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Moms face challenges breast-feeding in public
Associated Press
FILE PHOTO
Mich. laws protect mothers from harrassment while breast-feeding in public.
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Michigan and federal laws give nursing mothers the right to breast-feed in public.
That doesn’t mean their right always is respected. Molly Bascom-Keller of Oak Park said she experienced hostility to breast feeding during a December visit to Summit Place Mall in this Oakland County Community near Pontiac.
The 31-year-old Oak Park woman was inside the mall’s primary-colored play structure, discreetly nursing her baby while her older children romped in the ball pit.
She said a mall employee crawled on hands and knees through the child-size tunnel toward her, then began screaming for her to stop breast-feeding. The guard accused her of offending other customers while wagging a finger in the nursing mother’s face, Bascom-Keller told the Detroit Free Press for a story Tuesday.
“I was shocked when it happened and I went home in tears,” said Bascom-Keller, who said she also had been badgered for breast-feeding at the Detroit Zoo, museums and restaurants. Mall policy prohibits food and drinks in the play area, and breast milk is food, mall officials said.
What happened to Bascom-Keller is echoed by mothers across the state and the nation. They call it an act of discrimination that has forced many to breast-feed in isolation.
“We see women at the beaches in string bikinis, we see them in their underwear in magazines and newspaper ads, but we don’t have a problem with any of that,” said Elizabeth Baldwin, a Florida lawyer who specializes in breast-feeding laws. “We’ve sexualized the breast to the point that we’re uncomfortable with the fact that breasts are made to nurture babies,” Baldwin said. “Breast-feeding is not a lifestyle choice, it’s a health choice for mother and baby.”
Regardless, some Michigan residents find the act too private for public places. They say public breast-feeding sends the wrong message.
“A woman’s body is a temple and it is not to be exposed to everyone,” said Anthony Friend, a 43-year-old Detroiter. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate. The message it sends out to young kids is that it’s OK to expose your intimate parts in public when it’s not.”
Federal legislation protects breast-feeding in public. Many states, including Michigan, have laws that further protect nursing mothers from harassment.
In Michigan, laws were enacted in 1994 that not only exempt breast-feeding from prosecution but also protect mothers even when the breast is exposed during feeding. The legislation also forces courts to consider a child’s nursing when deciding parenting time in divorce cases. Breast-feeding advocates say the laws are meant not only to protect mothers but to encourage the duration of nursing.
“Many women don’t know what their rights are, so we’re trying to help turn that around,” said Lila Flint, a Royal Oak leader of the breast-feeding advocacy group La Leche League.
In 2001, 70 percent of newborns nationally were given breast milk, but six months later, only 33 percent continued to nurse. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breast-feeding forat least the first year and is concerned with the drop-off rates
after six months.
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