A Utah mom’s breastfeeding experience in a public bathroom took a turn that left her family “floored.”
Ana Davis was shopping at Nordstrom Rack with her 1-month-old daughter Mia when the baby became hungry. Though the mom would’ve been well within her rights to nurse openly in the store, she opted to go to the bathroom for a bit more privacy.
“She was crying. She was ready to have her meal, so I went to the restroom and found an open chair,” Davis told KSL. She said a few minutes later, a Nordstrom employee approached them and said a customer had complained about her breastfeeding in the bathroom.
The employee then asked Davis to relocate to a fitting room.
Davis said she was embarrassed at first and felt she hadn’t done anything wrong. After she later told her husband, Joel, about the incident, he reached out to the store.
“It provokes the question, why did it make sense to ask a nursing mother to leave the privacy of a bathroom?” Joel told KSL. He later added, “I’m floored. It’s baffling.”
Nordstrom did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment, but a spokesperson issued a statement to KSL. “We want every customer to feel comfortable while they’re shopping with us, particularly nursing mothers,” the statement read in part. “Though we’re always happy to offer a fitting room if a mom is looking for additional privacy, our employees should never ask a nursing mom to move.”
The dad said he also received an apology from the store manager, who promised to better inform employees of mothers’ right to nurse wherever they feel comfortable.
Davis is just one of countless women who have been shamed or asked to leave a public space for breastfeeding. Moms have opened up about negative nursing experiences in gyms, on airplanes, at restaurants, and in stores ― from Nordstrom to Dillard’s to Victoria’s Secret.
Ultimately, the Davises wanted to share their story to spread awareness around breastfeeding mothers’ rights.
Said the mom: “We as a society are OK with, you know, low-cut shirts or advertisements of underwear models. But a nursing mother, to a lot of people, is just very offensive.”
