The “issue” of whether or not it is appropriate or acceptable to breastfeed your baby in public sparks debate whenever it’s brought up.
Knowing how expensive formula feeding can be, many mothers opt breastfeeding over bottle feeding. What’s most, it is scientifically proven that mother’s milk is the healthiest choice because it contains high level and perfect balance of nutrients, it’s easily digested and absorbed, the baby itself determines the amount it consumes, contains Immunoglobulins which provides passive immunity for baby. Actually, the benefits are endless.
We should all understand the simple fact that when the baby is hungry, it doesn’t know and doesn’t care whether the mom is outside or at home. They only want their food, and that’s it. I guess the real shame here are not the moms who choose to breastfeed their babies in public, but the fact that there aren’t enough accommodations for them to be able to do so.
Despite all this, there are still people out there who are outraged by the scene of a mother and her baby bonding through breastfeeding and ask them to cover themselves while doing so.
This was the case with a Kentucky mother Sadie Durbin who was having dinner at the Texas Roadhouse with her husband and her 7-month-old baby. She explains what happened, saying:
“She got hungry, so she needed to nurse. I latched her on like I always do, and she was nursing for maybe five minutes when I saw the manager coming around the corner, walking fast and shaking his head at me with a napkin in his hands.”
The manager, who is a father of six children, told Sadie how many of his customers complained about her breastfeeding her baby without a cover, so he dared to approach this mother and put a napkin on the baby’s face. Sadie refused to cover her baby with that napkin so the manager just put it on the table and left angrily.
Sadie says how despite using a cover, she breastfed her baby very discretely, without offending anyone.
“There were two giant peanut buckets in front of me, she was wrapped up in a blanket and I had her in a cross-cradle position, as discrete as I can be. I find it really difficult, pretty much impossible, to cover. I have to hold my breast, I have to hold the [nipple] shield, and I have to hold her head perfectly in order to nurse her. She unlatches as soon as I try to put a cover over her.”
Sadie could notice one woman talking to the manager, so she asked the waitress whether she was the one who found her breastfeeding offensive, but instead of an answer, the manager came and once again asked her to cover up. Sadie refused and she and her husband left the place.
She decided to share the incident on her Facebook page, not assuming it will gather so much attention. And while many people supported her for what she did, others posted negative comments, and even threats.
Durbin has decided to sue Texas Roadhouse because she says,
“There’s a law, but there’s no penalty attached to the law.”
She does this mainly for the other moms out there who can find themselves in similar situations. She says,
“I think that if I can avoid one mom feeling like I felt in that situation, then yes, I am happy I spoke out.”
Do you think the manager’s reaction was justified, or you support Sadie’s decision?
Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.