Military moms criticized for nursing while in uniform

Suzi wrote:disrespectful is letting the kid scream with hunger . For babies who can't say "Hey ma I'm hungry", hunger is a physical pain. It is never wrong to feed a hungry baby.....ever!

Not sure if it's still around but there used to be a saying that "if the military wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one."

CeCe wrote:

Not sure if it's still around but there used to be a saying that "if the military wanted you to have a family they would have issued you one."

However simply being in uniform can't stop you from having one. They may be army first but they're still people who still have families, and perhaps that's what makes the army great because it's made up of men and women who know first hand what and whose rights they're putting their lives on the line to protect.

Supernova wrote:


However simply being in uniform can't stop you from having one. They may be army first but they're still people who still have families, and perhaps that's what makes the army great because it's made up of men and women who know first hand what and whose rights they're putting their lives on the line to protect.

I think what's probably hard for some people to understand here is that military life & civilian life are two entirely different worlds. You can't take a military situation & apply a civilian perspective. It just doesn't work that way.

Nystyle709 wrote:

Yeah, please do....because I agree with him too. I known people in several professions....including my own, where you're not allowed to do certain things because it's not professional. And there is a reason for that. You can add breastfeeding in the uniform on the list too.

I also agree with this and the other posters who have this opinion.

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

I'll have to tell my gynecologist to go for the sloppy joes instead of the ham roll-ups, he usually munches on while chatting in his office after my exam---the ham looks way too crotch-like, and the chili dogs may be less-unprofessional looking than the ham. . .

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Well, if thats what you're used to and you find that professional, then whatever. Fact of the matter is.....disrespect and unprofessional aren't synonymous in this case. You're serving the county and having your tit in someones mouth isn't a good look.

Nystyle709 wrote:.

Well, if thats what you're used to and you find that professional, then whatever. Fact of the matter is.....disrespect and unprofessional aren't synonymous in this case. You're serving the county and having your tit in someones mouth isn't a good look.

Snark-fail....that was meant for sarcastic purposes only.

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

Snark-fail....that was meant for sarcastic purposes only.

I actually did know that you were TRYING to be funny. However, I refused to go along with it and decided to let your diluted perception of professionlism shine through, if that was so the case. no need to be sarcastic dear. This is a discussion.

CeCe wrote:I was hoping you would post on this because I was wondering if this would be considered "out of uniform". My husband was in years ago & I wasn't sure if things had changed since then.

Yes. If the articles that make up your uniform are not worn properly, you are considered to be "out of uniform". That means your shirt has to be buttoned, your belt buckled, your pockets fastened, your boot laces tied, trousers tucked into/bloused over your boots, and your hat on (if you are outside and not in a designated no-hat/no-salute area). I don't see how a woman can be breast feeding an infant and still be "in-uniform". Surely it would require her to have her blousing unfastened at least. And that's another problem with the idea of breast feeding in uniform.

wants2laugh wrote:OMG... I agree with bryce here! write the date down!! LOL

Lol. Surely we've agree'd before at some point in the past, haha.

Supernova wrote:among the flood of responses to this article are a lot of women who have and do who have given several reasons why for all the suggestions the non-nursing world has about what's convenient and appropriate for nursing, are in fact not convenient for either the mother or the baby. If somebody's going to know what they're talking about on this subject it's going to be them.

What these women think is more "convenient" is irrelevant! Sometimes being in the military is not convenient. For example, it's inconvenient when a male has to replace a female of the same specialty on a deployment because the female got pregnant and is therefore non-deployable! But guess what, the rules say that pregnant women can't deploy, therefore nobody cares about the male crying about how inconvenient it is for him and his family. That's life in the military and if you aren't able to adapt to certain "unfair" or "inconvenient" realities then it might not be the best career choice for you. By the same token, women in the military (who ARE allowed to have children) may not breast feed while in uniform. That may be slightly inconvenient for some, but having a baby was her choice. Deciding to breast feed was her choice. Taking an extra 10-15 minutes to change into civilian clothing to perform this task doesn't seem like a heavy burden. The fact that she personally views that as "inconvenient" doesn't give her special permission to violate the uniform standards.

Supernova wrote:would a military mother OR father for that matter, burping a baby and having to sport a spit up rag over their uniform be any more dignified in doing that than a mother nursing, or would it be more appropriate to just let the baby throw up ON the uniform? Or to just let somebody else entirely do it instead of the child's own parent?

The better question is: at what point during the duty day would a military mother/father be "burping their baby"? That to me is more relevant than what protective measures if any are being used. If you just got off work, are picking up your baby from the day care center and have to burp him after a feeding, then you should use the necessary measures to protect your uniform from getting soiled. That means using a spit up rag. But that doesn't mean that you just stroll around on base, in uniform wearing a spit up rag so you can burp the baby you are carrying. Again, THAT is not an activity that you do in uniform. The uniform is worn either on duty or in transit. And if you decide to stop at the commissary or post office during your lunch break or before going home, you shouldn't be walking around feeding your infant. That's what you do at home or in civilian clothes. While you are in uniform, you are a soldier, sailor, airman or marine! Barring an emergency, the minute you decide that your parental duties supersede your military duties, that becomes the moment when you take off your uniform, and go put on some civilian clothes.

Hyacinth Girl wrote:there have been plenty of other instances throughout history where the military uniform has been "disrespected", for various reasons/actions by people in uniform.

Breastfeeding seems like a far less heinous crime than such things as fragging your own commanding officer during Vietnam, or that soldier of late, who went on a rampage and killed a bunch of people over in Afghanistan or whereever he was, or the military sort of looking the other way with the recent sex scandal regarding the government officials/CIA, etc., etc., etc.--many more examples, I'm sure. . . .

First of all, you really are comparing apples and oranges here. You are talking about CRIMINALS. As heinous and despicable as those actions were, people that have disgraced the uniform by committing criminal acts hardly compares to breast feeding. Secondly, what is your point exactly? Yes these criminals should be dealt with accordingly, but that doesn't suddenly make breast feeding in uniform okay. Regardless of degree, two wrongs don't make a right and in this case one thing really has nothing to do with the other.

captainbryce wrote:Sorry, but I'm going to have to chime in here given my unique perspective. I honestly feel that women should not be breast feeding while in uniform because that does not present a professional appearance. A military uniform is supposed to be worn in a specific way (outlined by uniform guidelines) and always present a professional appearance. Breast feeding in uniform requires you to A) wear the uniform incorrectly, and B) perform an activity that does not reflect pride in your service or respect for the uniform. Why a woman would be breast feeding in uniform at all is beyond me. That is the type of activity that one does off duty and at home. Not while walking around the base in uniform. Your uniform is supposed to be worn while on-duty or in transit (to/from work). It's not something you wear off duty in the performance of household activities or personal business. That's what civilian clothes are for! If she absolutely needs to breast feed her infant, then she should change clothes into something more appropriate first.

Supernova wrote:Spoken like somebody who never had to nurse a baby.

Spoken like somebody who's never worn a uniform.

YOU GO SHALE!!!! thattaboy!!

the way i see it is IF the woman is in uniform, she is prepared to WORK and therefore there should NOT be a screaming hungry kid around!

we are not saying "military women should not breastfeed"... we are saying "military women wearing the honorable uniform is recognized as performing duties at that specific time and should not only NOT be breastfeeding, but should NOT be around a screaming hungry child because she is now WORKING. Uniform on soldier= working on duty.

Nystyle709 wrote:

I actually did know that you were TRYING to be funny. However, I refused to go along with it and decided to let your diluted perception of professionlism shine through, if that was so the case. no need to be sarcastic dear. This is a discussion.

You should go along with it sometimes--I'm quite aware that this is a discussion, and I'm fully aware of what "professionalism" means, but sometimes people need to make light of things and have a chuckle now and then; life's too short to be a rigid sourpuss about every little detail on everything. And I'm not pointing the finger at you, personally, just saying "in general".

Hyacinth Girl wrote:

You should go along with it sometimes--I'm quite aware that this is a discussion, and I'm fully aware of what "professionalism" means, but sometimes people need to make light of things and have a chuckle now and then; life's too short to be a rigid sourpuss about every little detail on everything. And I'm not pointing the finger at you, personally, just saying "in general".

That is SO true! And I would've went along with it.........if it were funny. Sorry if I don't share your same sense of humor.

If you join an organization that has rules, like in the military that has a dress code, you agree to abide by that dress code. Being half dressed or in any way disobeying that dress code is an infraction of those rules.But no one has the right to make up their own rules.

It's a choice, join and conform or don't. These women should not have special privileges because they decided to procreate. If that were the case, then others should be able to make up rules that convenienced them too.

Minerva wrote:If you join an organization that has rules, like in the military that has a dress code, you agree to abide by that dress code. Being half dressed or in any way disobeying that dress code is an infraction of those rules.But no one has the right to make up their own rules.

It's a choice, join and conform or don't. These women should not have special privileges because they decided to procreate. If that were the case, then others should be able to make up rules that convenienced them too.

But you know that reminds me of a question, and if somebody's explained this already, my bad, but people compare a military mother nursing in uniform to urinating in uniform, etc., well when you're in uniform and you go to the lavatory, do you take all your clothes off to relieve yourself and then put the uniform back on?

Supernova wrote:But you know that reminds me of a question, and if somebody's explained this already, my bad, but people compare a military mother nursing in uniform to urinating in uniform, etc., well when you're in uniform and you go to the lavatory, do you take all your clothes off to relieve yourself and then put the uniform back on?

Now you are just being silly!

Shale wrote:
Now you are just being silly!

I agree Shale, but just in case Supernova's question was serious, I think the answer is going to the bathroom is done in private and clothes are either unzipped (pants)or lifted (skirts). They are not disheveled as the women in the picture appear to be. I think the comparison here is between two bodily functions; both are not appropriate for public display.

I have no problem with women breast feeding in public if they are discreet about it. But these women are in a different situation. They are disrespecting the uniform they have sworn to respect. They are showing their disdain for their uniform while making a public display of themselves.

It's just a part of the discipline a person agrees to when she joins the military.

Minerva wrote:

I agree Shale, but just in case Supernova's question was serious, I think the answer is going to the bathroom is done in private and clothes are either unzipped (pants)or lifted (skirts). They are not disheveled as the women in the picture appear to be. I think the comparison here is between two bodily functions; both are not appropriate for public display.

This is true however one has been ruled illegal for public display and the other is not. However, disregarding that fact, a lot of the people who are criticizing this are not saying that likewise these women should nurse in private, but saying they should take off their uniforms and change into a completely different set of clothes all before tending to their hungry babies. Of course then you get the people who say nursing babies in a restroom is ridiculous and disgusting, and I'm inclined to agree with that, but I don't see why if they were to nurse in private while in uniform it should be looked at any differently than when they do relieve themselves in private. Obviously the fact that these pictures were taken is what's making it such a hot topic but I doubt that was what first brought it up.

Supernova wrote:


This is true however one has been ruled illegal for public display and the other is not. However, disregarding that fact, a lot of the people who are criticizing this are not saying that likewise these women should nurse in private, but saying they should take off their uniforms and change into a completely different set of clothes all before tending to their hungry babies. Of course then you get the people who say nursing babies in a restroom is ridiculous and disgusting, and I'm inclined to agree with that, but I don't see why if they were to nurse in private while in uniform it should be looked at any differently than when they do relieve themselves in private. Obviously the fact that these pictures were taken is what's making it such a hot topic but I doubt that was what first brought it up.

I see what you are saying and I agree that it's the pictures that is getting people riled up. That's the part that bugs me the most. It's like these women are flaunting the uniform and showing disrespect of the uniform in front of everyone.

ok... let's try it this way---- If they are ORDERED to not breast feed in uniform, then it is an order, which is NEVER questioned. Soldiers do not get to pick an choose which orders to follow. SO, my question is, where these women ordered??? and if they were and then proceeded to wear the uniform for the picture, then they should be reprimanded. An order is an order. Whether the sgt says "stand on one foot" or "spit shine ur shoes". If soldiers disobey orders state side, then they will lack the discipline to follow orders while at war.

i dont get what is so hard about this.

wants2laugh wrote:ok... let's try it this way---- If they are ORDERED to not breast feed in uniform, then it is an order, which is NEVER questioned. Soldiers do not get to pick an choose which orders to follow. SO, my question is, where these women ordered??? and if they were and then proceeded to wear the uniform for the picture, then they should be reprimanded. An order is an order. Whether the sgt says "stand on one foot" or "spit shine ur shoes". If soldiers disobey orders state side, then they will lack the discipline to follow orders while at war.

i dont get what is so hard about this.

This may be true but on the other hand some soldiers have done things that I doubt they were ordered to do by anybody. A couple years ago there was a report that found of all the sexual assaults occurring in the military against the female soldiers by the male officers, that the numbers are 3 times greater than just what they're letting the public know about and are putting on the record. Nobody really talks about that but I find THAT a LOT more disrespectful to the uniform and the core values the army stands for than a mother nursing her baby. Some people might see anything that goes against orders as being equally disrespectful so there's no difference in raping a female officer or nursing while in uniform that it's all the same level of disrespect, but I disagree and I would hope anybody else would too.

Minerva wrote:

I see what you are saying and I agree that it's the pictures that is getting people riled up. That's the part that bugs me the most. It's like these women are flaunting the uniform and showing disrespect of the uniform in front of everyone.

People can argue until the end of time on if it's disrespectful or not, and they will I'm sure, but my two cents on this is at least they were nursing their BABIES, not like that one mother on TIME, how old was that boy sucking on her boob? He definitely looked old enough to have switched over to solid food, LONG before now in fact.

Well then...maybe the issue should be left up to military personnel, and not the civilian public. If military personnel find it offensive, then eliminate it.