Member Since: 11/2/2007
Posts: 491
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New Mothers Hold Protest for Public Breast Feeding
this is something that happened in my city so i just wanted to post it, i was wondering what your views are on this, i think it's a little much..
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Dozens of nursing mothers crowded into a downtown Vancouver H&M clothing store over the lunch hour on Thursday to protest the way the chain treated a breastfeeding mother last weekend.
Manuela Valle said three store employees told her last week that H&M policy did not allow her to nurse her eight-week-old baby in the store because it might offend other customers, and ushered her to a backroom.
Breastfeeding advocates reacted by organizing a protest — dubbed a "nurse-in" — at the store on Thursday.
Just after noon the trendy clothing store in a downtown mall was filled with a sea of nursing moms, strollers, toddlers, dads and others who turned out to make a political point.
"It is normal. It is not obscene. It is every baby's need to have food and be nourished and nurtured," said Veronika Polanska as she rallied the moms to publicly feed their babies.
Most of the women didn't know each other or Manuela Valle, but said they heard about the protest through the internet or media and wanted to make a statement.
Some young protesters at the H&M store in Vancouver seemed unaware of what all the fuss was about. (CBC)
"I don't want to live a world or city where that's acceptable to shun women for breastfeeding," said nursing mum Sonia Tilley-Strobel.
As for H&M, their corporate spokeswoman Laura Shankland flew in from Toronto for what could have been a public relations disaster to openly welcome the nursing moms.
"We apologize. And it seems to be a miscommunication and a misunderstanding. Our policy is to allow breastfeeding nursing mothers to breastfeed or express milk freely in our stores," said Shankland.
H&M says it has clarified its breastfeeding policy with all staff in all stores.
But the woman and child at the centre of the controversy were not at Thursday's nurse-in. Manuela Valle's two-month-old daughter came down with a fever after her first vaccination and was home being cared for by her mom.
~ cbc.ca
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