An infuriated mother has heavily slammed a department store after they told her that she could only breastfeed her baby in the bathroom of the store.
Whittney Hope, from Tennessee, was shopping at the US store Dillards, in her hometown of Chattanooga, when her young daughter needed to be fed.
She was then told by a member of staff that she could only breastfeed in a secluded part of the store, but Whittney was then told that she would have to do so in the bathroom instead.
As she was leaving, Whittney spotted a large advert in the store of woman modelling lingerie. Furious, she decided to feed her tot in front of the poster, snapping a powerful picture in the process.
The frustrated mum wanted to show the irony of being told to go to the bathroom to feed her daughter, when advertising in the store showed a woman’s breasts blown up to large proportions on a poster.
After complaining to the store manager, Whittney headed home and posted the photo to the Dillard’s Facebook page alongside a comment about what happened.
She wrote:
This afternoon while shopping in your store, (Hamilton Place- Chattanooga) my daughter got really fussy. I searched for a quiet secluded area to nurse my child.
When I found a place I asked if it was okay for her to eat here. The employee at customer service nodded. I then began to nurse my child. I didn’t use a cover up (I did that in the pic to prove the irony) I discreetly pulled my shirt down and her head covered me up. The same lady then told me I could not “do that” here.
She told me I would need to go to the restroom. I was completely shocked as I have never had anyone comment on me breastfeeding in the whole 18 months I have been nursing. Yet alone, another woman, possibly a mother herself. I repeated her to make sure I understood.
Annoyed, she began to tell me the directions to the restroom again.. (Down the hall, take the elevator, then around the corner) I’m sure my hungry child would understand that we have to take a journey to somewhere more secluded where she can eat.. NOT.
I immediately went and asked for the manager so I could file a formal complaint (which I did online) As we were leaving the store I passed by this advertisement for bras. I mean seriously the lady’s face is not even in this. Why is it acceptable for a giant picture of BOOBS to be on the wall but I can not feed my child?
Sincerely,
Pissed off Mommy who will never be shopping at Dillards again.
