Breastfeeding Mom Yelled at, Asked to "cover up" at Conservatory

It seems the Garfield Park Conservatory may need to review Illinois breastfeeding law with their employees. This past month, a Chicago area mom (who asked not to be named for privacy) encountered hostile treatment from a security guard while nursing her baby.

The mother, who was enjoying a visit to the conservatory with her infant son and 4 year old daughter, gave this account of the exchange:

"I was sitting in a chair, in the hallway outside the bathroom, just off the foyer entrance. There were two chairs and a bench. My friend was opposite me on the bench, and our older girls were playing nicely by us. I was nursing (baby) and chatting with my friend, when a female security guard came across the foyer and yelled out to me, about did I have a blanket, and if I wanted to do “that” I had to get a blanket and cover up. I was utterly surprised and told her, no, I did not have a blanket and no, actually, I did not need one. She screeched that she could see my breast! I looked down. YES! I CAN SEE YOUR BREAST! She was pretty much yelling at me from about 12 feet away."

"My friend, who was as shocked as I was, asked if there was a manager we could talk to, instead. The Security Guard said she was extremely happy to go find her. By the time the manager appeared, (baby) was done nursing. First the manager asked my friend what was wrong, but Security Guard ran over and said it none of my friends business, it was all ME. The manager turns to me. I said, well, I was just sitting her in this chair, nursing my son. The manager said something to the effect of, I should understand the Guard was just protecting the other patrons and that it is a busy and public place. I looked around, it was empty, not busy at all! She told me that there were Professors (!) and children around. I told her that state law says that I can breastfeed anywhere I have the right to be, including this hallway. She told me that certainly I was allowed to feed my son, but that there were other areas in the conservatory that were better and more private. I said that I was just fine where I was and that it was inappropriate for the guard to reprimand me, and that furthermore, if discretion was the goal, then the guard shouldn't be yelling at me from across the foyer."

"The manager left after that, but I don't feel encouraged at all that other breastfeeding mothers will be safe from being bothered there. At least by that guard. I had earlier nursed my son in several other areas of the conservatory, surrounded by other parents and children in the craft area, in full view of several other employees, with no problem."

A call placed by Green Parent Chicago editor, Christine Escobar to Mary Eysenbach, Director of Conservatories for the Chicago Park District, regarding the incident has yet to be returned.

The Illinois "Right to Breastfeed Act" provides that a mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be. In addition, the state law declares breastfeeding exempt from public indecency laws.

39 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public or private location.

The mother in the incident said though she felt unsettled, plans to continue breastfeeding publicly throughout the city.

"I know my rights and I know how I feel about meeting my children's needs, and I have not been cowed! I have continued to breastfeed my son wherever and whenever he needed, in restaurants, museums, parks, and stores," she explained.

Comments

[Breastfeeding Mother]

It concerns me that the manager of The Garfield Park Conservatory is still trying to justify their behavior by blaming the mother for not being discreet (enough). The guards do not need to be discreet about approaching nursing mothers-they need to NOT APPROACH NURSING MOTHERS.

The mother in question was sitting on a bench in a hallway off of the front lobby. Breastfeeding in Illinois is NOT considered indecent, by law, and is protected, even if some of the breast is exposed.

I think they still dont "get it" over there at the GPC.

[Lawyer Mama]

Oh for god's sakes. I'm always enraged when I read stuff like this. You have to really WORK at it to see anything while a woman is nursing. You see more exposed breast at most public beaches.

Heck, I'm a pretty modest person, but even I couldn't breastfeed with a blanket on. My son would rip it off no matter what I did. If I covered him with one of those nursing tents he would just cry and fuss. You do what you've got to do. I don't think any nursing mother is trying to be an exhibitionist. It sounds like the guard has a problem.

I hope the manager who responded to the email understands that neither she nor the guard have any right to ask any nursing mother to cover up & that we're not buying the excuse. She should have just said "We're so sorry. It won't happen again." End of story. Making excuses only makes it worse.

[Christine]

It should be noted that IL's law does not state anything about proper or improper positioning with regard to breast exposure or covering up while nursing. Most likely because, that would be entirely too subjective to enforce.

[Lori]

I had always had positive experiences breastfeeding in public even with exposed breast and I don't think we should let incidents like this slide so I sent a e-mail to the president. Here is my e-mail and her response. I really hope it is just an isolated incident.

Subject: RE: Breastfeeding
Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 11:11:45 -0600
From: "Eunita Rushing"
To: "Lori
Thank you for sending this article. I am the manager that spoke with the woman and of course has reviewed and shared with staff here at the conservatory the Illinois state laws on breastfeeding. The nursing mom was sitting in a main thoroughfare that led to the ladies room, the gift shop and the classroom in which people were arriving for a meeting. Her full breast was exposed and that is why she was asked to cover up not to stop breastfeeding. The other woman that accompanied her was nursing as well with no exposure because of the way she chose to position the nursing child.

Our goal is to accommodate everyone and certainly we do not want to infringe upon anyone’s legal rights! I did ask the security guard in the future to exercise discretion in approaching nursing moms. This was an unfortunate, isolated incident and one that hopefully will not occur again! Thank you for your comments. I hope that you will forward your remarks to the publication that circulated the article.

Tue, 27 May 2008 09:57:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Lori

Subject: Breastfeeding
To: erushing@garfieldpark.org
I just read the story below online. As a breastfeeding mother who has frequently visited and breastfeed at the conservatory , and have had positive experiences doing so, I really hope it is not true. That none of your employees are violating the law in such a manor. If it is true, I hope you immediately talk to all you employees about a woman's legal right to breastfeed in public without harassment and in general provide some sensitivity training.
Lori