|
Women support friend told breast-feeding 'obscene'
|
|
| |
|
A dozen women, many wearing infants in slings and holding toddlers by the hand, waded into the water at Rice Pool and Water Park in Wheaton and nursed their babies when necessary to show support for breast-feeding moms.
(SUN PHOTO)
|
WHEATON, IL -- A group of breast-feeding moms staged a "nurse-in" at a public pool Friday afternoon in response to what they called discrimination by pool employees.
A dozen women, many wearing infants in slings and holding toddlers by the hand, waded into the water at Rice Pool and Water Park in Wheaton and nursed their babies when necessary. The demonstration was so low-key, other swimmers might not have noticed - except for the official statement posted at the pool entrance, which said, "Wheaton Park District Welcomes 'Nurse-in' to Rice Pool and Water Park - Apologizes for Goof."
The "goof" happened July 6, according to a letter from pool patron Christina Ogan to Michael Benard, park district executive director. Ogan, a Warrenville resident, felt harassed for breast feeding her baby during a visit to the pool that day. State law protects a woman's right to breast feed anywhere she is otherwise permitted to be.
While Ogan was nursing her 16-month-old son, John, a female manager "suggested that what I was doing was obscene and said, 'This is a family establishment,'" Ogan wrote in the letter, dated Aug. 6. No patrons had complained, but another staff member apparently had. Ogan continued, "Extremely surprised by her confrontational manner, I maintained a calm demeanor for the sake of my baby and told her it was the most important thing I could do for my family. ... Later, I was confronted by two male employees while breast feeding my baby. Their choice of words, that it was a 'family establishment,' again baffled me. Our family left the pool."
Ogan attended Friday's demonstration but declined to comment for this story.
Benard said he apologized to Ogan in a letter hand-delivered to her Friday.
"I'm embarrassed about it," he said. "It's not going to happen again."
He also spoke privately with the staff members involved in the July 6 incident, and he briefed the entire pool staff on the planned demonstration and Illinois' Right to Breastfeed Act.
Dan Novak, park district aquatics manager, said in a statement that the protesters would not disrupt the normal operations of the water park.
"These folks are moms, and they know that our first priorities are the safety and enjoyment of their children," he said in the statement.
Stephanie Wills Eby of Naperville organized the nurse-in to show support for her friend. She nursed her daughters Simone, 4, and Kaiya, 2, for about two years each. She's now nursing her 3-month-old son, Ezra, and while she has noticed an occasional look of disapproval from a passerby, she never has been asked to stop.
"I've breast fed on park benches, in church, in the store, wherever," she said.
Erin Yonke of Wheaton nursed her 9-month-old son, Ambrose, during the demonstration. She had heard about it through friends on an online message board.
"It's something I really support, and in the state of Illinois, a mother has the right to nurse wherever she has the right to be," she said.
With her 14-month-old daughter, Natalie, at her breast, Naperville resident Erin LaPointe said she wanted the pool to see how normal breast feeding was. As she was talking, a teenage boy shouted to a male friend, "Enjoy the protest!" Then he laughed.
LaPointe shrugged it off. But another mom noticed the red capital letters spelling "staff" on the back of his T-shirt.
"I guess they haven't learned yet," she said.
See also: 50 State Summary of Breastfeeding Laws
|
