No matter where you go in the United States, Washington DC, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, you have a right to breastfeed in public. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, that means it is illegal for anyone to ask you to leave a public area to breastfeed. In 31 states, breastfeeding laws exempt nursing parents from public indecency laws. So although the laws are nuanced, in general, there is nothing that should hinder a mom from feeding her child in a public space, least of all a store employee.
New Jersey mom Sahana Chowdhary, however, was told by such an individual that she was not allowed to use the store’s dressing rooms to feed a baby.
Making a return trip home from Manhattan, Chowdhary’s 8-month-old daughter began getting fussy. Needing to make some returns anyway, Chowdhary and her family stopped at The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, according to NJ.com. The mom took her infant and 7-year-old to the closest store, a Cohoes’ department store, and headed straight for the fitting rooms.
The mom reportedly told the employee that she planned to use a fitting room to feed her baby, but she was not allowed to go in. That’s when the mom took out her phone and started recording, according to WABC.
“Fitting room is for trying on clothes it’s not for feeding babies, I cannot give you a space you’re not supposed to be feeding in public,” a man, who was reportedly a manager, said in the video.
@sahanachowdhury7 I still can’t believe this happened. In New Jersey, at Cohoes inside the @The Mills at Jersey Gardens mall, I was outrightly told that breastfeeding is not allowed in the fitting room. I was mocked for simply trying to feed my baby, and when I asked for a space to breastfeed, I was denied entry, even though my little one was hungry in my arms. As a mother, it was humiliating, heartbreaking, and frustrating to be treated this way in a place where I should have felt safe and supported @Burlington , this is unacceptable. No mom should ever have to go through this. Then I went next door to @Primark , and the staff there were so kind and accommodating. They immediately gave me space in their fitting room without hesitation, and treated me with the respect and understanding every mom deserves. For anyone who doesn’t know — New Jersey law protects a mother’s right to breastfeed her child in any public or private place where she is otherwise allowed to be. No store or staff member has the right to shame, stop, or block a mother from feeding her baby. To every mom: please remember you are fully within your rights. Don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise. Feeding your baby is love, it’s nature, and it’s your right. #breastfeeding #breastfeetingjourney #breastfeedingtok #breastfedbabyprobs #newjersey #burlingtondeals ♬ original sound – Sahana's adventures
The mom began questioning her sanity and wondered if she was wrong for insisting she was allowed to breastfeed in public.
“A mother is entitled to breastfeed her baby in any location of a place of public accommodation, a resort or amusement where the mother is otherwise entitled to be. We have to do a better job of getting the word out,” Ellen Maughan, a breastfeeding advocate, told WABC.
The mom ultimately went to Primark, where she had no issues feeing the baby.
A spokesperson for Cohoes’, a Burlington Store, put out an apology statement. “We deeply regret the situation that this customer experienced, which is inconsistent with our values of being a welcoming and inclusive space for our customers,” it reads in part. “It is our policy to make our fitting rooms available for women who wish to breastfeed in private and in select store locations, a lactation room is available to customers on a first come first serve basis.”
