Breastfeeding your baby is a basic necessity and right. You would think that, in this day and age, everyone would understand this. Unfortunately, there are some people and companies who disagree, even if the state and federal laws protect moms’ rights to do so in public.
Mom Tiffany Francis went viral in the media after sharing an emotional story on Facebook about how the staff at Rigby’s Water World in Georgia left her feeling “upset and appalled” because she breastfed her son at the theme park. Scroll down for the full story.
Bored Panda has reached out to Tiffany via Facebook, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from her.
Some people still have a warped perspective when it comes to breastfeeding in public
One mom shared how upset she felt when water park employees told her to stop nursing her son in public
Image source: Tiffany Francis
The law is very clear about breastfeeding in public and private
Image credits: Lisa Fotios (not the actual photo)
Let’s get a few things straight from the get-go. The law is very clear about moms’ rights. The Georgia Breastfeeding Law states: “The breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture which should be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health. A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorized to be.”
Moreover, at work, employers are obligated to “provide time for women to express breast milk for [their] infant child,” and moms are supposed to get “paid break time and [a] private location for [the] expression of breast milk.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, have laws that “specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.”
What’s more, 31 states also have laws that exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws.
It is ironic (and slightly insulting) that any water park would prohibit breastfeeding when the entire point of these places is for people to swim around semi-dressed.
With so many bodies swimming everywhere, it’s inevitable that there will be some sweat, saliva, hair, urine, and even fecal matter found in the water. It is ridiculous to claim that breastmilk would ‘contaminate’ the water. For one, it is antimicrobial. On top of that, there are other contaminants surrounding every water park visitor as it is.
The water park faced a lot of backlash at the time, and many internet users stood in support of the mom
However, some people had a different opinion
One of the business owners later responded to the mom in the comments of her Facebook post
The theme park updated its policy after the incident went viral
Image credits: RossHelen (not the actual photo)
According to People and Business Insider, the water park has updated its breastfeeding policy since the incident.
Mom Tiffany shared with Business Insider that she did explain to Rigby’s Water World general manager that barring someone from breastfeeding was illegal. The mom felt humiliated by the entire ordeal.
A representative from Rigby’s Water World told Business Insider that the goal was never to embarrass the mom. The theme park quickly updated its breastfeeding policy after what happened. Now, moms are allowed to breastfeed anywhere in the water park.
On top of that, all the employees working at the theme park have been educated about the change in policy.
However, at the time, Tiffany didn’t feel like the apology was sufficient. “I don’t feel a sincere apology at all, but they said, ‘Oh, well, we’ve said sorry.’ And they’ve changed their unwritten policy to say you can now do something that was already legal,” she said.
“I told one person yesterday, I was like, ‘If you’re going to say something to a breastfeeding mom, make it positive, because that’s something it’s going to stick with them forever’ It sticks with you because it’s a very sensitive topic. It’s crazy that this is even still happening to people in this day and age.”
Rigby’s manager Steve Brown told People that the entire situation was a misinterpretation of policy. “When we decided to create this policy that we didn’t allow women to breastfeed in the pools, it was strictly for the pools. We have always welcomed it on the pool deck, but we have asked folks not to breastfeed in pools for a number of reasons,” he said.
“Mrs. Francis wanted to use the pool so the motion of the river could help her child fall asleep. And she asked for a refund for her season pass, which we do not do refunds on per our policy,” he said.
“I looked up the law and saw that mothers have the right to breastfeed anywhere they are reasonably allowed to be with their child. So I reached out to professionals in the aquatics field and to the local health department, which didn’t have a policy set aside from no food or drink in the pools.”
He continued: “After consulting with more professionals in the industry, we made the decision to change our policy and did so as of that evening, which I responded to on the post. We admit we were wrong. We made a mistake and have apologized to Mrs. Francis both publicly and privately.”
The manager added: “Mothers are allowed to breastfeed in the pools now. Saturday morning, I sent out a memo to all staff and spoke to staff directly to retrain them on how they should handle any situation with a breastfeeding mom in the pools.”
A Water Park Bans Mom From Breastfeeding In Water, Her Rant Goes Viral Online Causing Backlash Bored Panda
