A lot of people have strong opinions about breastfeeding.
Some feel it is OK to breastfeed in public, and other people are totally against it. There are no laws that say a woman cannot breastfeed her child in public, and in fact, many states protect a mom’s right to breastfeed. However, many mothers have been asked to cover up or go somewhere else to do it. Most of the time, they brush it off, but sometimes it can’t be ignored.
One young mother was recently enjoying dinner with her family when her baby got fussy and needed to eat, too.
She breastfeeds and simply decided to do it where she was sitting. She claims that she was not showing much skin, but she was still asked to cover up. (Note: the woman in the featured image is not the woman who the story is about).
When she tried to explain herself to the manager, she was kicked out of the restaurant.
She was not happy about it, and she decided to share her story on Facebook. She posted:
“FM people: Just a heads up, we just went to the soft open of Chick-fil-A West Acres and the owner basically kicked me out for breastfeeding without a cover.
“The owner came to our table where I was showing no more than the upper portion of my breast, barely more than what was visible in my shirt and asked me to cover. I tried to explain that I couldn’t, because my baby refuses to be covered and she started harping about the children and men who can see my indecency and I need to cover. I said they could practice the simple art of looking away and tried to cite North Dakota breastfeeding laws. She told me if I chose not to cover, then she would have to ask me to leave, so I told her my review would reflect my experience and I would be relaying the experience in every local mommy group.”
Her post was shared hundreds of times, and she received an outpouring of support.
She later edited her post to thank everyone saying:
“***Edited to add: Thank you for the support and shares! I cannot keep up with all of the comments and shares, but really appreciate the mostly positive comments.***”
It wasn’t long before word got back to the restaurant. The manager decided to do the right thing and apologize publicly. Whether this was a sincere apology or just an attempt to save face is unknown, but Macy shared the news on her post, as well, saying:
“Update: I was issued the following public apology: ‘I would like to publicly apologize to Macy Hornung for the way I handled the situation on Saturday. I ask for your forgiveness on this matter as I learn from it. My goal is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all of my guests. @macyhornung Sincerely, Kimberly Flamm (Owner/Operator)’”
Not everyone was ready to forgive the manager, but Macy seemed ready to put the incident behind her.
She hopes that by sharing her story, other people will be more aware of how they treat people and more tolerant of breastfeeding moms.
She insists that she wasn’t trying to cause trouble or show off her body; she just wanted to feed her hungry baby. She has the right to do that without feeling like a bad person or being asked to leave the restaurant. Maybe other managers will think twice before running off another breastfeeding mama after hearing her story.
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https://www.facebook.com/macyallyn/posts/10156007869624441
Sources: Macy Hornung, USA Today
