Anyone heard this....

holley79 wrote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 27, 2006

“A Tale of Two Nursing Moms”

Racine, WI – This Saturday, two moms are organizing a nationwide nurse-in of the popular lingerie store, Victoria’s Secret. Prompted by run-ins with Victoria’s Secret employees, Rebecca Cook, of Burlington, WI and Jessie Chandler, of Quincy, MA have decided to do something about state and federal laws that do not protect nursing mothers.

On June 21, 2006, Rebecca Cook entered a Victoria’s Secret store with a friend to browse through the sales racks. While in the store, Mrs. Cook’s daughter wanted to nurse, so she went to the dressing room and asked for one. When a dressing room wasn’t available, she said that she’d sit out of the way and nurse her daughter, and was told that she wasn’t allowed to by a store employee, that she would have to use a restroom. After she refused to use a restroom to nurse her daughter, a dressing room opened up, and while she was in it, the two store employees were heard loudly discussing, right outside her dressing room, to make sure if there’s an occupied sign that the dressing room is truly occupied and to get customers in and out of the dressing rooms as soon as possible. Mrs. Cook left the dressing room because of their rudeness, nursing her daughter on her way out of the store. When she called to complain to the store manager, she was told that the employee probably asked her to nurse in the restroom because the sight of her breasts might offend a customer. Taking the complaint of the treatment by the store manager to the corporate customer service wasn’t any further help, because she was told that women are not allowed to try on clothing in the middle of the store, therefore they are not allowed to nurse in the middle of the sales floor.

In a similar incident, Jessie Chandler entered a Victoria’s Secret store on June 22, 2006 to browse the sales racks as well, after feeding her daughter. A saleswoman approached her to welcome her to Victoria’s Secret, and Mrs. Chandler asked to use a changing room. When asked by the sales associate if she was going to change her daughter’s diaper, Mrs. Chandler said that she was going to nurse her, to which the sales associate replied with giving directions to the bathroom outside the store. Mrs. Chandler refused to use the bathroom, and the attendant said that it was unsanitary for her to nurse in the dressing room because people change in them. When Mrs. Chandler called the store manager, she received an apology. Mrs. Chandler called Victoria’s Secret’s corporate office after hearing of Mrs. Cook’s experience with corporate’s customer service, and was told that Mrs. Chandler’s experience was an isolated experience and that she would have a letter of apology sent out to her.

This nurse-in is not about Victoria’s Secret’s lack of enforcing their company policy; the company only prompted the awareness for a need for state and federal protection for nursing mothers. The federal government has invested a lot of time and money into advertising about breastfeeding being the best nutrition for babies, but without federal protection, some moms might give up when they’re told that breast milk is dirty and unsanitary. To make those federal dollars most effective, we have to protect and educate; protect a mother’s right to nurse in public, and educate those that work with the public on the proper way to handle nursing in public and those that might complain about it.

“A Tale of Two Nursing Moms” seeks to bring recognition to the need for a federal law that protects a nursing mother's right to feed her baby anywhere that she and her baby would otherwise be allowed to be. We’re urging moms to go to their local Victoria’s Secret on July 1 at 1 pm to nurse their babies and be a part of this important movement.

PrairieMom replied: Is anyone going to do this?

mckayleesmom replied: When I worked at Motherhood...a woman came in and asked if she could use a dressing room for nursing and I told her to go ahead. What is the big deal anyways? Later, when another sales girl came up and asked if I had waited on the costomer in the dressing room..I told her she was nursing....She said that is actually Motherhoods policy...they can come in and nurse...I thought that was neat. Victorias secrets claim that boobs will offend people .

MyLuvBugs replied: DUDE!!! If I was nursing, I would TOTALLY do this.

And honestly, are people really this dumb....


Yes, b/c Mall or store restrooms are SOOOOOOOO sanitary compaired to dressing rooms!! Total Idiots!

Any of you that are nursing, I'm all for you doing a sit in!! Go for it!!

luvbug00 replied: Now I'm not a nursing mom but as a regular "joe" or what have you I think this is not going to accomplish what they want it to kinda like the immigration taking a day off of work thing. I think government would be more swaed by having letters written to representives and such.

What's the big deal about nursing in a bathroom instead of a dressing room?

Vitoria's secret is known for being rude period not just to nursing woman. ( hence I don't conciously buy from them )



There are plenty of people in this diverce country who would be Very offfended by it.

boyohboyohboy replied: I am still a little uneasy about nursing in public, although I have done it a few times now..with DH for cover...but I truely wish I had another nursing mother to go with me, then I would.
I might have to think about this some more.

I definately am for nursing mothers and their rights...

My2Beauties replied: Good for them - I think this is totally awesome!

ZandersMama replied: I would totally do this if I was still nursing. I was asked by a Bay employee to go to the bathroom. I completely refused.
[QUOTE]What's the big deal about nursing in a bathroom instead of a dressing room?
I personally wouldn't want to eat a meal on a toilet. If it is ok for a bottle feeding mom to feed her baby in public why should I have to hide in a bathroom to feed my son? JMHO, not trying to offend anyone, but this is a touchy subject for me.

MyLuvBugs replied:
I meant in a lingerie store! How can someone be offended by a nursing mother in a store that advertizes nakedness? That just doesn't make sense to me. If boobs offend a person that much, then why would they be in Victoria's secret in the first place. KWIM?

I'm not big on NIP either. I personally, don't like my boobs just hangin' out. But if the kids hungry, then why can't I feed my kid?

And I agree with ZandersMama...eating in a public bathroom is nasty gross. My own personal bathroom here at home...sure I'll nurse if need be, but public restrooms are not as sanitary as they should be, and I wouldn't expect anyone to be forced to eat or feed in them. JMHO!

luvbug00 replied:

they aren't asking you to sit on a toliet and feed your child. Most bathrooms have seats in them by the sinks for people to rest in while they wait and others have benching in the hallway for people to wait for family while they use the restrooms. And even more have family friendly bathrooms where they have seats just for nursing mothers. I didn't bottle feed where I wanted or in a store. I took my child out to a bench in the hallway and feed her there. as there is a no food no drink policey in most stores. Which to me applies to breastfeeding as well as any other feeding.

Mommy2Isabella replied: IMHO ... I am not a nursing mother yet! THOUGH, I am going to be, I would NOT nurse in public! I would go to my car or make sure I was somewhere appropriate to nurse when it came time.

Nursing isn't as accepted now-a-days, so IMHO it is common courtesy to go where you can't be seen. THOUGH, I wouldn't nurse in the restroom of a mall or a shopping place or a resturant even.

The point made about you can bottle feed your baby, TRUE, you can do that anywhere. Because, that isn't controversial. Just like same gender relationships, people would FLIP if they made out in public somewhere, it just isn't accepted. Same with BFing!

Bee_Kay replied: Although I've never BF in public... I am not offended AT ALL when I see a lady BFing her baby... no matter where it is: restaurant, store, church, ect.

I can see where a woman might not feel comfortable doing it... but WTHeck! I figure, if you're comfortable doing it (especially when it's done discreetly), more power to you!!

Bee_Kay replied: And BTW.... I would not take my lunch and eat it in a bathroom... and I wouldn't put up with anyone telling (or persuading) me to feed my child in a bathroom.... GROSS!!!

MyLuvBugs replied:
Yeah. I said that I would NEVER NIP when I was first PG with Lorelei (litteraly the exact same words ), but I hate to burst your bubble (and I don't mean to offend you) but when you get to the store, your half way through your shopping list, the cart is PILED with stuff, and your child starts screaming bloody murder b/c it's hungry.......you break down and do whatcha gotta do. KWIM? Believe me, I went for almost 20 minutes through Target once with Lorelei screaming before I started feeling like a horrible mommy for not giving her what she wanted, and ended up asking for a dressing room to nurse.

And Dressing rooms aren't in the public. They are very much private. At least I would hope so. I don't want the world to be seeing my naked body changing into clothes at a store, so I'd hope they'd be private and not out for the public to see my fat hangin' out all over the place. So, really what is the problem with bottle or BFing in a dressing room? Diaper changing I can understand why they wouldn't want that in the dressing room, but feeding the kid....not so much.

Someone else made a comment about all restrooms having seating....ummm...not ALL have seating or family restrooms. And some that have the seating have really gross digusting seating, that I personally wouldn't even touch let alone sit to rest on. But even if you are in the bathroom, sitting on a bench or chair and not in a stall (hiding from the world), how is that any different than being on a bench outside of the bathroom? People are still coming in and going out of the restroom all the time. Where's the privacy in that? At least in a dressing room, you get the privacy that you want and it's quiet and sorta clean. KWIM?

It's not like these women were asking to flale their boobies out in the middle of the store for all of God and creation to see. They both asked to use a dressing room stall for privacy to nurse their children. To me, that's not really nursing in public. Yes you are in a public place, but it's a private environment where no one is staring. Make sense?

And don't get me wrong, I have had to BF in a restroom before....sitting on a toilet in fact...at the Ontario Airport in Ontario, CA. It was gross, smelly, disgusting, had people banging on the door to get in, and was all around a horrible experience. Lorelei and I both were unsatisfied. Her b/c I couldn't relax to release the amount of milk she wanted, and myself b/c it wasn't all that private, clean or quiet. Just my two cents.

Bee_Kay replied:
That is exactly my point. That's just nasty.

I (seriously) can't see how someone can get offended by a mother BF her baby..... and every single time I've seen a mother BF in public, they are always discreet.... most have a recieving blanket draped over their shoulder and the baby.

Even if you see a flash of a boobie... big deal.... Victoria Secret flaunts almost as much

Brias3 replied: I do think that this is kind of ridiculous- after all, not only does the store advertise boobs but heck, if the mother wants to do it in the privacy of a dressing room, why are we complaining here? I guess the only argument I MIGHT see in favor of the other side would be the availability of rooms. If a mother needs to nurse, I'd say either take a quick trip out to the car or hit a department store in the mall with plenty of different dressing rooms and cubicles in them. That way, doing something outside of shopping in a specialty store such as Victoria's Secret need not be a nuisance or inconvenience to every other shopper.

JMO....I nursed only my first for a few months and was never too public about it. Usually would just go to the car.

holley79 replied: I really hope this doesn't get too heated....

Anyways, I am a nursing mother. Before I never gave nursing a second thought and would never have NIP. Now I could care less. I got so tired of thawing out milk to take along just in case Annika got hungry. I ended up wasting so much EBM that it was not even funny. Finally I was fed up and decided one day I would just try NIP. I had a very light weight blanket draped over Annika and my shoulder. No one ever saw a thing. (I'm sure they knew what I was doing though. )



I totally agree with this. They were customers, it's not like they walked in to just use the dressing room.

I also think they would be more swayed if letters came pouring in and also the leg needs to get involved. AL just passed a law protecting nursing mothers. I think every state needs to adopt this policy.

Jamison'smama replied: Whenever I needed to NIP I would specifically look for a store that was woman-friendly. If there was no Motherhood (where they WELCOME nursing moms with a sign on their window) I would look for store specifically for women assuming they would be more open to the needs of women. As I would have thought Victoria's Secret would be. I agree, there are so many restrooms in our mall that do not have seats in them and when you need to nurse, sometimes it can't wait until you locate such a place. I would NEVER nurse on a toilet but I have nursed almost everyplace else. The more laws support BF, the more it will become accepted in our society.

amynicole21 replied: Honestly, I had no idea there weren't laws protecting nursing everywhere! It's just common sense - a child has the right to nurse anywhere they are allowed to be. People get sex and food all mixed up in these debates. It's not about me doing a strip tease in the middle of Victoria's Secret. It's about me feeding my child. Good lord people! How freaking stone aged are we? Oh, never mind, in the stone ages it was acceptable - not now in "today's civilized society."

AlexsPajamaMama replied: I'm not a nursing mom, so I dont know what my exact thoughts on this are....
but

I'd rather see a mother nursing her child than hear her child screaming while I'm eatting out or shopping. No one is forced to watch it, just go about your business and don't look! JMHO

Amanda replied: Why do people nurse in their car? Why make a long trek back to a hot car to nurse a sweaty, screaming baby when there are so many other options? The food court, if no where else. And nursing in the bathroom? Gross. This suggestion always annoys me the most. Smelling the fecal matter of strange women is what my baby and I love to do while he's trying to woof down dinner.

The fact that MA of all states doesn't have laws that protect nursing mothers and babies is absurd. Bizzare. It's actually pretty shocking.

And if I had been the mother turned away from the dressing room, I would have grabbed the nearest bikini and asked for a fitting room with a wink and a smile and proceeded to nurse my baby.

boyohboyohboy replied: Does anyone know if there is a link to know what are the laws in each state regarding NIP?

amynicole21 replied:

I googled it and found this... pretty interesting.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/breast50.htm

aspenblue1 replied: I know in Ohio they passes a law allowing mothers to nurse in public and can not be asked to go to the bathroom.

As for using bathroom. I will not go in a public restroom much less take my baby into one to nurse. That is all I am going to say on the subject.

holley79 replied:
Thank you Amy. Florida falls right under that. I just printed the statue that it linked to and am going to carry it in my diaper bag.

boyohboyohboy replied: I checked the site, thanks Holley79, I was surprised to see that Pa does not have a law protecting mothers for NIP,
I know I have seen others..
thats really sad.

holley79 replied:
That is sad. Do you know many nursing mothers or just mothers in general. Get them all together and have everyone write letters to the state. Get the ball rolling and see what can be done. If someone doesn't speak up then nothing will come of it.

A&A'smommy replied: wow that was wrong!!! I hope it helps!!

MyLuvBugs replied: Yeah, Nebraska only has a law protecting Nursing moms on Jury duty. Luckily most of the Drs, Nurses and midwives STRONGLY suggest BFing over bottle here.

In fact, the mall actually created (in the fall) an entire family room with a separate restroom that is private. It's got 3 stalls for nursing (gliders in them and a curtain for privacy), two couches and a TV for kids, 4 changing stations with heated wet-wipes, and a separate restroom stall with two toilets (a short one and a tall one). Unfortunately there's only one in the entire mall. But at least they made the effort.

There still isn't a law to protect NIP anywhere else in the city or state, and that worries me a little. But I'm hoping with all the medical community's focus on BFing that it is accepted here. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

And I'm sorry holley if you feel like any of us were debating this issue. I don't think we were, but it is a big topic of discussion across the country.