Breastfeeding Moms Stage Nurse-In at Kmart

Taryn Starkey Photography 

A group of local parents banded together at an Oklahoma Kmart over the weekend to protest an employee telling another mom to stop breastfeeding her 3-month-old daughter.

Carrying a sign that read, “This baby needs my milk. Not your approval,” Angie Hepp was one of the approximately 40 demonstrators, which also included husbands and kids. Many of the women nursed their own children inside the Oklahoma store on Dec 14.

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“The vibe was extremely nonchalant, cordial, and peaceful,” Hepp tells Yahoo Parenting. “No yelling, no chanting. There were no boobs hanging out and you wouldn’t even know we were breastfeeding unless you purposely looked.”

The group was taking a stand in defense of Angelica Williams, who was told by a store employee to stop breastfeeding her infant while she waited to check out. “When moms do breastfeed they look for support. I don’t think anyone should be ashamed of it or embarrassed,” Williams told Fox 23.

A rep for Kmart apologizes, and tells Yahoo Parenting that it was “simply a case of miscommunication.”

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“We certainly respect a mother’s right to nurse in our stores. We also offer adequate privacy and comfort,” says Howard Riefs, Director of Corporate Public Relations. “We are following up with the store to continue to reinforce the proper policies and procedures.”

Photo courtesy of Angie Hepp

Kmart’s action was actually against state law. According to the National Congress of State Legislatures, 46 states, including Oklahoma; the District of Columbia; and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.

Samantha Pritchett, who took her 7-month-old baby to the nurse-in told, told Yahoo Parenting: “They need to discuss breastfeeding with their employees and make them aware of the laws that protect nursing mothers.”

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Hepp hopes women feel comfortable enough to nurse wherever they choose.

“Women should feel accepted (and applauded!) for breastfeeding their babies in a restaurant booth, on a bench in the mall, on the grass at a park, or in line at the grocery store,” she tells Yahoo Parenting.

This isn’t the first time a store has come under fire for telling a woman to stop breastfeeding. Last April, a mom was asked by an employee of a Beverly Hills Anthropologie to use the bathroom to nurse her 6-week-old newborn.

“The manager asked to escort me to the [employee] bathroom and I thought it was because I had asked her if there was a restroom at one point—because I needed to use the bathroom,” mom Ingrid Weise Hesson tells Yahoo Parenting.

Hesson, who spent over $700 in the store that day, says

the manager offered to bring a chair into the bathroom - and that’s when it clicked. “I asked her if she thought I was going to nurse in the bathroom and she replied they discourage that kind of thing on the sales floor.” Hesson wasted no time sharing this incident on social media.

The next day – after her Facebook post went viral – local moms came to together and nursed on overstuffed couches and chairs set on the sales floor of the South Beverly Drive store. “It was a missed opportunity for Anthropologiebecause they didn’t use this attention to come out and support breastfeeding … and women.” Hesson wants breastfeeding moms to know there is no right or wrong choice when it comes to how you choose to feed your child. “Make the choice and stand up for it!”

But it’s not just retailers that have faced controversy over this topic. Last summer, talk show host Wendy Williams expressed negativity towards 25-year-old Karlesha Thurman, who chose to nurse her baby during her college commencement ceremony. To that, 30 mothers showed up in front of the talk show host’s New York studio and breastfed their babies in support of the graduate.

“I want other breastfeeding moms to feel confident in their role as provider and sustainer for their babies. I don’t want them to feel awkward or ashamed for providing their babies with the best food on earth,” Hepp tells Yahoo Parenting.

Another nurse-in is scheduled for Dec. 19.

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