Nearing the end of the show's "Hot Topics" segment, “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg gave her opinions on breastfeeding last Monday and received a lot of backlash from viewers.
Yahoo Parenting reported that, during the segment, Goldberg and her co-hosts were talking about women who are engaged in co-nursing, or more specifically the “act of breastfeeding another woman's baby.”
As the show hosts were in a heated discussion about the practice's pros, cons and “yucky” elements, as well as up to how old a baby should be breastfed, Goldberg let out her news-worthy comment.
“If they’re old enough to have teeth, they shouldn’t be breastfeeding. Good god,” the 60-year-old “Sister Act” alumnus said.
Just after the show aired on television, a group on Facebook called Breastfeeding Mama Talk had the clip uploaded. The clip showed the part where Goldberg said that comment.
“Whoopi Goldberg states, 'If they're old enough to have teeth, they should not be breastfeeding.' Correction a baby's first teeth are actually called "Milk teeth" so that statement is just ignorant and false,” the Facebook group said.
“People in the public eye should really think before they speak,” they added.
Currently, the uploaded Facebook video has more than 411,700 views, more than 3,500 shares and more than 1,300 comments.
Some of the commenters also openly shared what they thought of the television debate and their opinion on having their baby being breastfed by another woman.
A certain Miranda Tiller wrote: “I personally don't agree with what Whoopie said, but I do agree with what the other woman said about boobie sharing being 'yucky.'”
“I would NEVER want someone else's child on my breast, nor would I ever allow my child to be on someone else's breast,” she added. "There is a line of appropriateness, and that's crossing it for me.”
PopSugar also gave opinions on what Goldberg said.
“It wasn't an opinion, because opinions denote that there's a lack of certainty on the matter,” the website said.
“If a woman chooses not to breastfeed, or can't for a host of perfectly understandable reasons, it's her choice and it's very likely the right one for her and her family,” the website added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that “Breast milk alone is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months after birth.” Co-nursing, however, might pose some risks when the woman has some disease like HIV or HBV, as this could be transmitted via breastmilk.
