Breast-feeding mother asked to leave Olive Garden
Woman refused to take baby to rest room
Deborah Sederberg
The News-Dispatch
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
MICHIGAN CITY - The mother of an 11-month-old baby girl was asked to leave the local Olive Garden restaurant after she refused to move to the restaurant's rest room to nurse the baby.
Margaret Naas, La Porte, mother of 11-month-old Katie, decided she might like some chicken Parmesan for lunch on Monday. After she ordered, Katie decided she was hungry as well.
"She wanted to nurse," Naas said. "It was 80 degrees out and I didn't have any blanket or cover with me," she added. Here is where her story breaks from the Olive Garden's spokesman's story. She said she lowered only one side of her halter top to nurse the baby.
Mark Jaronski, corporate spokesman for Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden restaurants, said several other guests spoke to a local Olive Garden manager, complaining not about a mother nursing her baby but about what they saw as the mother's lack of modesty. Speaking from his office in Florida, Jaronski said he had been told Naas "had taken her halter top down and was completely exposed.
"Several guests asked the manager to speak to her," he said. Naas said the manager, a woman, was polite. "She said she wasn't speaking for herself but for others." The manager offered her the option of nursing her baby in the restaurant's rest room.
"That's disgusting," said Tammy Pray, a lactation counselor for WIC (Women, Infants, Children) a nutrition program for mothers and their young children funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Who would want to feed their children in a bathroom?" Pray asked.
Naas didn't want to feed Katie there. The Olive Garden Staff boxed up her lunch, she paid her tab of about $12, which included a soft drink, and left. Pray was the one who first brought the matter to the attention of The News-Dispatch. Naas said her intention was not to stir up trouble.
"My baby just wanted to nurse," Naas said.
According to the Indiana State Department of Health Web site, Indiana's breast feeding law says, "Not withstanding any other law, a woman may breast feed her child anywhere the woman has a right to be. Source: Indiana Code 16-35-6-1 Chapter 6, Sec. 7."
So I'm very PRO breastfeeding! I think it is a woman's right and it's good for the baby. Let's think about this a bit though. You're going to lunch, your 11-month old will probably want lunch around the same time. It's possible you will have to breast feed.
You have several options:
1) Pump before you go so you can give her a bottle instead of your boob.
2) Remember your blanket or wrap so you maintain modesty in public.
(I don't care if it's 80 degrees out! If you breastfeed, you might need it!)
3) Feed before or after you go into the restaurant.
Yes it's disgusting to have to breastfeed your baby in the bathroom! I feel bad for all parties involved though. That poor manager had to tell the woman that other people were uncomfortable with her actions which in turn made the woman uncomfortable. I have to ask the mothers out there, would you have dropped your
halter top in public with no blanket to nurse your 11 month old?
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I absolutely would have been uncomfortable, especially if my 9 year old son had been there. But then again, I've always been pro-breast feeding AS LONG as there is a cover up. I've always had issues with women who say that its a natural thing and should be allowed anywhere. I can think of many natural things that don't need to be viewed by everyone!
ReplyDeleteha! Did you see my FB status? I also commented in the H-A online. I'm sure you can figure out my alias. I totally agree with you. I have breastfed 3 babies (not at the same time) in restaurants all over this state and never had so much as a weird look. But I maintain decency and cover up. If I was her I would have asked for a table cloth or napkin or gone out to the car to feed. But I would be totally offended if asked to nurse in the bathroom. Both the restaurant and the mom are at fault here.
ReplyDeleteI once waited on a woman that insisted on putting her unmentionables out for everyone to see, in the name of breastfeeding. It was an awkward table. I remember Caleb walking by them and going, "Woah, they're really hanging out." Yes, Caleb, they were.
ReplyDeleteShe could have asked for a napkin. They have large, cloth napkins at Olive Garden.
ReplyDeletep.s. it only takes one breast at a time to feed your baby.
ReplyDeleteI'm pro-breastfeeding, but I think you need to be modest. Also, if the baby was 11 months, she/he could have eaten something else. At that age they can eat pretty much anything.
ReplyDeleteI am a reastaurant breast-feeder and proud of it! Not that I like to, but there have been a couple of times when it was necessary. But I have to say, if you are a breast-feeding mom, not having a blanket or "hooter hider" (as I like to call them) is like NOT HAVING A DIAPER! How do you not have someting to cover up with? I like the napkin idea at least.
ReplyDelete