Michelle Hickman, Mom Organizing Target International Nurse-In To Take Place December 28th [UPDATE]

If you thought Target's most notable day of the year was Black Friday, think again. Houston mother Michelle Hickman is planning an international "nurse-in", to be held at all of their locations, next Tuesday December 28th . Hickman says she was harassed and humiliated by Target staff when she found a quiet space in the store to breastfeed her infant, and now wants to "make a stand in support of nursing in public so this doesn't happen again."

[This story has been updated. Scroll down for new information.]

Next week's nurse-in won't be the first of its kind. On December 15th, a Brighton, UK mum gathered 40 women to stage a breastfeeding flash mob in front of Christmas shoppers. And yesterday, 11 mid-western moms tried to activate a similar flash mob at a mall in Troy, Illinois. Security shut down their efforts though.

Hickman told her story to the Best for Babes Foundation, an organization aiming to help moms beat the "Booby Traps" that prevent them from achieving their breastfeeding goals:

"Briefly I will say that 2 female employees came and verbally asked me to move. The 2nd one told me that Target employees had been told/trained to interrupt nursing and to redirect mothers to the fitting rooms. Even after I informed the 2nd employee of my legal right to nurse in public she still suggested me moving closer to the jean display, turning to face another direction, and also turn my basket a certain way which would have put me practically underneath the jean display and totally barricaded me in. Employee #2 even hinted in a threatening way 'you can get a ticket and be reported for indecent exposure.'"

And when she called Target corporate to complain, Hickman says the representative she spoke to -- she didn't get a name -- said "just because it is a woman's right to nurse in public ... doesn't mean women should walk around 'flaunting it'".

To organize the nurse-in, Hickman created a Facebook group (with over 2,600 members already) and wrote on the page:

"Let's show them just how many mamas they've offended. We have a right to shop and meet our babies' needs while doing so. Public humiliation for doing so will not be tolerated."

According to Care2.com, Target has been accused of treating breastfeeding mothers unfairly in the past: in Minneapolis in 2006 and in Michigan in 2009. Following the 2006 incident, Target released the following statement:

Target has a long-standing practice that supports breastfeeding in our stores. We apologize for any inconvenience the guest experienced and will take this opportunity to reaffirm this commitment with our team members. For guests in our stores, we support the use of fitting rooms for women who wish to breastfeed their babies, even if others are waiting to use the fitting rooms. In addition, guests who choose to breastfeed discreetly in more public areas of the store are welcome to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable.

Best for Babes says employees aren't implementing this policy. "We have contacted Target headquarters and have offered to help develop materials that can help them effectively communicate with their employees about nursing in public; our information is being passed on to the employee training department," their website says.

Michelle Hickman's story is (unfortunately) not unique. Click here to see other places where women have been reprimanded for breastfeeding

UPDATE:

12/28: Best for Babes reached out to Target last week to see if they could work together in advance of this event. "Nurse-ins require a lot of time, planning and effort from busy moms," Best for Babes wrote on their website with hopes that they could come to an agreement with the chain. Target's response was unsatisfactory, and the organization has decided to move forward with their demonstration, which will take place today, December 28th.

12/29: Mothers across America participated in today's nurse-in. See video below:

Comments

[dickjcc]

05:25 PM on 05/11/2012

I don't have a problem with Mom's nursing in public. If the child is nursing and hungry you need to feed the child. Besides, it's a beautiful thing.

[MrsRo]

01:12 AM on 01/20/2012

You should be free to breastfeed anywhere you are free to bottle feed. I find her choice to sit on a dirty floor a bit odd. I personally would not have hidden in a change room either, but would have found a bench or something.

[hawhite2000]

04:11 PM on 01/10/2012

OK I don't get it. The two employees asked the woman to avail herself of the fitting rooms, or to hide behind the jeans display. I don't understand why this lady thinks it is ok that she should breastfeed wherever she likes.

[MrsRo]

01:05 AM on 01/20/2012

You can bottle feed wherever you like can't you? Why should she be discriminated against?

[nunya 8]

03:03 PM on 11/25/2012

Bottle feeding doesn't expose a private part to the general public. Not saying a woman shouldn't breastfeed in public, but why make a spectacle of it? There are plenty of discreet ways to breastfeed that don't require pulling an entire breast out in front of everyone within viewing distance. Some things can't be unseen and not all of us wish to become that intimately familiar with another person's body.

[Jenny Bingnear]

10:44 PM on 02/25/2012

With breast-feeding mothers, they find it rude that they have to be asked to hide in a public place to feed their child. Not only does breast-feeding increase the bond between mother and child, it also allows the mother to lose her weight gained during her pregnancy.

Plus, a lot of states have laws against employees forcing a breast-feeding mother to leave or to do her feeding in a place like the bathroom. Public bathrooms are unsanitary. (I live in NJ, so the bathrooms up north are /way/ nasty.) You should look for your state on this list: http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx to see if breast feeding is allowed. NJ has fines set if a place of amusement or public accommodation doesn't let a mother feed her child.

[Pontiusturner]

02:15 AM on 01/09/2012

That's what they were made for people!

[womendotcom]

04:24 PM on 01/03/2012

See the post "Breastfeeding for Change" @ Women.com

[Jharm84]

09:21 AM on 12/31/2011

So I need to take a dump. If I feel like it, I'll just use one of the floors in these women's house. It's natural, and if they don't like it I'll get a whole rally to squat in their living room.
Some protests are just full of...

[Daniel Cline]

05:44 AM on 01/06/2012

whats wrong with people breast feeding again?

[flyinghunde]

07:16 PM on 01/07/2012

Well. No wonder you have zero fans. Squatting in people's living rooms?

[Randy Box]

05:14 PM on 12/30/2011

Hey, here's a thought: Anyone ever notice in a restaurant, how a responsible parent will ask their child to please chew with their mouth closed? Why? Because they know other people do not want to see it. They somehow don't expect people to just "look away, or leave if they don't like it". Because I guess they want their kid to learn good manners, and not be inconsiderate of people around them.

[BeanBoo]

05:55 PM on 12/30/2011

Excellent observation :)

[usmelllikepee]

04:45 PM on 12/30/2011

If find it funny that this woman claims she was "harassed". Since when is asking someone if they would prefer a quiet fitting room harrassment? Makes all of those protesters dying in Syria seem like wimps compared to this mother's outrageous treatment.

[Randy Box]

12:52 PM on 12/30/2011

OMG! Still no response from the men attached to the nurse-in moms? I really didn't think this would happen. Just sad. Explains a lot, though.

[usmelllikepee]

01:20 PM on 12/30/2011

I guess you can't blame them. who'd want to own up to being married to a militant mom.

[Randy Box]

01:40 PM on 12/30/2011

Yeah, like I said, perhaps they are single, and for good reason.

[Randy Box]

12:21 AM on 12/30/2011

So, I said earlier that I hoped some of the men associated with the breastfeeding sideshow women would comment. So far, none. Maybe my original thought, that these were single women, is why they need to do these things. Could it be the only way a guy will look at their breast is if they flop it out in public? Don't know. Waiting for the guys who have these women to weigh in.

[Randy Box]

11:52 PM on 12/29/2011

Hey, anyone else try to post any thing to a "moderator"? Aren't moderators supposed to be neutral? My comments are always "pending until reveiwed", or something. Maybe they won't post the comments to them they don't agree with. Just wondering.

[Antidiot]

04:44 PM on 12/29/2011

My 18 year old friend who works at Target said he didn't see anything? How did he miss this?

[usmelllikepee]

05:34 PM on 12/29/2011

Maybe he was looking for hot chicks instead.

[Bluelynx]

03:45 PM on 12/29/2011

You might think if the BF crowd were all about "love" they'd cool it with the hostility we have seen. I've been the...Target...of so much of it, there is no way I will ever support this cause. I support lots of worthy causes. Public BF will never be one of them.
The BF crowd has been strident in insisting that their way is best. Is it really, or is there a dark side? From the day Eve was thrown out of Eden, till formula was invented, there was no choice. You BFed your baby, or you got a wet nurse or a slave, or the baby starved.
Even today, suppose you can't make it work?
If you insist on BF, you need to see if it is the best start in life. Your baby might well survive into the 22nd century, if you let him. You have no right to place your need to make a cultural statement over his needs. He's going through a crucial period of development. He needs adequate nourishment, not someone making a public fool of herself.
What you do with your own baby is your own business. I'm not going to tell you how or what or when to feed your baby. But I have the right to go about my own business without having your body parts thrust into view to prove your point.
BF is not always best, and it should never be a spectator sport.

[Randy Box]

10:20 PM on 12/29/2011

Yes, and do these women really think that if something bothers someone, the way to help them not be bothered is to shove 50 nursing moms in their face? And then they will get over their "sickness"? I am thinking they will just make themselves look bad, as they are with these planned nurse in events. If people don't want to see one woman do it, they sure don't want to have to see 50 do it, all in one place, at one time, because someone thought that would be a great way to push their "cause".

[chelledc]

01:00 PM on 12/30/2011

So you have as much problem with their boobs as you do women with really low cut shirts?

[Bluelynx]

02:18 PM on 12/30/2011

Women who appear nearly naked in public are merely vulgar. As are you.

[Randy Box]

02:53 PM on 12/29/2011

So, I find myself wondering about all the women on this who have been doing the name calling, and deciding that people who do not think like them are sick or something. I am betting they are single women, and hate men, and do this to somehow "show" us. Or something of that nature. Can't imagine a guy wanting to be with someone like that, who is so bossy and "my way or the hiway" attitude. Hoping some of the guys with these women will comment also.

[usmelllikepee]

03:50 PM on 12/29/2011

They are all worthless and needy. That's why they have to show everyone how important they are because they can feed a kid with their bubes. They also use phases like "life's nurishment" and "natural". In other words, they are as about important as a granola bar.

[kimhoulian]

04:12 PM on 12/29/2011

your shortcomings are showing and you probably keep it covered by using insult to justify your anger....but the nonsense you projected onto others is quite telling of what you really hate.....

[Randy Box]

11:05 PM on 12/29/2011

Yup, and then call everyone who thinks differently names, and make accusations about their life, even though they know NOTHING about the people who post on this.

[Donna Peterson Hagan]

01:44 PM on 12/29/2011

SO, sitting on a floor with human's bodily fluids and other unmentionables on it is okay to feed your baby on?
I hope you all wiped your butts off right before you tweaked your babies cheeks!
You're disgusting!
Be responsible and get the heck off the filthy floor!

[Randy Box]

02:29 PM on 12/29/2011

Yes, I agree. And, if every place had a wonderful place to nurse, you would STILL have the ones who need to do our where everyone has to see it, because it is their legal right to do so.

[nunya 8]

02:27 PM on 11/25/2012

I think it's very unfair that these women to have the right to whip out their breasts anywhere they want to feed their babies, yet I don't have the right to bare my vagina and urinate in public whenever I need to go. I think I should round up a bunch of my downtrodden girlfriends and have a "pee in" at the Walmart to demand that people acknowledge my vagina and my right to show it for the natural purpose of urinating wherever and whenever I please. (I'll be sure to bring plenty of buckets because peeing on the floor is just plain rude.) Oh, and all you filthy-minded men had better not sexualize my vagina because it's also for squirting out babies.