I guess I asked for it!
Remember 2 short weeks ago, when I wondered where all the NIP incidents were? Well, here goes (in the order that they were sent to me)…
These are related to the comic: Quiet, Too Quiet!
Elisa Buck was at Lyon Pool on July 6 with her baby and young child when a lifeguard asked her to breastfeed in the change room or leave. The lifeguard said the pool is meant to have a family atmosphere and breastfeeding isn’t allowed, Buck said.
Buck told the lifeguard it was within her rights to breastfeed in public. She said she was upset and threatened to sue the city. This resulted in the lifeguard phoning police. Upon arrival it was confirmed it is legal to breastfeed in public.
“It was humiliating,” recalled Buck.
“I think we’ve had an unfortunate error,” said Rob Mackay, the city’s manager of recreation and culture.
City policy allows breastfeeding at all its recreation and cultural facilities, he said. “We’ve allowed breastfeeding for as long as I can remember. It is the law.”
Mackay said he was told of the situation by the supervisor at the pool, who arrived shortly after the incident. The supervisor was aware of the city’s policy and apologized to Buck, he said.
Mackay said most lifeguards at city pools are high school students. “They’re young and there is a lot for them to learn,” he said. “(Breastfeeding) isn’t something they encounter every day.”
Mackay said as a result of last Sunday’s incident, staff have been reminded that breastfeeding is allowed. He said he’s confident the same mistake won’t be made again.
But Buck said she’s concerned that other mothers may not know they can breastfeed in public.
“The lifeguard said other women had left happily, and that really disturbs me,” said Buck. She said she’s considering making a human rights complaint to the city.
and
(Thanks Laurel!)
…”up until now, I was thinking the same thing.
In reference to “Quiet, Too Quiet”, well, unfortunately, we’ve had incidents
here in Wisconsin (just not reported in the media), both in July.One was a mother who was asked to not breastfeed that the Bristol
Renaissance Fair near Racine. (Been to one of these?…Do you remember the
skimpy outfits and the cleavage overflowing from the bustiers?) She
demanded she get her entrance fee (almost $20/person) returned…and it was.Another pregnant mama and her friend with a newborn and 8 year old were at
the Monona public pool. A lifeguard, and then the manager of the pool,
asked the mama not to breastfeed her baby. She offered to feed her baby in
the lockerroom, but they didn’t even want her to do that! No breastfeeding
allowed…period. Yikes! They really stuck up for themselves, too…trying
to plead their case. This is after both the City Council of Madison
(adjacent to Monona) and the Dane County Supervisors (only on county
property) passed ordinances prohibiting interfering with a breastfeeding
mother last year. They plan on contacting the Monona City Council.”
and then:
Woman Upset After Being Told To Leave Restaurant For Breastfeeding and Berea woman asked to leave McDonald’s for breast-feeding (thanks Amy and Rachel! and someone else who didn’t send her name ;o)
and then: Mom says lingerie shop wouldn’t let her nurse baby and Woman Claims La Senza Employee Told Her Not To Breastfeed Infant (Thanks Lindsey!)
and Put those breasts away: Woman asked to cover up while breastfeeding during flight (thank you Kathleen and Jessica!)
Phew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it! Don’t we have anything better to do in this world (that maybe it’s just me, but seems to be falling apart at the seams) than harass a bunch of mothers?????!!!!!!!!
Sheeeeeesh.
Love,
Heather
Anniee451 said,
August 12, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
This one happened in a hospital - http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/7697512.html
Technically, she wasn’t asked to leave, but she was intimidated and left in tears. The hospital has apologized. A hospital. Well, they don’t support natural birth, I guess natural feeding is too much to ask.
kriekle said,
August 12, 2008 @ 12:13 pm
I’m surprised by the Bristol Ren Faire incident. I’ve breastfed there almost every year for the past five years. I did have a worker offer me use of the first aid tent once, but when I told them I was fine, they let it be. I got the feeling that they were offering for my comfort and not because it might offend someone else. I was sitting on a log in cramped and crowded area, and it wasn’t the most comfortable, but that’s what you deal with in a place like that. I’ve seen vendors breastfeeding there, too. I might have to make a point of nursing my 3 1/2 year old when we go back again in a week and a half just to what reaction I get!
Crystal
wiffersnapper said,
August 12, 2008 @ 6:35 pm
Wow- that article about the flight incident has 42 PAGES of argument. The one thing that would be interesting to see is how many of the “she should cover up” people have actually breastfed. There seem to be three camps- 1) she can nurse wherever, 2) she should cover up, or 3) nursing is gross. Luckily, that last group seems to be small. I don’t really understand what the problem was in the first place- it says in the article that she was being discreet. It’s not like it’s hard- I wear a loose t-shirt and I’m 99% “covered”. Or, (gasp), you wear a nursing shirt! (Although I honestly think I’m more discreet with my trusty t-shirt.) I wonder WHY the flight attendant was asking her to cover up in the first place. Some people just aren’t happy unless they’re complaining. (sigh)
Anniee451 said,
August 12, 2008 @ 8:56 pm
“Mackay said most lifeguards at city pools are high school students. “They’re young and there is a lot for them to learn,” he said. “(Breastfeeding) isn’t something they encounter every day.”
That’s exactly what needs to change.
mom2brooke said,
August 13, 2008 @ 4:08 am
Here’s the news article from the nurse-in at La Senza in Windsor, ON Canada.
I’m proud to say that MANY of my friends showed up! ( I couldn’t because I now live out of town 
)
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/story.html?id=8068e6b4-32cd-4ded-bd63-6f2da3fee7a5
Kilroyschick said,
August 13, 2008 @ 4:33 am
I’m also surprised by the Bristol Ren Faire. I nursed there a lot last summer and saw others nursing without incident. It seems like this one is probably an isolated incident. It is still really sad though.
birthblessed said,
August 13, 2008 @ 5:09 am
I’m still amazed that women are being harrassed. In almost 15 years of breastfeeding 7 children, I was never, ever harrassed for NIP. Within days of becoming a mother for the first time, in Sept 93, I walked through a mall with my 3 day old infant latched on. Since then I have nursed in banks, hospitals, church services (yes right there in the pew during the sermon), dinner parties (yes at the table while everyone ate), in planes, on trains, and in automobiles (yes moving- both leaning over the carseat and *gasp* with baby in a sling in my lap *shock horror*). I once walked through a grocery store with my dress unbuttoned from the top and baby latched on– it was not a busy time of the day and the manager did approach me- to ask if he could help by pushing my basket and have an employee put it on the belt for me. And to offer me a bottled water. Last time I flew with an infant, the flight attendant actually approached me and asked, “Do you breastfeed your baby?” When I asserted that yes, I did, she said, “We highly recommend that you latch on your baby during take off to help prevent her ears from popping.” And no, she never offered me a blanket. She did, however, tell me I could not have the baby *in* the sling during takeoff or landing, as it was not an approved FAA restraining device.
esper_d said,
August 13, 2008 @ 3:10 pm
No comment. I’m just so hurt they view bf’ers like that.
wiffersnapper said,
August 13, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
Crying babies are loud and give people indigestion. Nursing babies are quiet. What would you rather have in your restaurant? Geez.
KKR said,
August 14, 2008 @ 7:47 am
I enjoyed this essay, looking askance at government regulation. I found it at prwarch.org; See http://www.slate.com/id/2196784/
William Saletan wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt. In it, he commends HHS’s proposal to allow pharmacists and other health workers to refuse to “facilitate any abortifacient chemical or activity.” Saletan writes, “I commend the language of the draft, which would define abortion as ‘any of the various procedures — including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action — that results in the termination of the life of a human being in utero between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation.’” But he suggests that the proposal doesn’t go far enough. Why not add breastfeeding, which “like oral contraception … alters a woman’s hormonal balance, thereby suppressing ovulation, fertilization, and, theoretically, implantation.” He adds, “As research uncovers additional causes of miscarriage or preimplantation embryo loss, I look forward to further legislation against caffeine consumption, exercise, and other abortifacient activities among premenopausal women.”
evermore82 said,
August 24, 2008 @ 4:25 am
We have a shop at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, and I am totally in uproar about this, though I have not heard anything until just now. Can someone give me more details, or get me in contact with the mama who was harassed? I really want to knock this out with management. I’m searching and searching for more information, but to no avail.
There are so many shop owners at Bristol who are supportive of breastfeeding, and will totally encourage mothers to nurse in their shops. My husband and I, for instance. I nurse my 18 mo day in, day out, at Bristol, and I have never had any issues, and my 7 yo, when she was a nursling.
Any more information would be greatly appreciated! Please contact me: http://www.myspace.com/evermore82