One in two women has gone into hiding to breastfeed in public and this giant crybaby wants to change it

Raquel López Tamames, mother of four children, was rebuked in a library in Burgos for breastfeeding one of her children.

She was 14 years ago.

“I was there calmly with my one-month-old daughter and my eldest, two years old, watching and playing with some children's stories when my son got hungry.

I took out my tit and fed him.

It is true that until then she had never had a problem with breastfeeding ”, this woman explained to EL PAÍS in a telephone conversation.

At that moment, she approached the security guard and reprimanded her: "She told me that you couldn't do that there."

"What?" Lopez replied.

"You can't breastfeed the child here," said the worker emphatically.

A story that will be sadly everyday for many women and that, this Tuesday, the association Teta&

As López Tamames recalls, the woman's arguments were somewhat ridiculous: “She told me that the child was too old.

And she pointed out that my son was already walking and that he should eat food.

I said yes, to which she replied that if she had been with the one-month-old baby, she would not have said anything to me.

But that with the eldest it was not possible ”.

"You can't eat in the library," the guard repeated, to which this woman replied: "He's not eating, he's sucking."

López acknowledges that it was very unpleasant, but she did not stop breastfeeding, she even requested the unwritten rule that said that breastfeeding was prohibited in the library and asked people if it bothered them.

No one seemed offended.

"And since then, I haven't stopped hearing stories of women who also go through it or have had it bad," she says.

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The right to breastfeed wherever we want

Indeed, like her, many mothers have suffered suspicion, harassment or recriminations when they breastfeed their little ones in public places.

Exactly, and according to a report from the Teta & Teta association —a non-profit association, but with the aim of desexualizing the breast and the environment in which it occurs—, called

and

carried out by LOLA MullenLowe and LinQ Market Research Spain at the end of 2022, 52% of women declare that they had to hide or protect themselves to breastfeed in a public place.

Or what is the same, one in two has had to hide to breastfeed in public.

In addition, according to their results, more than half, 63.5%, have felt judged in this same context and up to 15% of the women have been actively called to attention, inviting them to cover up, to go to a more reserved space, a corner, a lactation room or a bathroom.

There are even mothers who have been scolded and banned.

This investigation also shows that 85% believe that a law that protects this right is necessary.

To put an end to this prejudiced trend, the Teta & Teta association has organized an impressive action this Tuesday, January 24.

The organization has deployed a hyper-realistic sculpture of a baby in the heart of Madrid, located in the square in front of the entrance to the Reina Sofía Museum, who will cry non-stop —24 hours, seven days a week— until a law is passed to regulate the right to breastfeed in public spaces at the state level a reality.

"Teta & Teta is a non-profit association that uses creativity to create campaigns and draw attention to the figure of the female breast," explains Marina García Canedo, its spokeswoman, by phone.

"And this intersects," she continues, "with the issue of breastfeeding in public."

As he explains, in 2017 they already made a map that included all the places in the world where you could breastfeed on the street, places and the like, but they have realized that it is not something that people, restaurants, etc. should assume. bars or libraries, "but the institutions have to take over."

For García Canedo, the initiative is necessary because mothers need a law that recognizes the right to breastfeed in public spaces and that this right is fulfilled.

"Because, although there is no regulation that prohibits it, there is none that protects it either, and women are victims of uncomfortable situations in which they have been judged or directly rebuked," García points out.

The reality, and as this woman explains, ultimately this regulation would protect not only the rights of the baby, but also the freedom of mothers.

The initiative, entitled

allows not only mothers, but also society in general to request this law on the Change.org platform.

“The law would avoid situations of discrimination against mothers that no woman should go through.

85% of the women in the study think that regulation is necessary.

Not all women have experienced the problem, but almost all of them recognize that it exists”, García emphasizes.

#Quiennolloranomama, campaign of the Teta & Teta association.

It's 2023 and there is no law that protects breastfeeding

The reality is that in 2023, in Spain, there is still no law that regulates this right.

In fact, this regulation already exists in other countries and makes it impossible to expel breastfeeding women from any public space, be it swimming pools, cinemas, public transport, museums or shopping centers, among others.

For example, since 2018 it is already legal in the United States, in its 50 states (plus the District of Columbia, the federal capital).

It was one of the last to legalize it and thus joined the United Kingdom, where breastfeeding has been guaranteed anywhere since 2010;

Italy, which in 2017 began to draft a law in this regard, or Australia, where it has been legalized since 1984.

Despite the fact that there is no state regulation, there are autonomous communities that are benchmarks.

Breastfeeding in public places is a right that has only been recognized in the Basque health system since 2015. Although there are regions that have launched initiatives.

For example, the Valencian Courts approved in 2016 a non-law proposal that recognizes the right to breastfeed in any public space.

Or the Pamplona City Council declared in 2017 all municipal offices, libraries, schools, cultural centers, parks, gardens and streets as "breastfeeding spaces".

In Castilla y León, Raquel López Tamames achieved a small step.

This mother recalls that, when that happened to her years ago, she left the library very angry and pulled all the strings she could: "I managed, after all the war I gave and transmitting that breastfeeding is the same when your child is a month or two years, that the Minister of Health call me.

First to apologize and second to tell me that they were going to send a letter to all the Board's offices to say that you could breastfeed anywhere no matter how old the child was.

“I have to admit that I am quite sorry to have to demand a law that protects breastfeeding.

I believe that where we have to spend money and energy is to educate children and adults, so that they understand that breastfeeding is something natural, basic, of the human being”, López points out.

"Although I feel sorry for it," she continues, "I understand that there are many mothers who need it."

As she explains, it is necessary because not all women have the same way of being and not all are equally capable of facing someone who scolds them.

Breastfeeding, a human right

On November 22, 2016, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council issued a statement in which it recognized breastfeeding as "a human right for babies and mothers that must be promoted and protected" and urged countries to strive to secure it.

In addition, breastfeeding has many benefits: for this reason, the World Health Organization recommends giving it exclusively during the first six months of a baby's life and up to two years as complementary food.

The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees that it is not a matter of family lifestyle, but a matter of Public Health that all of society must protect.

And this, obviously, includes that any mother can breastfeed her baby wherever she wants with the peace of mind of being protected by the law, so that they can defend themselves against criticism, threats or insults.

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