Is It Legal to Nurse a Baby in a Moving Car in Idaho?

Parenting 101

Babies run on their own time, not yours. Their schedule is fluid and changes as they please.

So, what happens when your infant is hungry, and you're stuck on I-84 during peak traffic hours? Add two sleeping tots and an ear-piercing wail from your hungry babe to the mix, and you may be a parent on the verge of jumping out of a moving vehicle. We know the struggle, Momma.

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Your partner at the wheel shares a sympathetic glance, but there's nowhere to stop. You're still 40 minutes away from home, and your body is prepping baby's hot lunch.

Idaho's Stance on Breastfeeding in a Moving Vehicle

Fatigued and uncomfortable, you make the problematic parenting decision to unbuckle your six-week-old and begin to nurse.

People may judge you, but Idaho statute 46-672 explicitly grants parents the right to take their child out of a car seat to "nurse the child or attend to the child's other immediate physiological needs."

Idaho law says it's legal to nurse your baby in a moving car, but is it safe?

While Idaho law allows you to unbuckle your little one to nurse, it's crucial to remember the inherent risks. Unbuckled children in moving vehicles are exposed to dangers like airbag deployment and increased injury risk during a crash.

University of Michigan's Pediatric Trauma division minces no words on the subject: it's never safe to hold a child on your lap in a moving vehicle.

So, even though it's a tough situation to wait out and we're definitely sympathetic, if you ask us, keeping your baby securely buckled is always worth a meltdown from either of you.