Breastfeeding Protests: Nurse-Ins Begin

Breastfeeding moms held nurse-in protests at airports across the country this week, to show opposition to Delta Airlines' ejection of a breastfeeding mother, her husband, and her baby from one of its planes this fall. The protest comes six months after the federal government launched an ad campaign urging new mothers to breastfeed or raise children's risk factors for all manner of undesirable health consequences.

Delta Airlines has since disciplined the flight attendant who handed the breastfeeding mother a blanket to cover up, then had an airline representative escort her and her family off the plane for refusing to comply.

The federal PSA campaign, meanwhile, focuses on the so-called dangers of not breastfeeding such as increased infections, allergies, and childhood obesity for infants who aren't breastfed for the first six months of life. A new British medical report out this week shows breastfed children may enjoy a lower risk of developing diabetes.

So my question is, are we sending mixed messages to new moms?

'Twould seem so! All but 12 states grant women the right to breastfeed in public. The nurse-in participants want passage of pending federal civil rights protection for breastfeeding moms nationwide.

Why can't we all just get along? Public breastfeeding while maintaining a modicum of modesty for the faint-hearted would put this issue to bed in a big hurry.