New mother gets told to breastfeed in the disabled toilet at a restaurant
A new mother goes out for lunch for the first time since her son was born and gets told to breastfeed in the disabled toilets...
New mothers have a lot to adapt to after giving birth. From the changes in their body and their mindset to readjusting to caring for a new baby. And then there is the topic of breastfeeding...
So when it comes to embracing a very natural and amazing experience, it should be welcomed by society, not shunned, into a toilet.
This new mother did not have a delightful first outing when it came to breastfeeding her eight-week-old baby.
Jessi Ferguson, 23, decided to go out for lunch with her mother and her eight-week-old for the first time after giving birth. They decided to go to the popular restaurant, TGI Friday, in England.
After some time she asked one of the waitrons where she could breastfeed her baby, Louis, and was told that she could use the disabled toilets to feed her baby. Let's just say that this was not the answer they were expecting!
The toilet! In this day and age, every restaurant should be equipped to cater for breastfeeding mothers, not just in our country but around the world. So we are shocked that she had to go through this, and not just her but her baby boy.
Mother to Jessi, Catherine, was left in complete disarray and anger as she was shocked that they would suggest that her daughter feed her grandson in the toilet, considering that the world is dealing with combatting COVID-19 and most likely don't deep clean the toilet regularly.
She also mentioned that her daughter could only feed Louis in the rugby ball position and so she can't imagine how difficult that must've been for her, besides the fact that she was to sit on a public toilet and feed her child.
The restaurant manager found out what had happened and apologised profusely and also comped their meal. Yes, the family could have easily left the restaurant but with a small baby, and considering it was Jessi's first time out after giving birth, it would have been too time-consuming.
The manager also mentioned that they have measures in place for breastfeeding mothers and the person that informed them to use the disabled toilet was new and did not know. Well then, we guess you need to look into training the staff better.
We have many mothers who are breastfeeding locally and around the world and it's important not to discriminate against them and to make sure that we are inclusive at all times.
Image Courtesy of Pixabay