Rabbi Eliyahu: Nurse in Public, Not in the Bathroom

The alon Olam Katan has a regular feature called shu”t cellulari, or responsa via SMS. Readers can text halachic questions and get answers fairly quickly, from either Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu or Rabbi Shlomo Aviner.

My daughter alerted me to one of last week’s questions:

Is there a problem of tumah (impurity or uncleanness) to nurse in a public bathroom, when there is no other place, or is it better to nurse where there are passersby and cover up? Rabbi Eliyahu: It's preferable to cover yourself well and nurse in a place with passersby.

I don't know what he would say about nursing in public even if there are other options. But at least he made it clear that a bathroom is not a place to nurse a baby. If you wouldn't eat there, your baby shouldn’t either.

For the record, there is a different reason for not eating in the synagogue, which is not tamei. As long as bottles and candy are handed out to children in shul, nursing should be permitted there as well.

Related:

Is Public Breastfeeding “Immodest”? An Orthodox Jewish Perspective

Modiin Mom Told to Nurse in Changing Room

Nursing in the Negev, or Nursing in the Toilet