We all know breastfeeding moms tend to have a tough time in public places, but three women recently decided they have had enough. After a Texas woman was kicked out of a Hollister store because she was nursing her baby, Delaware moms Diana Hitchens, Autumne Murray, and Jessica Hitchens staged a "nurse in" at their local Hollister store at the Concord Mall…and unfortunately, the response was pretty much exactly what you'd expect it to be.
The three apparently all arrived nursing their babies and carrying signs that read, "Normalize breastfeeding in public. Do you eat in public? Why shouldn't our babies?" and "Hey Hollister, my baby has a right to eat. It's the law." But though they're right (women are legally allowed to breastfeed in any public or private location in Delaware), it doesn't mean that the mall security was very happy to see them.
Just moments after their arrival, security guards approached and began questioning them. "They started…asking us why we were exposing ourselves and saying that we needed to leave or cover up," Murray said. After arguing for a few minutes, the guards left…only to return later on with a Delaware State Trooper.
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Of course, the entire incident sparked an online frenzy, which then resulted in the following statement from a Concord Mall rep:
The contract security officer involved in this unfortunate incident was immediately removed from the Concord Mall. The Delaware State Police were not called because a woman was breastfeeding their child. The State Police patrol the mall as a usual patrol and came up on the security officer and the women arguing. The trooper intervened and the security officer was removed and sent home pending further action.
Um…couldn't they have avoided this entirely unnecessary drama by just leaving them alone in the first place? Seriously, I can't even believe this argument is still going on. Women who need to breastfeed their babies need to use their breasts to do so. That's not inappropriate exposure, it's nature. But for some reason completely beyond my comprehension, people, like these security guards, see boobs and their brains explodes into an unusuable pile of mush. The women were nursing, not reenacting Girls Gone Wild, for Pete's sake.
Can moms wear something that perhaps keeps them a little more covered while feeding their children in public? Absolutely. But should they be required to? No. At the end of the day, it's their babies, their bodies and most importantly, their right.
Image via NBC 10
