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Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Are breastfeeding mums over-exposed?

Rotorua Daily Post
20 Jun, 2005 02:58 AM3 mins to read

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By ALISON BROWN in Rotorua<

If anyone dared to try and stop Minka Phillips from breastfeeding her son in front of them they would soon find themselves at the receiving end of a "rocket".
The barrister-turned-mum is a vocal supporter of a mother's right to breastfeed in public and
says she would be quick to defend any woman battling discrimination.
"It's hard enough to breastfeed when you're a new mum without having to worry about the whole issue of breastfeeding in public," she said.
With three children under five, Mrs Phillips is well-versed in the art of breastfeeding.
She has no qualms now about feeding her three-and-a-half-month-old son Ashe in a cafe when she needs to. But she admits she was a little shy feeding her oldest son, Harrison, soon after he was born.
"I used to feed him in the car a bit.
"But you get over the whole exposure thing after you have three children." While she is a strong advocate of breastfeeding, she is conscious of how other people, especially groups of men, may react to her feeding her children.
"I'm conscious about how embarrassed others feel about it," she said.
"I'll have my back to men more for their benefit than mine."
Mrs Phillips is one of several women spoken to by the Daily Post this week who welcomed the move by Parliament to investigate law changes to protect and promote breastfeeding.
Rotorua's Margi Bishop-Funnell breastfeeds her five-month-old baby girl in public. When she first started, she made a point of asking cafe or restaurant staff for permission to feed Kiara in front of other patrons.
Everyone she asked told her to "go for it".
"I was always conscious of not wanting to offend anyone," she said.
"I would try to sit in a spot which was discreet because I didn't want to upset other people."
While Dr Bishop-Funnell has had positive experiences with breastfeeding, she said a law change would probably make more women comfortable about feeding their children under the gaze of others.
"If women knew that wherever they were they would be protected, I think that would lead to more women breastfeeding and that can only be good for the health of their children."
Yvonne Vincent, of Rotorua, is still breastfeeding her 14-month-old son Patrick. She never hesitates to feed him in public and said she was encouraged by the feedback she had received. "People have come up to me to say 'good on you'.
"They've said they wished they could have done it."

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