ok, i just sent this email to the centre:
Dear Sir/Madam
I read the article in the Gloucestershire Echo regarding your security response to Katherine Bayliss breastfeeding in your centre with disgust. I also met Katherine last night. We were both at a fund raising event for the Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Support Network (GBSN). The GBSN is a charity which provides support and encouragement to women breastfeeding their children. They do this mainly through weekly support groups, staffed largely by volunteers, where woman can receive support and obtain information on breastfeeding, and where they can feed their baby in a safe environment without feeling like they should be sectioned off from the rest of the world at a time when they need the most support.
That the GBSN exists is a sad indictment of the lack of support available to women who chose to breast feed. Not breast feeding a baby can have a negative impact on the health and well being of a child, who without breast milk may be more prone to infections, allergies and other illness, and also for mothers who face an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer if they do not breast feed.
The lack of normalisation of breastfeeding in this country means that breast feeding is more difficult now than it ever used be. We do not see enough women breastfeeding which means that when mothers come to do it themselves they may not know how to do it, and many fail to start or continue breastfeeding do to lack of information and support.
A major factor for giving up or not chosing to breastfeed cited by mothers is fear of doing it in public and an anticipation that they will be house bound at a time when they need the patience and support of the outside world the most.
The reason that I have imparted all this information is in the hope that you will realise the far reaching impact that incidents like the one in your shopping have, and also that you understand even more the benefits that come with encouraging mothers to breastfeed their children. Aside from the benefits to both the mother and child, you must realise that mothers at home with their children are one of your primary consumer groups, and by ostracising them as you have done you are risking a loss to your business.
I am aware that you offer a feeding room in your centre. I admit that I have not seen it myself but if my vast experience of feeding rooms is to go by, and the fact that it is in the toilet area of the centre, I can imagine it is not the home away from home I would hope to find. I would be delighted to be proved wrong on this account. Even with a fantastic feeding room, you would be doing far more to support breastfeeding by providing a positive feeding environment in public where breastfeeding can be normalised.
Another way in which you could support breastfeeding in our area is by donating money to the GBSN so the breastfeeding counsellors and their wonderful volunteers can continue the invaluable support that that offer to mothers and extended families in Gloucestershire. Such support would be well received by mothers who attend the group, and their peers, and who are more likely to frequent the centre in response. Please make sure that you have a reputation for the right reasons.
I hope that you can pass on this email to the relevant people who will be able to take positive action to counteract the negative publicity following this incident.
Kind regards
TheWonderingLactivist