vc318

Nursing mom files complaint after told to cover up - wtop.com

Nursing mom files complaint after told to cover up

A woman's complaints of harassment over breast-feeding her 3-month-old son on a bench at Francis Scott Key Mall has led her to file a complaint with the state and organize a public protest.

It has also triggered a review of breast-feeding law for mall staff.

Monrovia resident Ann-Marie Luciano will lead a "nurse-in" today at the mall to underscore the rights of nursing mothers.

On May 24, Luciano was sitting on a bench in the mall, shortly after a StrollerStrides class, nursing her baby.

A customer service representative approached and asked Luciano if she was aware of the mall's nursing room, Luciano recalled Thursday at her home, her baby snuggled in her arms.

"I told her I was not aware there was a nursing room, and I continued to nurse," she said.

A customer and a guard at the mall also asked Luciano to either cover her breast or move to the nursing room, which was personally hurtful to her and against the law, Luciano said.

"I was shocked people had the nerve to come up to me and comment on how I would feed my son," Luciano said. "Covering up implies there is something shameful about breast-feeding."

Luciano's complaint to the Maryland Attorney General's Office states that the mall violated the Maryland breast-feeding law, according to a copy of the complaint filed on June 1. A law passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2003 explicitly allows women to nurse in public.

Christina Steinbrenner, the mall's group marketing director, said she had not seen the complaint, but said it was an unfortunate miscommunication that prompted a review of the breast-feeding law with the entire staff.

She doesn't know what happened between Luciano and the security guard and customer representative, but it is not mall policy to ask a mother to move to the nursing room, Steinbrenner said.

"You can walk any day and see mothers nursing," Steinbrenner said. "We weren't ever aware that she was upset."

Luciano said she gave a copy of the law to a security guard and he recommended she take it to management but she didn't, Steinbrenner said.

Steinbrenner said she found out about the nurse-in event through an online news notification service.

"I got a Google alert about the nurse-in and once I read the Google alert I read what was being said on online communities," Steinbrenner said.

She said she sees it as a teachable moment.

Luciano said the employees who were working that day didn't follow the law, but now they will and she is glad about that.

Luciano recalled how a mother who was in the nearby play area walked up to her and said, "My 4-year-old son came up to me and asked 'why is that woman showing her booby?' and I don't know what to say."

Luciano recalled her reply was to tell him that she "is feeding her baby the way moms have fed their babies for millions of years."

Shortly after that, the mall security guard came up to Luciano and told her to go to the nursing station or cover up with a blanket. When Luciano mentioned her right to nurse, the guard reminded her the mall was on private property.

Luciano continued to nurse.

"All three of them walked away from me together, the mother, the customer service rep lady and the mall security guard," Luciano said. "I was afraid they would try to arrest me."

So, my question to you guys after reading this is:

Should women be allowed to nurse in public?

My answer is yes, absolutely. I see nothing wrong with it. Problem is that most people think nudity only goes as far as being pornographic and that's just not the case. I can't even believe there has to be a law allowing women to breastfeed their child or to even breastpump in their place of employment. It's the most stupidest thing I've ever heard.

TheAngel

I agree with you. I was breastfed, and there's a ton of research showing that breastfeeding is healthier for the baby and the mother and the idea that society is so puritanical that they recoil at the site of a woman exposing her breast to feed her baby is ridiculous.
I know there's a movements getting started, at least in the town I went to college in, where restaurants and stores are putting blue stickers with a breastfeeding image if they're a "safe-place" for breastfeeding. They publicly display the sticker and then, if people complain, they can say that they made customers aware that breastfeeding might be taking place so there can be no legal repercussions.

Callace

there is something about american attitudes to breasts that is just hilarious! I've heard several cases like this by now. It is just breasts! From the fuss about it, one would think she showed her genitalia, or something I'm glad there at least arent that much prudery in the state government, as they have passed this law, for the protection of the right to breastfeed

sunnykerr

Well, that woman certainly has grounds to file a complaint. For the heck of it, I looked up laws regarding breastfeeding in the United States. The site I looked into (Breastfeeding State Laws) was updated this past March, so I'd say it's fairly up to date. And it has a breakdown by state. A cursory overview seems to indicate that breastfeeding in public is legal in pretty much every states.

In Maryland, a law passed in 2003 "permits a woman to breastfeed her infant in any public or private place and prohibits anyone from restricting or limiting this right." So, inasmuch as asking her to cover up falls under the parameters of being limited and restricted, I'd say that woman has grounds.

And of course women should be allowed to breastfeed in public. People who see public indecency in that are perverts. There's nothing more natural than a woman feeding her child.

Wildfire Girl

I think for the most part here in America women are nervous about breastfeeding in public. At the Nature Center where I work, often we get women who approach us for a safe place to breastfeed and we put them back in our office area.

sunnykerr

It's certainly one thing if the mom does not feel comfortable on her own.

I just really don't understand how anyone could make a woman feel bad about breastfeeding in public. It's not like there's anything wrong with it and, frankly, if someone feels weird about it, they can and should just look away.

vc318

I think you're right - most women will nurse in a family restroom or some sort of private area just to avoid being ridiculed. I don't mind nursing in public but I just use a blanket so that my daughter doesn't freak out. Sometimes I get the occasional stares but whatever. I mean, it's either have her scream her head off or feed her.

Callace

I can understand it if the woman are not comfortable with it herself, but it is noone else's business. Breastfeeding is a very natural thing, and a perfectly good reason to bare your breasts.

(this reminds me of a swedish news piece from a while ago, where a group of women were upset bc they were not allowed to go to a public swimming pool topless. They argued that men are allowed to go there with nothing but their underpants, so then so should they.

_vega_

I've always been surprised at the way breastfeeding has become such an issue in the US. I wonder how this aversion to the sight of a women nursing her child has come from.

Wildfire Girl

Vega ... it's really hard to say. I've had mixed breast-feeding mom attitudes, from the mothers themselves. MOST are great, are just wanting a nice quiet spot to nurse. But there have been a handful, two or three, that I've met that make a big deal of it, a big SHOW or a big to-do about it, and maybe those few have given the whole situation a bad rap?

sunnykerr

It's like with everything in life, I guess. Most people are decent, but you'll have your occasional jerk. Even with nursing mothers.

But, fortunately, public breastfeeding itself doesn't have a bad reputation. I think it's generally understood that it's a beautiful thing, which should be treated with respect and dignity. I'm really grateful that the misogynist days of the, like, 1950s are long gone and it's really the creeps who take issue with that form of "public nudity" who are told to get over themselves.

Callace

history moves forwards, fortunately

sunnykerr

It does seem odd to think anyone would object to a woman feeding her child.

Callace

it does. I wonder what it is that triggers it. I mean, I know some might feel uncomfortable about it, and I understand a woman's own need for privacy about showingher breasts, but what is it actually that makes some others feel uncomfortable with it, when the mother herself is fine with it? I am getting curious Is it the ickiness of invading someone else's privacy, even someone who is fine with it? Is it sexual anxierty, that makes them worried about seing any bodypart that can be associated with sex? Or...?

TheAngel

I think it's the fact that breasts have been so sexualized in American culture that there's a real stigma about a woman showing her breast even if it is just to feed her child. Lets face it, Americans are puritanical about sex. Everyone's having it, but no one talks about it and it's really a horrible way to go about things because it also leads to all the unsafe sex American teens have since they're afraid to go buy condoms or talk to their parents about sex. It's kind of the same thing with breasts. People are "afraid" to be exposed to them. They feel uncomfortable because of how sexualized they've become so instead of seeing it as a nurturing thing, they see it as a sexual thing, and the involvement of a child in something sexual makes it even more of a perversion.