Breastfeeding in Public: Your Rights

The short version

In every country covered on this page, you are entitled to breastfeed in public places. What differs is the legal route, how long the protection lasts, and — most sharply — what happens at work. The country-by-country detail is set out in the guidance panel; this page explains the shape of it and what to do in the moment.

The NHS states the practical position for the UK: "It is illegal for anyone to ask a breastfeeding woman to leave a public place, such as a cafe, shop or public transport." Citizens Information says the same for Ireland: you can breastfeed in any public place and "you do not have to ask anyone for permission."

Why the laws differ so much

Three different legal approaches are in play.

• Breastfeeding as a form of sex or maternity discrimination. This is the UK approach, under the Equality Act 2010, and broadly the Canadian approach under provincial human rights codes. Protection is real but derived — it works because treating you badly for breastfeeding is treated as treating you badly as a woman or a new mother.
• Breastfeeding as its own named ground. Australia took this route in 2011 with section 7AA of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, which makes breastfeeding — including expressing milk — a ground of discrimination in itself. Naming it removes an argument.
• A positive duty on employers. New Zealand and Ireland do this. New Zealand requires employers to provide appropriate breaks and facilities so far as is reasonable and practicable; Ireland goes furthest, with an hour of paid time off each working day for up to 104 weeks after birth. The US PUMP Act is a version of the same idea, focused on space and unpaid break time.

The gap that surprises people most is the UK one. There is strong protection for feeding your baby in a cafe and comparatively little statutory support for expressing milk at work — the opposite balance to Ireland, a few miles away.

If someone asks you to move, cover up or leave

• You do not have to comply. Being asked to move somewhere "more discreet" is itself the treatment the law addresses. The Ontario Human Rights Commission is explicit that staff cannot ask a nursing mother to cover up or relocate.
• Ask for a manager rather than arguing with the person in front of you. Many incidents are individual staff who do not know their employer's policy.
• Write it down afterwards. Date, time, place, who said what, any witnesses. If you complain later, contemporaneous notes matter.
• Complain to the organisation first, in writing. Most resolve it quickly.
• Then escalate to the relevant body: the Equality Advisory and Support Service or a solicitor in Great Britain, the Australian Human Rights Commission, your provincial human rights commission in Canada, the Human Rights Commission in New Zealand, or the Workplace Relations Commission for employment issues in Ireland.

Practical advice for feeding out and about

The NHS and HSE both offer the same set of suggestions, which are about confidence rather than concealment:

• Plan ahead — think about where you will feel comfortable before you go out.
• Clothing — a loose top over a strappy top, layered stretchy tops, or a soft non-underwired bra makes access easy without exposure.
• A scarf or muslin over your shoulder if you want privacy, though you are under no obligation to use one.
• Go with someone supportive the first few times.
• Practise the latch at home without looking — the HSE suggests using a mirror — so you are not fumbling in a cafe.
• Do not feed in a toilet. The NHS is direct that this is undignified, and it is not somewhere anyone should have to eat.

One safety point, from both the NHS and the HSE: do not breastfeed your baby while they are in a sling or carrier. Take them out first. The HSE warns that feeding in a carrier or sling could increase the risk of sudden infant death or suffocation.

Confidence, honestly

The NHS notes that most people support women breastfeeding in public, and the HSE points out that most people will not notice at all, because it looks like you are cuddling your baby. La Leche League GB runs local groups where seeing other people feed in company is often what shifts the feeling fastest — the discomfort is usually about anticipating disapproval rather than encountering it.

When to get help

If you are avoiding leaving the house because of anxiety about feeding in public, or you have been challenged and it has knocked your confidence, tell your health visitor, public health nurse or GP. Peer support groups exist partly for this. And if the underlying problem is that feeding is difficult or painful — which makes doing it anywhere unappealing — that is fixable, and worth addressing first.

Where to get real help

Most breastfeeding problems are solved faster by someone watching a feed than by reading about them. In the UK the National Breastfeeding Helpline is 0300 100 0212 and, as its operators the Breastfeeding Network and the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers state, it is open "24 hours a day, 365 days a year", with support also available in Welsh, Polish, Bengali and Sylheti (nationalbreastfeedinghelpline.org.uk). La Leche League GB runs local groups and a helpline; in Ireland the HSE offers an "Ask our breastfeeding expert" live chat and email service. An IBCLC is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, the only internationally accredited lactation qualification — you can check credentials through IBLCE. Your midwife, health visitor or public health nurse can also refer you.