Breastfeeding in the News: Nursing in Public
August 18, 2008 by Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor
Filed under breastfeeding, nursing in public
Unfortunately there have been several confrontations over nursing in public over the last couple of weeks:
1. La Senza lingerie store in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 50 people gathered at the lingerie store to support breastfeeding in public:
The protest was in support of a London, Ont., mother who says she was humiliated by La Senza staff who took exception to her breastfeeding her seven-month-old-son at the Windsor store’s checkout line in June.
Allison Loblaw said she was shocked when a clerk told her breastfeeding was not allowed in the store but she could use a changeroom in the back.
Ms. Loblaw has filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
2. H&M store in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Manuela Valle organized a nurse-in at an H&M store after being asked to use a change room to breastfeed her two-month-old daughter:
H&M sent Valle an e-mail last Friday apologizing for the treatment she received and spelling out its policy to allow women to breastfeed publicly if they choose. A day earlier, more than 100 women staged a “nurse-in” protest in the store to show support for Valle.
Ms. Valle filed a complaint to the BC Human Rights Tribunal.
3. McDonald’s in Berea, Kentucky, United States. When a McDonald’s employee asked Jessica Denny to leave the restaurant because she was breastfeeding her 4-month-old, Denny called the police. But because she was not still breastfeeding when the police arrived, the police said they could not enforce Kentucky law protecting breastfeeding, and told her she would have to leave or be charged with criminal trespass.
In the statement, owner Sundae Park said: “It has never been our policy to ask nursing mothers to leave our restaurant. … I have taken the necessary steps to ensure this mistake does not happen again.”
Still, Denny says she was embarrassed by what happened. She wants the restaurant to apologize and put a sign on its door saying that breast-feeding is allowed.
4. WestJet airline in Canada. Erin Tarbuck was asked by a WestJet flight attendant to cover herself with a blanket as she breastfed during take-off:
“[She] came up and said quietly, ‘You know, some men find the sight of a bare breast quite offensive. Can I offer you a blanket to cover up with?” Tarbuck said on Wednesday.
Tarbuck declined the offer of a blanket, but one was brought to her anyway.
Tarbuck wrote to the airline, which defended the actions of the flight attendant. Tarbuck wants WestJet to develop a written policy on breastfeeding and plans to file a complaint with the federal Human Rights Tribunal if she does not hear from the airline shortly.
*sigh*….and I thought it was going to be a quiet summer.
Of these, the WestJet one is the one that bothers me the most. I was so relieved during my first flight with my son, which happened to be a haul from Frankfurt to Detroit, when the flight attendant not only brought me additional water and held my son while I went to the bathroom, but she actively encouraged me to nurse my son during takeoff/landing. I had a seat for him, but her comfort and support made the solo flight for us so much easier!
By 11 months (and multiple flights later), there is no way he would have allowed a blanket.
This is nuts. I can only hope that we are seeing more of these stories in the news, not because these incidents are increasing, but because mothers are more aware of their rights and are therefore making a stink when they are confronted by some misinformed person.
The airplane ones bug me the most. In other situations, I can choose to walk away and then file a complaint later. It is awful that it happens, but I feel like I could remain somewhat in control of the situation. However, in a plane, you are 50,000 feet above the ground and at the mercy of the flight attendants. It is an awful place to be if someone does make an issue of it.
I compiled a list of airplane breastfeeding incidents recently on my blog, including the most recent one on WestJet.
http://phdinparenting.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/friendly-skies-not-always-for-breastfeeding-mothers/
I’m also planning some upcoming posts on airline breastfeeding policies (to help people figure out which airlines to give their $$ to) and on tips for nursing when travelling by air.
It really isn’t enough to have legal rights, eh? The gender equality provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been used often and successfully as the basis of the right to breastfeed in public in Canada. We still have to deal with the people out there thinking they know better, I guess. A friend of mine told me that she had nursed until her kids were 3 or 4 but not in public after they were 1. I don’t so often any more since Reid nurses only at bed time and/or in the morning - or did until this past Saturday or so, now I need to think in the past tense, maybe - but I will still nurse her where she is in need. Maybe I found a more accepting crowd or maybe I had a “don’t mess with me” attitude. ;+)
This also happened to me in the biggest H&M store in Brussels, Belgium, one year ago when nursing my one month old baby.
Just who exactly are these men that find breasts offensive? I’ve certainly never met one!