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.

[Noel's angel]

Maybe I was a bit blunt in what I was saying. I understand that attending Mass as a family is very important to many people. Maybe because I've never had that tradition, I don't put as much emphasis on it. As a child, my father would take us to Mass now and again, but from the age of 14 I have gone alone.
My father only brought me to Mass from about the age of 4, when I had started school and was able to sit quietly for an hour. Babies and young children cause a lot of distraction to others, especially when parents allow them to scream constantly the whole way through Mass. This of course isn't the child's fault, yet the parents insist on bringing their screaming children and allowing them to scratch the pews with their car keys and wander around the church.

On the other hand, I have seen parents with babies who are well behaved every week, so I'm not on a rally against babies.
I am of the opinion that if you can keep your children under control, bring them to Mass. If not, it is best not to disturb your own prayer, and the prayers of others around you. A lot of families where I live take it in turns. The mother will keep small children at home and the father will go to one Mass, then they will swap roles. Again, maybe it's a cultural thing.

Edited July 8, 2008 by Noel's angel

[Deb]

I have no problem with women who breastfeed their children during Mass. I do wonder though about the one lady who sits in the very first pew and does it? Hmmmm.

I have to say that in my church, if a parent has a screaming child, they get up immediately and remove them from the church. Mass can be heard beyone two different sets of glass doors so that they do not miss the Mass itself and can return when the child has quieted. Children always seem to want to scream during the consecration or the homily. Maybe I only notice it then. Usually, I don't even notice that the church has people in it.

Edited July 8, 2008 by Deb

[XIX]

IMO, the graces associated with going to Mass (even if you don't know what's going on) are more important.

I find that it is a lot easier to focus on God whenever babies are around. Even if they aren't behaving. I'm sure not everybody reacts the way I do to a misbehaving baby, but I know for a fact that a lot of people do find it easier to focus on God when they are in the presence of a baby. A baby is literally a sacrament--an outward sign of God's love.

If one are worried about distractions, one can take one's baby outside for a few minutes when it acts up. I'm okay with that. But there is no way that someone should have to flat out stay home for Mass in order to keep others from dealing with a distraction.

If a crying baby is enough for me to take my eyes off of the prayer, that's my fault.

[picchick]

[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. (Edited as I re-read this last line and realised it was much to blunt!)
(Prepares for backlash)[/quote]

Babies need to eat every few hours. They cannot wait like a toddler can. They need to eat when they need to eat. It is also part of their developmental stage. Their needs need to be met.

I think that it is important to start taking your children to Mass as early as possible and teaching them how to behave in Church. My mom and dad would not bring a newborn to Church until things were settled...which would be a couple of weeks. That is fine especially depending on the weather. However, I think that if you are going to raise a Catholic family you need to teach your family about the Mass. What better way than to bring them. I understand that babies do not undertand what is going on but as a family, the family should attend.

There is a way to breastfeed withoutmaking a deal out of it. You put a sheet over your shoulder and waa laa! Instant wall. They make things now that cover the whole front and the back where you are feeding so NOTHING shows at all. So I think that it can be done anywhere. I am not a fan of just pulling up your shirt and start feeding there...I think that for your own privacy (meaning that even though the breast is used for feeding it is still a breast) you need to do some covering.

Meg

[HisChildForever]

[quote]If a crying baby is enough for me to take my eyes off of the prayer, that's my fault.[/quote]

When the crying baby screams very loudly that you can not even hear the priest, then I find it to be a tremendous problem, especially when the parents wait a good five minutes before taking the child out