Factors influencing mothers' decision to breastfeed in public.

Breastfeeding in public was a major theme that emerged in a previous Western Australian study that explored the maternal process of managing breastfeeding and subsequent weaning. This paper highlights the factors that influenced mothers' decisions to breastfeed in public. Confidence with breastfeeding, the ability to be discreet, the mother's body image, previous experience, age of the breastfeeding child, the audience, feelings of the partner, breastfeeding location and perceptions of societal expectations all impacted upon the decision of how to manage breastfeeding in public. Initiatives to promote a breastfeeding friendly community are briefly discussed as well as strategies that participants employed to manage their breastfeeding in public. These findings add to our knowledge on breastfeeding and have implications for how we support breastfeeding women.