Breastfeeding in public isn't always easy. But when your little one gets hungry there isn't exactly much choice. While mums and activists are working had to lift the stigma around breastfeeding in public, unfortunately there are still some who don't understand it.
That's something that mum Katy Bullard recently encountered in a restaurant. Having dinner in Giovanna's Pizzaria in Phoenix when her 3-month-old daughter got hungry.
Using a t-shirt to cover herself, Katy began to nurse the baby, until the restaurant's owner approached her.
"She proceeded to attempt, without asking if she could touch me, to cover me and my baby's head with a dish rag. I stopped her and told her that my husband and I would leave," she explained in a viral Facebook post. "No one is going to make me cover my daughter who already has a hard time breathing with a damn dish rag."
The manager then told Katy that she had to leave the restaurant if she wanted to continue nursing. Not wanting to cause a scene, they left.
"[She] told me I needed to cover myself up because she's a 'Christian' and my breastfeeding offended her," she continued. "I told her I would not cover up and that I am protected in 49 states and able to breastfeed wherever I want."
Speaking to Fox News, Katy said that she was using the "two-shirt method", which is a vest under a t-shirt to avoid exposure.
"The fact that they claimed I was 'exposed' is unreal to me. This way of breastfeeding keeps all but your baby's head covered and yet they approached me as if I were topless," she told the news channel. "In fact, I nursed my daughter for 20 minutes or so before they even noticed I was breastfeeding."
Nelson Rodriguez, who owns Giovanna's Pizzeria with his wife, replied to the allegations claiming that it was a misunderstanding.
"Giovanna's doesn't discriminate against anyone and most certainly not individuals wanting or needing to breastfeed. We would never intentionally embarrass a client. We were honestly acting in goodwill," he told local media. "We are very sorry this customer felt we intentionally embarrassed her and apologized to her at the time."
Apparently his wife was trying to "assist" Katy, who claims that this is not the case.
"When I told her I would not [cover up], she came over with a dish rag," Katy said. "I am not sure where she got the rag from, but she tried to cover my daughter and me up with it. I told her I didn't want to be covered up and she tried again."
Katy has said that she will never be returning to the restaurant.
