had much patience for those who run around scolding women who are simply feeding their children. [b]Discretion is the key.[/b][/quote]
my emphasis added.

[url="http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=PHOTOS-Another-rude-woman-breastfeeding-at-Mass.html&Itemid=127"]here's a link with some interesting pictures.[/url]

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
from the comments section from the insidecatholic blog:
[quote]here's an excerpt from Christopher West's article entitled "Nursing a Sexually Wounded Culture."

"I remember attending the Second World Meeting of John Paul II with Families in Brazil in 1997. Nursing mothers were a common sight at this international gathering. What I found intriguing, however, was that women from “first-world” nations tended to drape themselves and sit off in a corner, while women from other nations seemed to have no qualms whatsoever about feeding their babies in full view of others. I remember one woman unabashedly roaming the crowd passing all manner of bishops and cardinals with her breast fully exposed while her child held on to it with both hands happily feeding. The only people flinching seemed to be those from the northern hemisphere.

Isn’t it interesting that the part of the world producing the most pornography and exporting it to the rest of the globe has seemed to lose all sense of the true meaning of the human breast? What a commentary on the sad state of our sexually wounded culture! Breasts have been so “pornified” that we can fall into thinking that even their proper use is shameful. In other words, we have been so conditioned to see a woman’s body through the prism of lust that we find it very difficult to recognize the purity and innocence of breast-feeding.

St. Paul hit the nail on the head when he said, “To the pure all things are pure, but to the impure nothing is pure” (Ti 1:15). It is a tragically impure world that labels the purity of a baby at the breast as “gross.”"[/quote]

[homeschoolmom]

I've never understood why anyone would make this a big deal-- either in church or the mall.

[havok579257]

breastfeeding church is fine and anyone who has a problem with it is just trying to find and complain about something. Maybe next people can complain about bringing babies to church because they go to the bathroom in thier diapers during church. how dare those babies.

[Knight of the Holy Rosary]

N/M

Edited July 8, 2008 by Knight of the Holy Rosary

[Noel's angel]

Well, I don't like to see people letting their children eat in church anyway, and I'm against breast feeding too. If you want to do it, go somewhere private. It does make people feel uncomfortable. Maybe it's a cultural thing (coming from a rural Irish area).
I wouldn't like to see a mother give her 2 year old crisps and juice during Mass either, though. (Edited as I re-read this last line and realised it was much to blunt!)
(Prepares for backlash)

Edited July 8, 2008 by Noel's angel

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1595373' date='Jul 8 2008, 04:29 PM']I'm not sure why it's necessary to bring babies to Mass anyway.

(Prepares for backlash)[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
just when i thought we were friends (just joking, btw )

i think it is important to come to Mass as a family, especially with babies. my babe has been to Mass with me almost every Sunday of her little life - and you know what? at 16 months old, she is more well behaved than some adults!

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1595373' date='Jul 8 2008, 06:29 PM']Well, I don't like to see people letting their children eat in church anyway, and I'm against breast feeding too. If you want to do it, go somewhere private. It does make people feel uncomfortable. Maybe it's a cultural thing (coming from a rural Irish area).
I wouldn't like to see a mother give her 2 year old crisps and juice during Mass either, though.[/quote]

I understood your opinion until I got to this:

[quote]I'm not sure why it's necessary to bring babies to Mass anyway.[/quote]

What are we supposed to do with them?

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1595373' date='Jul 8 2008, 04:29 PM']Well, I don't like to see people letting their children eat in church anyway, and I'm against breast feeding too. If you want to do it, go somewhere private. It does make people feel uncomfortable. Maybe it's a cultural thing (coming from a rural Irish area).[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
i would say too, that simply a lot of churches do not have somewhere private to go breastfeed. even my church, which has many nooks, does not really have a 'private' place to breastfeed. the cry room is more of a breezeway to get to the restrooms.

at any rate, infants cannot be kept to a schedule. i would try to feed my babe before Mass, so i could feed her directly after Mass, but it simply cannot be done all the time. and she (as most infants) are demanding about their food!

[homeschoolmom]

While I think it is often possible to avoid needing to breastfeed during mass (it is only an hour or so), sometimes that is just not possible.

I think the best solution (imho) is to try to top off the baby before mass and try to do without during. When that is not possible, descrete nursing should be the norm. In many parishes the only "private" place open to the public is the ladies room-- I don't like to eat my lunch there, I don't think my baby should have to eat there either.



and, um... yeah... I don't have any more babies... just saying.

[HisChildForever]

I think that it should be done in private. Or, perhaps the mother could use a breast pump and bring a bottle with her if the child needs to eat. Anyway, it would be best for the mother and father to switch off going to Mass so that one of them can be home with their baby, particularly if the baby is a newborn.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1595382' date='Jul 8 2008, 04:39 PM']While I think it is often possible to avoid needing to breastfeed during mass (it is only an hour or so), sometimes that is just not possible.

I think the best solution (imho) is to try to top off the baby before mass and try to do without during. When that is not possible, descrete nursing should be the norm. In many parishes the only "private" place open to the public is the ladies room-- I don't like to eat my lunch there, I don't think my baby should have to eat there either.
and, um... yeah... I don't have any more babies... just saying. [/quote]
totally agreed to everything. (especially your last sentence )

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1595384' date='Jul 8 2008, 04:41 PM']I think that it should be done in private. Or, perhaps the mother could use a breast pump and bring a bottle with her if the child needs to eat. Anyway, it would be best for the mother and father to switch off going to Mass so that one of them can be home with their baby, particularly if the baby is a newborn.[/quote]many babies won't do a bottle (mine wouldn't). many women can't pump milk very well.

and i totally do NOT advocate splitting up a family. as far as i know, that's a Protestant thing (sending babies to a cry room, children to a children's service, moms & dads to a 'regular' service), not a Catholic thing. (at least, here in my city )

[HisChildForever]

[quote]and i totally do NOT advocate splitting up a family.[/quote]

Not even when the baby is two, three, four weeks old? The parents may prefer to "switch" especially if it's easier for them.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='HisChildForever' post='1595390' date='Jul 8 2008, 04:48 PM']Not even when the baby is two, three, four weeks old? The parents may prefer to "switch" especially if it's easier for them.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
that's a personal choice, sorry for not saying that. i knew if i didn't take her, she would miss the graces (yes, she would) because my hubby isn't Catholic. so, yeah, from the time she was 3 weeks old (i had a c-section), we went to Mass together.

[XIX]

[quote name='Noel's angel' post='1595373' date='Jul 8 2008, 07:29 PM']I'm not sure why it's necessary to bring babies to Mass anyway.

(Prepares for backlash)[/quote]
Prepare for backlash? No kidding...

You don't think praying as a family is important? This is honestly the most bizarre statement I've ever herd from a fellow Catholic in a long long time. Praying as a family from the earliest stages has got to be the single most important aspect of any child's development.

And yeah, what are you supposed to do with the babies? Leave them home with your cell phone? Leave them by themselves in a hot stuffy car for an hour? I'm sorry, but family prayer is crucial. That's just basic common sense.