Green Options » Public breastfeeding

Breastfeeding Mother Asked to Leave Olive Garden

Cate Nelson — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:43:35 +0000

In Michigan City, Indiana, the mother of a breastfed 11-month-old was asked to leave an Olive Garden restaurant after she refused to give her baby lunch in the bathroom.

Margaret Naas said her daughter Katie wanted to eat shortly after she’d ordered. She said she pulled half of her halter top down to feed the baby.

Soon, the manager (a woman) cited other customer complaints and offered her use of the restroom to feed her child.

A lactation consultant from the nearby WIC, Tammy Pray, who contacted the media regarding this situation, told The News-Dispatch,

That’s disgusting! Who would want to feed their children in a bathroom?

Breastfeeding Mother Stopped By “No Food Or Drink” Rules

Cate Nelson — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:57:46 +0000

In more news that sounds like a joke, a UK woman was stopped from breastfeeding her 11-week-old son at a public pool.

Laura Whotton was at the John Carroll Leisure Centre in Nottingham and started to breastfeed her infant near the pool while her 4-year-old son swam. She was stopped by a staff member, who cited the food and drink ban.

Sure, the infant was technically “eating”. But I doubt that was the actual reasoning behind the rebuke.

People in bikinis were showing more skin and breast than I was.

Mother’s Milk: Kentucky Mom Asked to Leave McDonald’s for Breastfeeding

Kristen Chase — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:58:52 +0000

Just when you thought that we didn’t need a World Breastfeeding Awareness week, yet another mother, this time a young mom in Berea, Kentucky, is asked to leave a restaurant for breastfeeding her child. Kentucky actually has a law that forbids public interference of a breastfeeding mother, but because she was not breastfeeding when the police arrived (who threatened to charge her with criminal trespassing if she did not leave), the police did not enforce the law.

The McDonald’s has since apologized to the mother, but sadly, this situation is too often repeated, not only in restaurants, malls, and other public places, but on the internet as well — most recently with a mom’s breastfeeding pictures being banned from Facebook.

As evidenced by numerous comments on a YouTube Breastfeeding montage created by the League of Maternal Justice (in protest of the Facebook Photo bannings), people still compare public breastfeeding to public urination and masturbation, and insist that it’s inappropriate for women to expose themselves in order to feed their children.

With a long list of arguments that most breastfeeding mothers and breastfeeding supporters could list, there are still many people in society who are aware and may appreciate the benefits of breastfeeding, when it comes to doing it in public, it’s still amazing how many people in this country specifically are uncomfortable.

It’s apparent that World Breastfeeding Week, along with organizations such as the La Leche League and Breastfeeding is Normal, are essential in the fight to bring the much needed awareness of breastfeeding, most specifically breastfeeding in public, to folks who may not understand that we can’t always just go somewhere and hide when we need to feed our children.

Of course, I can’t help but point out the irony of a woman being asked to leave McDonald’s, a restaurant that is attempting to promote family friendly eating with their new “healthy” menu. Apparently apples and caramel (mmm, healthy!) and juice boxes are cool.

But breastmilk? Not on their list.

[Story via; Photo via]