Professor defends breast-feed in class

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) - Students at the American University in Washington, D.C. are upset after their professor breast-fed her baby during class.

"She started breast-feeding in the middle of her lecture," said Mallory Kuenzi, who said it happened in a classroom full of 40 students. "Honestly, I think it would have been less of a big deal had she given us forewarning, but I think everyone in the class kind of bowed their heads in kind of shock and awe."

Sex, Gender and Culture professor Adrienne Pine wrote in an online Counterpunch article that the infant had fever and that canceling class was not an option.

While she wouldn't talk to WRC, Pine did tell the student newspaper: "Who cares? Do university students really need to be so mollycoddled that they should not see something I do on public transportation nearly every day?"

Meanwhile, university officials issued a statement:

"AU does not have a policy that specifically addresses breast-feeding. The university is guided by federal and DC law, which do not prohibit or allow breast-feeding in certain environments."

Student Ana Sotelo said the university should give the OK.

"I think that women should be allowed to breast-feed in public because it’s not something that’s unnatural, and it’s not something that we should be ashamed of."