koche:

I’m not anti-breast feeding, just pro-politeness, By David Koch.

Australian women should be able to breastfeed anywhere at anytime. Are we clear on that? Anywhere, anytime. And the Australian public should be overwhelmingly supportive and respect that right of nursing mothers.

Nat's face says it all really… Picture: John Grainger.

But, and call me a dinosaur, that respect is a two-way street. Nursing mothers also need to be aware of the sensitivities of breastfeeding in public and return that respect by, when appropriate, being discreet and modest.

Whether they be generational, cultural or religious sensitivities, some people in the community are just not comfortable with uncovered breastfeeding. It’s a very emotional issue, and the Koch family certainly isn’t immune.

Two of my daughters are breastfeeding at the moment. One agrees with my views and tells me that when the 10 mums in her mother’s group meet weekly at the local park they all use a Muslin or a baby sling to feed.

My other daughter has torn strips off me and says she should be able to feed anywhere, anytime and however she wants. “If someone has a problem, it’s their problem not mine.”

Look, breastfeeding has been happening for thousands of years. We breast fed our 4 kids in public 30 years ago. We fed them on everything from trains, planes and automobiles to the Vatican.

While my wife Lib and I have always been very comfortable with breastfeeding in public we always understood that others may not. Yes we would use a wrap or sit in a discreet place.

At no time did we feel ashamed. We just thought we were doing the right thing and being courteous to others. In fact, another reason we’d sit in a quiet discreet place was that it was easier to feed without the added distraction or noise of a busy surrounding.

It was discreet and practical.

They may be considered old fashioned values but we think they are just as relevant today as they were 30 years ago.

It’s no different to visiting parents and grandparents and finding they may be uncomfortable with watching you breastfeed at a family gathering. Most people would respect those sensitivities and be more discreet.

I think the public deserves the same respect as family members.

Being a new mum is a gift. It’s one of life’s wonderful and special experiences. You are special but you’re still part of a diverse community which deserves all our respect.

The vitriol surrounding my comments has been just extraordinary. I’ve been accused of everything from being jealous of babies, to hating children and having a boob fetish.

It’s fine to disagree but can’t we all be civil?

That’s why I thoroughly enjoyed the “nurse-in” outside the Sunrise studios yesterday. 100 mums and babies putting forward their different points of view in a civilised manner and organiser Amy Ahearn doing a great job on the Sunrise segment. We agreed to disagree but had one common ground… all mothers must have our support to breastfeed anywhere anytime.

For the record, we breastfed all four of our children until they were a year old; two of my daughters are breastfeeding now; we have four grandchildren; we’re patrons of the Koch Centre For Youth at Macquarie Fields which feeds 50-70 kids a night and provides a high school to get disadvantaged children back into education; and Lib is travelling to Baghia in East Timor this weekend to visit the orphanage we support.

We’re an extraordinarily close (and loud) family. We love our children and grandchildren and try to help other kids doing it tough.

I suppose, if I’m honest, one of the underlying reasons I’m so passionate about issues like respect, modesty and courtesy in everything we do (not just breastfeeding in public) is we’re seeing less of those values in today’s modern society. It seems we’re becoming more and more self centred rather than community centric.

Through our support of Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Street (which owns the Macquarie Fields Youth Centre) we see the impact of a lack of respect, modesty and courtesy on fractured communities and broken families.

Those strong values which keep families and communities together are set by the parents who have to lead by example and habit. Those habits start from when children are babies and the bonds they forge last forever.

Source: http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/im-not-anti-breast-feeding-just-pro-politeness/#comment-1659970

Comments made by some:


Chillin says:

05:12am | 22/01/13

Well if you earn your living off creating false controversy, some times it comes back to bite you personally. It’s called Karma.


DP says:

08:51am | 22/01/13

Couldn’t of said it better myself!! Next ..... Nothing to see here!!

Damocles says:

08:59am | 22/01/13

Agree with you Chillin. This is a big beat up to generate interest in a dud morning show. LOL!