The issue of breastfeeding in Hong Kong
Breastfeeding may be the best start to your infant's life, but some mothers still feel awkward nursing in public, write Tara Jenkins and Karen Pittar
It's natural, healthy and best for baby - so why does breastfeeding in public create such a furore? The volatile issue hit the headlines in Australia recently, with popular TV chat show host David Koch coming under fire for suggesting mothers be more discreet while nursing their babies.
More than 100 women and their infants protested outside his studios, staging a "Nurse-In" to promote women's rights to feed their babies.
Closer to home, it's a battle first-time mother Lily Jameson can relate to. She was mortally embarrassed at an international club in Hong Kong last year, when a staff member tapped her on the shoulder and suggested she might be more comfortable breastfeeding her baby in the toilet. Historically, the city has lacked private places in which to breastfeed, and while this hasn't hugely improved, the good news for mums such as Jameson is that breastfeeding in public is slowly becoming more acceptable.
"With my eldest daughter, I was always looking around for special feeding rooms, change rooms or nice bathrooms in hotels, and it was a nightmare," says Sarah Benhacine, mother of four-year-old Jessica and eight-month-old Alice. "With my youngest, I bought one of those feeding capes and basically just fed wherever and whenever; I felt quite comfortable doing so."
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So while secluded places for new mothers include designated rooms at specialist shops Tiny Footprints or Bumps To Babes, there are also parents' rooms in malls including IFC and ICC, dressing rooms at Lane Crawford, or the 1st floor washroom at the Mandarin Oriental. So it isn't as unnerving as it used to be to breastfeed publicly.