As if parenting wasn’t hard enough, parents also have to deal with others who judge their parenting choices based on a “follow-the-crowd” or outdated belief system. Which is BS because as we said, parenting is hard enough.
A parent’s full focus should be on the well-being of their children and not the small minds of others.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth Herzog was shamed at a Red Robin restaurant in Davenport, IA for trying to get her parenting on in a way that was convenient for her and her child.
Herzog’s daughter was born prematurely at 32 weeks and was just 3.5 lbs. and grew to almost 10 lbs at 5 months old. Georgia needs to breastfeed frequently so Herzog decided to feed her child at the restaurant since the baby needed sustenance.
“I was sitting, breastfeeding her just like this and the manager comes over and taps me on the shoulder and just says ‘Hey, can you cover up a little bit,” Herzog told WQAD.
Though Iowa law states that “a woman may breastfeed the woman’s own child in any public place where the woman’s presence is otherwise authorized,” she got up and left the restaurant since the management was for some reason offended by the centuries-old way a mother feeds her child.
“It doesn’t seem like that big of a task (to cover up) but especially for her (Georgia), I worry, I worry a lot if I can’t see her face,” the mother explained.
Herzog told WQAD that there should be more places like Ross’ Restaurant in Bettendorf where breastfeeding mothers are accepted instead of shamed for feeding their children.
“They talk to me, they don’t worry about the fact that I’m breastfeeding, they don’t comment and if they do it’s “Hey good job, you’re doing great. Keep it up,'” Herzog said.
Cynthia Ross-Freidhof, owner of Ross’ Restaurant says she and her staff are there to support mothers and their hungry babies and want them to feel comfortable at her restaurant.
It’s really shocking that in 2017, people sexualize a woman’s breast and see them as obscene instead of something that can miraculously feed a child.
“I’m doing the best I can and I realize to some people it might look a little weird and I realize to some people, they might be shocked by it but all I’m trying to do is nurse my infant,” Herzog said.
Red Robin told WQAD that they were investigating Herzog’s claim and would take measures to ensure that Iowa state law was followed.
In a post on Facebook, Herzog said that Red Robin issued an apology and offered to pay for a meal for her entire family.
“I’m so glad to hear that they are using this experience for their team’s education about Iowa breastfeeding laws,” she wrote. “This was all I wanted and more after this happened. I’m also pleased that they have donated to a charity in my daughter’s name.”
The donations were made to the March of Dimes and The Texas Diaper Bank.
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