Breast is Best – But Put It Away Please!

Breastfeeding in the Netherlands

There has been lots of press coverage about breastfeeding in the Netherlands. Namely about the lack of acceptance in public places for breastfeeding in the Netherlands. Plus the lack of facilities for breastfeeding mothers. What has your experience been breastfeeding in the Netherlands?

Mixed Messages About Breastfeeding

If you take a peek in pregnancy and birth forums the topic of how to discreetly breastfeed your baby in public generally comes up. Many women feel uncomfortable doing it outside the home (me included). However, it remains a necessity for most unless you choose to become a hermit for months on end. After all, it is a generally accepted message that breastfeeding is the best, healthiest way to feed babies. So shouldn’t it be encouraged as much as possible? Made as comfortable and as easy as possible?

Finding a Place for Breastfeeding in the Netherlands

I speak from experience when I say that trying to find a warm, dry, quiet place to breastfeed is a challenge in itself. And that whilst your baby is screaming for a feed…. 

I have ended up in:

  • an office in a first aid hut at the Efteling,
  • a changing room in Peek & Cloppenburg,
  • a dark corner at a table in a pancake restaurant,
  • more toilet cubicles than I care to think about,
  • a far flung table in a restaurant in Blijdorp,
  • a woody hill in a French theme park
  • and the front seat of our car at a service station or side of the road.

The concept of a place to breastfeed a baby seems lost on too many places, even if they are geared towards children……

Breast-is-Best-But-Put-It-Away-Please-640x960 Breast is Best - But Put It Away Please!

The only place that springs to mind where I have seen that breastfeeding mothers are well catered for is Euro Disney in Paris. There is a heated room set aside, with chairs, for those mothers who wish to feed in relative calm and peace. The H&M in Zoetermeer also has an area for feeding but I have never been inside (I think you have to go and ask for the key). But in general facilities are poor if you want to breastfeed your baby in public areas.

COVID Pandemic Influenced Breastfeeding in the Netherlands

Homeworking meant that it was easier for women to breastfeed their baby during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to this RTL Nieuws article.

How are breastfeeding facilities where you live? Is breastfeeding in public encouraged or frowned upon? What has been your experience breastfeeding in the Netherlands?

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Nicole

This is good to know, as we are looking to return to NL to finalise my work there later this year (although I'd be surprised if I'm still feeding master numbat by then anyway).

I was lucky that Melbourne stepped up its game in the past year or so — the two big department stores and the main shopping centre in the CBD have parent rooms (with enclosed feeding areas, like changing rooms), and most of the shopping centres in the suburbs do too. I tend to use them only if it's too noisy/busy in the public areas. I've never encountered any hostility in public either, but I have heard stories about others being harassed.
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Amanda van Mulligen

Thanks for sharing that Nicole. My main issue has always been if you are outside and it is so cold!! The Efteling or the zoo is a good example – the facilities are just lacking in places where you would think they would be available.
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Tom Cesur

I come from Turkey and have been living in the Netherlands for 2 years. I was very surprised when I found out that there are no designated breastfeeding rooms in shopping malls. Every shopping mall I've been to in Turkey had a nursing or baby room with a changing table and comfy armchair or sofa. I think it is required by law to have a nursing room in public places of a certain size in Turkey.
In the Netherlands, I've found such a nursing room only in Ikea and Prenatal in Heerlen so far.
Most of the times I nursed my toddler twins in cafes on a chair looking at a wall, or practically everywhere (corners are preferred). My in-laws are Dutch, they respect our choice. But I can tell that toddler breastfeeding is not so much appreciated in NL. Nobody says 'keep on, good job'. I sometimes feel like a weirdo, but I know that I am doing something right and good, so I don't mind those looks.
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