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NZ police alarmed at breastfeeding motorists

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PizzafaceJAN. 24, 2012 - 04:23PM JST I wonder how many were single mothers basically reliant on themselves for everything? It might sound like a simple proposition to put a baby in a car seat while you drive off to the supermarket, but babies don't like to be alone. They tend to scream and wail until they finally go to sleep. And having a screaming wailing baby in the car is a good way to have an accident, not only from frustration, but the fact that you can't hear anything outside the vehicle, like police and ambulance sirens, train crossing alarms etc. While babies are safer in child seats if an accident happens, the best thing is to just not get in an accident in the first place. With that in mind, they should be allowed to have the baby strapped to their chest in a harness. Yes, I know that the baby may get crushed between mother and steering wheel in a serious accident, but you cannot guarantee survival in a serious accident anyway. No perfect solutions here.

Wouldn't it be safer if the mother just pulled off to the side of the road, stopped her car and then breast fed her child? She could wait until her child has fallen a sleep or stopped crying before continuing onto her destination. Wouldn't that possibly be an even better way to avoid an accident?

What if the baby was crying because he/she needed to be changed? How would a harness help in that situation?

5 ( +6 / -1 )

"Gray said police were also stunned at the number of children being transported in car trunks."

Look I got put in the there from time to time. It is not as bad as it might sound.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

NZ police alarmed at breastfeeding motorists

Unbelievable! Why don't these motorists just stop by 7-11 for a carton of milk, like I do?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I should get a job in NZ as a Traffic Cop!!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Breastfeeding while driving? Kids in trunk? Sounds like a nation of nutcases!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Pizzaface - you should not be allowed to have a drivers license, for multiple reasons. It only takes 5 minutes to breastfeed a child, and usually they should sleep soundly after that. Every child will protest at first in the baby seat, but they get used to it pretty quickly. Just let them cry a bit, much better than killing them in an otherwise survivable accident.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Pictures, or it didn't happen =D

I'm glad that the NZ government has done this operation to educate safe driving.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

That's not good. We did that stuff in college. I was even forgotten in the trunk on a group trip to the beach for a college beach party for three hours.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

kuyani, the babies might be hungry, in that case they'll spit that dummy faster than a Aussie in a dry pub.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Is that why the country is called "乳児ランド " New Zealand?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

babies being breastfed, must be fed every 15 minutes for ~15 minutes.

Good Lord, no. If there's a sufficient supply of milk, baby should drink his fill then sleep for 2 to 3 hours.

It's not like you can feed and strap the baby in the seat and drive on.

Yes it is.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Even if the baby was strapped to their chest heaven forbid should a car accident happen and the child gets hurt between the mum and the steering wheel.

Airbags go off with to force of a shotgun. And can leave chemical burns, for that matter, though I doubt an infant it by one will survive long enough for that to be an issue.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The parents stopped were irresponsible parents. How ridiculous that anyone can think it's okay to drive while breastfeeding a baby. Anyone who drives with children unrestrained should seriously evaluate how much their children mean to them. Is it really worth taking that chance with your children's lives? I am glad that the police are shocked by this. At least it isn't just being banded under a 'just can't be helped' attitude.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Gray said police were also stunned at the number of children being transported in car trunks."

Look I got put in the there from time to time. It is not as bad as it might sound.

Hahaha......... the stuff we do in college!

Still, it's not bad......... until the car gets rear-ended, and the trunk is part of the crumple-zone.........

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Naked breast on motorbikes - somehow the twisted dreams of many immature boys, I guess. Somehow I can't imagine breastfeeding of toddlers on a motobike. Too odd...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Sweet lord... are these people all morons? I mean, I suppose you can pay slightly more attention to the road while breastfeeding than if you were using a cell-phone for gaming or emailing, but still.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Wow. Well, here is a condition I had no inkling existed!!!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Doesn't make it okay, but the mums weren't the drivers.

Clarification: This story originally reported the breastfeeding mothers were driving, based on incorrect information in a police press release. They were in fact passengers in the cars.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6304769/Breastfeeding-on-the-motorway

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I don't care what anyone says, don't have your children unrestrained. Even if the baby was strapped to their chest heaven forbid should a car accident happen and the child gets hurt between the mum and the steering wheel. There is a way to have your child fed while they're in the front seat (with a reverse facing child seat) with a bottle. Common sense seems to be lacking in the women mentioned driving with child in arms.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This kind of operation id definately'ecofriendly'!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Very common down here on Okinawa.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I hope the kids did not have teeth yet. Sudden braking can be treacherous.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Don't they have those plastic sukers dow there in NZ. That is what, that is for, stick a suker in its mouth.. And bady will shut up and be quite while you drive.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

They trasport their children in the trunks, are they nuts? One should be arrested for breast feeding while driving. That is more dangerous than talking on the cellular while driving.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Yagura...babies being breastfed, must be fed every 15 minutes for ~15 minutes. It's not like you can feed and strap the baby in the seat and drive on. Breastfeeding is dedicated feeding. Bottle feeding you can feed and strap and the baby sleeps. Hmmm...dirty diaper strapped to mom? That would be an immediate pull over.

I don't think breastfeeding has anything to do with single mothers. It is a choice made by many women, single or paired. The fact of the matter is, breastfeeding takes up a phenomenal amount of a woman's time and for many it's easier to multi-task and get things done with a baby strapped to you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Breastfeeding while driving? Kids in trunk? Sounds like a nation of nutcases!

Seriously. What's going on over there?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'm sure todays kids would feel perfectly fine in the trunk - as long as they can play their PSP and Nintendo!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Thanks, but NO PICTURES, I can not believe Kiwis would drive and breast feed at the same time so I need to see some nice close to confirm this validity, right??

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Yes it is.

Yeah. When you're done, just throw Jr. in the trunk and you're good to go.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Wouldn't it be safer if the mother just pulled off to the side of the road, stopped her car and then breast fed her child?

You think the side of the road is safe?? Its not! Not at all! That is a horrible suggestion! The side of the road is pretty much reserved for emergencies, precisely because its so dangerous to stop there!

She could wait until her child has fallen a sleep or stopped crying before continuing onto her destination.

Asleep? Okay. Stopped crying? The baby will cry again after put into the child seat! Babies don't like to be alone!

I am surprised you did not suggest breast feeding to put the baby asleep before leaving the house! But look, babies are not that easy going. They do not switch off when you have places to go and things to do. But they do practically switch off when breast fed.

What if the baby was crying because he/she needed to be changed? How would a harness help in that situation?

Modern diapers make that one a rarity. And let me tell you, when a baby has that breast in mouth, a full diaper is totally forgotten, along with just about anything else in the world. The only other magic bullet would be a bottle, but a baby usually cannot hold one itself.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

I wonder how many were single mothers basically reliant on themselves for everything?

It might sound like a simple proposition to put a baby in a car seat while you drive off to the supermarket, but babies don't like to be alone. They tend to scream and wail until they finally go to sleep. And having a screaming wailing baby in the car is a good way to have an accident, not only from frustration, but the fact that you can't hear anything outside the vehicle, like police and ambulance sirens, train crossing alarms etc.

While babies are safer in child seats if an accident happens, the best thing is to just not get in an accident in the first place. With that in mind, they should be allowed to have the baby strapped to their chest in a harness. Yes, I know that the baby may get crushed between mother and steering wheel in a serious accident, but you cannot guarantee survival in a serious accident anyway. No perfect solutions here.

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

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