Breastfeeding 1-2-3 » Wal-Mart

Nursing Mother “Bullied” for Breastfeeding in South Carolina Wal-Mart

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:06:42 +0000

First a swimming pool change room in Ontario, now a Wal-Mart dressing room in South Carolina…. Business owners need to recognize that there are laws that prevent them from asking nursing mothers to move to a changing room to breastfeed! In this latest incident, nursing mother Heather Silvis said she had just sat down on a bench in the store and had not even begun to nurse her daughter when a supervisor and four Wal-Mart employees began yelling at her that she couldn’t breastfeed there. Local news WISTV quotes Ms. Silvis:

Then one of them stood up and pushed my shopping cart with my 21-month-old baby in it and my purse around the corner and I was told, ‘If you want to breast feed, you’re going to have to go in there.’ So I followed my child who was in my shopping cart went into the dressing room and nursed my baby.

Oh my goodness, I think Ms. Silvis showed a great deal of restraint. If someone moved a shopping cart with one of my children in it, I would have been stunned, then outraged!

South Carolina law protects breastfeeding:

SECTION 20-7-97. Breastfeeding.

(A) A woman may breastfeed her child in any location where the mother and her child are authorized to be.

(B) Breastfeeding a child in a location where the mother is authorized to be is not considered indecent exposure.

The Wal-Mart did not apologize, explaining only that the dressing room was offered to Silvis as a courtesy.

Photo of a Wal-Mart sign by Brave New Films

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Breastfeeding Speed Links for April 9, 2008

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:52:50 +0000

1. Kyrgyz mothers catching HIV from babies: after contracting virus in hospitals infants pass disease by breast-feeding — MSNBC

2. Wal-Mart Employee Tells Mom to Stop Breastfeeding — myFOX Milwaukee, Wisconsin (If you visit this article, be sure to vote in the poll about whether or not the employee should have asked the mother to nurse in the bathroom!)

3. YMCA breastfeeding problem is “misunderstanding” — WFAA-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

4. Salma Hayek discusses breastfeeding and weight loss (or rather, the lack of it) — Celebrity Baby Blog (this ties in with the Breastfeeding 1-2-3 reader discussion on the subject)

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3

Lactivists to Attend Similac “Nutrition and Feeding” Seminar at Wal-Mart

Angela White, J.D., breastfeeding counselor — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 05:00:21 +0000

Colleen Newman of My Baby & More first expressed outrage at the fact that on February 3, 2007, certain Wal-Mart stores across the country will be hosting a “Nutrition and Feeding Educational Seminar” sponsored by Similac formula makers. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and visitors can expect to get “bundles of information, helpful ideas and solutions and product samples.” One can only assume those product samples include samples of Similac formula.

If Colleen’s tirade against Wal-Mart doesn’t inspire you to take action, try viewing the Similac event brochure that does not mention breastfeeding at all.

Lactivist groups are mobilizing to attend “nurse-outs” at their local Wal-Mart stores across the country. A “nurse-out” is a tamer version of the “nurse-ins” we saw late last year with respect to Delta airlines. Rather than being a protest, a nurse-out is an opportunity to provide information and demonstrate the ease of breastfeeding in public. For example, a group of mothers has gotten permission to provide a “Breastfeeding Information Table” next to the Similac presentation in Torrance, California. So far I’ve also seen talk of organized activities in Frederick Maryland, Dallas Texas, Atlanta Georgia (ProMom forum post), and San Diego and Oxnard California. To find a Similac event near you, enter your zip code at the bottom of this page. To see discussions of several potential nurse-outs visit the MotheringDotCommune Lactivism Forum post on Wal-Mart or join the Yahoo Lactivism Group.

Post from: Breastfeeding 1-2-3