Mom Kicked out of Public Pool for Breastfeeding Her Baby

In a rather bizarre incident, a nursing mom was ordered to leave a public pool in Texas for trying to feed her child. Some mothers held a “Nurse-In” protest in solidarity with her. When Misty Daugereaux visited the Nessler Park Family Aquatic Center with her children, she didn’t foresee what would happen. In a sharp turn of events, the mother of two was instructed to vacate the pool's premises due to her breasts being in full view during the act of feeding her baby.

The incident sparked a furore in the City of Texas, and other nursing mothers have taken a stand in support of one of their own.

MISTY ORDERED TO LEAVE

Misty went to the public pool accompanied by her two sons, one of whom is a baby. After a while, the baby became hungry, and Misty quickly tried to breastfeed him, being as discreet as she could be.

While doing that, she was accosted by a lifeguard who insisted that she was not allowed to breastfeed her child in a facility with her breasts exposed.

He further explained that it was against the management's policy. The dumbfounded mother felt hurt and embarrassed by the lifeguard’s comments. She requested to see the part of the policy stating that she couldn’t breastfeed her child.

However, the lifeguard insisted, telling Misty that she had to cover up. Soon the Texas Police and the pool’s manager were called in to manage the situation, prompting Misty to leave.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

Texas City laws do not prohibit nursing mothers from breastfeeding their children in public. Every mother can feed her child wherever they are allowed entrance. Hence, the pool’s staff's argument that the nursing mom had her breast exposed has no standing.

CITY LEADERS' RESPONSE

In response to the incident, the City of Texas issued a statement in which it claimed that it was looking into the concerns raised by the nursing mom as well as how the pool staff handled the matter.

The City also apologized to Misty as she was visibly offended by the happening. They also promised to review and revise the City policies and procedures while addressing any mismanagement by the staff with further training.

MOMS ORGANIZE A “NURSE-IN” AND MISTY IS PROUD

Nursing mothers, a majority of them of Galveston County Breastfeeding Support group, held a protest in solidarity with one of their own. They said they have the right to breastfeed wherever they wanted. Their actions raised Misty’s spirits, and she said their show of support was strengthening and made her feel loved.

ABC CONDUCTS A BREASTFEEDING TEST

ABC’s John Quinones and his team carried out a test to discover what people would do when confronted with the sight of a breastfeeding mom in a public restaurant.

For their test, they went to the Colonial Diner in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and their results were quite interesting.