In response to the highly publicized nurse-in at Toys ‘R Us a few weeks ago, Daily News writer Tracy Connor decided to conduct her own test of NYC’s breastfeeding tolerance by nursing her 3 month old daughter in a variety of public places around the city. You can read the entire article over at Hip Mama.
- Crosstown bus: We board a M79 at midday, taking a seat opposite the driver. At the next stop, the bus starts to fill up and we get down to business.
The baby wriggles around, exposing a few inches of skin – and all around me, riders develop the kind of glazed-eye look usually reserved for panhandlers and the mentally ill.
Finally, one passenger pipes up, “Can you do that someplace else?” But she’s not talking to me – she’s barking at a man talking loudly on his cell phone.
When we get to the end of the line, the driver tells me I’m his first breast-feeder passenger. He’s not sure what the Transit Authority’s policy on nursing is, but he has his own. “I don’t see no objections to it,” he says.
Overall, it seems that most New Yorkers are pretty cool when it comes to public breastfeeding, although Connor’s nursing prompted an admonishment from a Babys ‘R Us worker, which the corporate spokeswoman was quick to point out went against store policy. Guess they learned a thing or two from their partner company, Toys ‘R Us, but it sounds like their workers could still use a bit more training.
