Lactivists made the cover of the Chicago Sun Times on Saturday with a photo of two mothers breastfeeding their children at a nurse-in. Reporter Stefano Esposito explains that when Lauren Trost sat down in Lincoln Square’s Giddings Plaza to nurse her 7-month-old son, she was harassed by a passerby. Sadly, the person who objected to the breastfeeding in public was a woman in her 40s with two small children in tow! Trost returned to the plaza on Saturday for a breastfeeding rally that included a dozen nursing dyads.

Thanks to The Feminist Breeder for this cover shot:

It never fails to amaze me how companies manage to get themselves into hot water for failing to follow the law regarding breastfeeding in public or in the workplace! Here are just a few of the most recent incidents.
Acosta Tacos: The owner of Acosta Tacos in Los Angeles, California has been ordered to pay Marina Chavez $21,645.00 in lost wages plus $20,000.00 for emotional damages after the owner fired Chavez for breastfeeding her baby on her breaks. In this groundbreaking case, the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission found that breastfeeding is intrinsic to the female sex and thus breastfeeding …read more

Approximately 30 people braved the cold to protest outside the Asheville, North Carolina, Denny’s where Crystal Everitt was asked to cover up while breastfeeding her son. Another handful of protesters met outside a Hanover, Pennsylvania Denny’s. The media coverage consists of:
Newspaper article:
Asheville Citizen-Times: Nursing Mom Leads Protest
Television news:
Pennsylvania: WFMZ-TV covers the Hanover Township, Lehigh County nurse-in (great job speaking to the media, mama!!)
First-hand blog account of the nurse-in:
Jenny Harmon at Mothering without a Manual
Video of Corporate Statement:
You can watch the rather insincere and unsatisfactory statement of Rick Pate, representative for Success Management, which runs several Denny’s including the Asheville …read more

After Crystal Everitt was harassed for breastfeeding her son in an Asheville, North Carolina, Denny’s restaurant, she sought the help of FirstRight to approach the regional management about its policy on breastfeeding. Here is the statement of policy given to FirstRight by Rick Pate, Director of Operations for Success Management, which operates 32 Denny’s restaurants (including the Asheville, NC location), on February 16, 2009:
We at Denny’s work very hard to insure all guests have a pleasant dining experience. Breastfeeding is absolutely allowed in our restaurants; we do request that it be done with respect and discretion, as we are …read more

Crystal Everitt was breastfeeding her 1-year-old son in a Denny’s restaurant when she was asked by a manager to cover up. When Everitt declined to do so, the police were called and she was told that she would have to leave or be arrested for trespassing. The Denny’s in question is in Asheville, North Carolina. The manager told the Asheville Citizen-Times:
In this particular case, this guest was exposed in a manner that was causing discomfort toward other guests to the point of them complaining to management and leaving the restaurant.
The manager clearly needs an education in the North Carolina indecent …read more

Today at the Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, California, a relatively small group of dedicated lactivists showed up while nearly 2,000 people were there with them in spirit at the virtual nurse-in on Facebook itself. Jill Asher of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog headed over to Palo Alto to film the following video of the nurse-in. My favorites are the interview with the organizer’s mother-in-law, Sheri Farley, mother of eight breastfed children and grandmother to 19 breastfed grandchildren out of 20 total, and the interview with one of the fathers in attendance.

Local newspaper The Mercury News also reported on the …read more

I remembered to change my Facebook profile picture to attend the virtual nurse-in at Facebook today. I chose this photo. What do you think? Is it obscene? Obscene by Facebook’s standards? I guess we’ll see whether I get asked to remove it or not….

It has been over a year since Facebook began removing breastfeeding pictures and threatening users with being banned from the site. At last check, the Facebook group “Hey, Facebook, Breastfeeding is not obscene!” had over 57,000 members (including me). Now organizers of that group have planned an event for Saturday, December 27, 2008, the M.I.L.C. Mothers International Lactation Campaign.
Virtual Nurse-In
Organizers explain:
Facebook continues to classify breastfeeding photos as obscene content. They continue to arbitrarily remove these photos from member albums and profiles, accompanied by warnings of account termination. This is highly discriminatory and an affront to nursing mothers everywhere. In protest …read more

If you will be in the Toronto area on Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008, please consider attending this breastfeeding rally to support Dr. Jack Newman and funding for the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute. RSVP by December 1st! Organizers gave permission to post the following information:
Dr. Jack Newman, the Toronto doctor known around the world as a leader in breastfeeding education and support, needs your help. The Newman Breastfeeding Clinic and Institute sees more than 2500 mothers and babies each year, but is on the verge of closing its doors unless it receives more funding. The NBCI is requesting donations, but …read more

Image by _shward_ of past breastfeeding rally
You are invited to a breastfeeding rights rally on Friday, November 7, 2008, in Newmarket, Ontario.
The Breastfeeding Discrimination Incident
Nursing mother Cinira Longuinho explains:

I was breastfeeding my daughter on the steps of the swimming pool when Ms. Ellie Karkouti, the owner of the facility, came to speak with me. Ms. Karkouti said they had one complaint and that I could not breastfeed my daughter in the swimming pool. She said if I wanted to breastfeed I would have use the changeroom. I tried to say that based on the law I had the right to …read more