Gyllenhaal Nurses in Public
Celebrities Who Publicly Breastfeed Help Mainstream Nursing
The act of public breastfeeding creates public debate but as celebrities continue to do so, they create opportunities to tout the benefits of breastfeeding.
Despite research, recommendations, and legislation, public breastfeeding brings out strong emotions on both ends of the spectrum as some people view public nursing as indecent exposure and others strongly support mothers. This dichotomy is exemplified in the controversy surrounding recent pictures of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal publicly nursing her infant daughter Ramona Sarsgaard.
Reaction to Gyllenhaal's Public Nursing
Gossip websites like www.tmz.com posted pictures and blurbs with respective titles of “Maggie Milks it in Manhattan” and “Coming Soon to Park Slope: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Breast.” While many of the posts were supportive, some posters were outraged that “she got caught out and about breastfeeding again.” The fact that all responses were so passionate reveals how the simple act of breastfeeding turns into a radical statement.
The August 2006 cover of the free magazine Baby Talk was a close up profile of a baby and part of a woman's breast. The Baby Talk primary audience is mothers of young babies. Yet the public response to the cover was mixed and negative, with many readers calling the photo inappropriate. MSNBC and other news outlets provided polls and examined why people are so uncomfortable with seeing nursing mothers.
Current Breastfeeding Statistics
Having images like these circulating in the national consciousness will eventually desensitize the majority of people who oppose breastfeeding in public and depictions of breastfeeding in the media. It may even begin a dialogue about the benefits to breastfeeding and help educate individuals that breastfeeding is not a sexual act. Currently only 34 percent of U.S. infants are breastfed to six months old, and only 16 percent are breastfed for a year according to data from the CDC's August 3, 2007 Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report. If the general public is as influenced by celebrities as opinion polls estimate, these images will continue to create educational opportunities.
Extensive research indicates that there are compelling health advantages to breastfeeding for both infants and mothers. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of an infant's life and continuing along with other forms of nutrition for at least the first twelve months. Legislation in 32 states protects a woman’s right to breastfeed her child in public, and most statutes use specific language similar to Alaska’s to specifically state that “indecent exposure does not include an act of breast-feeding by a mother.”
Gyllenhaal is saying a lot without saying anything at all. She is a working actress with “working boobs” and is stating her choice without even getting into a conversation. As stars like Gyllenhaal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and Brooke Shields continue to be open about their choices to breastfeed their children maybe public opinion will continue to move that way as well.
