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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Thrown out of Harrods for Breastfeeding

119 replies

twelveyeargap · 03/12/2009 01:46

My good friend was in the Laudree cafe in Harrods at the weekend, discreetly breastfeeding her 4 month old daughter. A maitress d' came over and told her she couldn't breastfeed in the cafe and that she had to breastfeed in one of the "designated areas", presumably the toilets. Unappealing for obvious reasons.

My friend was really upset and took all her Harrods purchases back before leaving the store.

How much longer do we have to wait before the law is changed and it's no longer legal to ask women not to breastfeed?

I'm appalled. Any thoughts?

OP posts:
edam · 08/12/2009 11:35

Outrageous but tbh Harrods is a shit shop anyway. Wouldn't waste my money there anyway. dh used to work there donkey's years ago and at the time they had very dodgy employment practices indeed.

AliGrylls · 08/12/2009 11:35

What I find strange on these threads is that people try to compare breastfeeding in public to having a muffin top / going topless.

To me one is done out of a feeling of obligation, as in doing it for the good of your child and the other is actually nudism / vanity.

Breastfeeding in public is so different to having a load of flab hanging over your jeans or flashing a boob.

TheBrandyButterflyEffect · 08/12/2009 11:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Fraochsmum · 08/12/2009 11:59

That is a shame for your friend and I agree that she should write a letter detailing how she was treated.
I only have a few weeks left before I have my first baby and would be really embarassed if asked to stop bf. Luckily we have a law in Scotland which means if someone asks you to stop bf, they can be fined up to £2000. I have never encountered a problem anywhere when out with my sister or friends who are feeding - in fact the last time the owner came over and said how great it was that my friend was bf, as her youngest had had a terrible skin reaction from not getting colostrum due to her not bf him.

StealthPolarBear · 08/12/2009 15:16

Also in England, even though we don't have the law I have never had (noticed?) a bad reaction to me bf in public, that includes DS until he was about 18 months I think. In general, there aren't hoardes of people waiting to be judgey about seeing a breastfeeder, or even a flash of nipple in my case (finding myself less and less willing to make the effort to be discreet)

JustAnotherManicMummy · 08/12/2009 15:23

I'd come with you Ali

I'm 35 mins by tube to Westminster so could do Houses of Parliament or Harrods.

I do hate Harrods. It's soooo tacky. The Diana/Dodi sculpture makes me boak

AliGrylls · 08/12/2009 22:50

I would actually do it.

What days are you free next week?

The only day I have a plan is on Tuesday oh and Monday is gymboree.

Shall we do it? Is anyone else up for it? Ooooh I am getting excited about this already (how sad am I)

sweetss · 09/12/2009 11:36

I would not have left -- they can ask you to leave to stop breastfeeding, but they cant force you to, can you?

eandz · 09/12/2009 11:46

really? i used to breastfeed all over harrods and not be told otherwise.

i'd breastfeed while ordering food (in the alcove under the scary cherub statue things) at lauderee. but maybe no one ever said anything because whenever i did it, i had my 'bitch face' on.

eandz · 09/12/2009 11:50

actually, why don't we all go to lauderee and breastfeed? I'm not bf anymore, but if we get enough people-- surely they'll see the point, right?

LissyGlitter · 09/12/2009 11:57

Good luck people- unfortunately I am near Newcastle (so about as far away as I could be and still be in England) but I get so annoyed about things like this.

If you do something similar in mid-January (or any time after that) I will come and join you as I will be able to visit my sister who lives near the Olympics at the same time. I'm too recently post-natal to travel with two kids atm though.

I'm annoyed I missed the local bosum buddies group today now. I'm definitely going to the LLL meeting next month though. This thread has fired me up!

onebatmother · 09/12/2009 13:32

Lol at bitch face eandz. I used to veer alarmingly between that and my madonna and child face, minute by minute.

Right, I've done a bit of digging and it looks like the Equality Bill (very likely to become law next year) protects women from being asked to move or leave a public place when breastfeeding a baby under the age of 6 months.

To do otherwise would be "maternity discrimination, which includes treating her less favourably because she is breast-feeding, for 26 weeks after giving birth". The explanatory notes say "A café owner must not ask a woman to leave his café because she is breast-feeding her baby."

Over 6 months, mothers are protected - though not specifically - by sex discrimination legislation.

However, 'less favourably' is defined as 'less favourably than is reasonable' - so open to interpretation.

And none of it goes as far as the Scottish Law which I think makes it a criminal offence to harass a woman feeding a child under 2 years.

And the 6 months thing is a bit crap.

The Scottish law btw focuses on the child's right to be fed milk rather than the mother's right to bf.

If anyone knows more about this than I do please post!

AliGrylls · 09/12/2009 18:13

How about we go next wed? 15th I think. 1 pm?

JustAnotherManicMummy · 09/12/2009 19:18

Wed is the 16th. I can't do Wed as I have to be at a bumps and babies thing at 3pm that day.

I can do Thursday 17th at 2pm? Or Tuesday? Or 12ish on Wed then I can get back for the group. As long as I don't get arrested (imagine explaining that to NCT...) when I refuse to leave because DS is 8 mo...

AliGrylls · 09/12/2009 19:23

Let's do Thurs 2.00 pm then.

Ooooh I am looking forward to this.

JustAnotherManicMummy · 09/12/2009 19:48

It's in the diary. Any more coming? I'll email some friends - see if they can make it.

Which papers is it worth having the news desk number for? In case they call the police and try to have us forceably removed...

Earthstar · 09/12/2009 19:49

Your friend should go on TV and talk about her experience

splodge2001 · 09/12/2009 20:34

Bastards - Yautcha make better macaroons anyway. I'm potentially up for the feeding sit in, I think?

AliGrylls · 09/12/2009 21:41

I have no idea about which newspapers news desk number we should get. Do you have any thoughts? If so, I could always try and find out the numbers.

Most of my friends have already stopped breastfeeding so I don't think they will be into the idea.

Splodge, it would be great if you did come. The more the merrier.

confuddledDOTcom · 09/12/2009 21:56

Only on page one, so I'm sorry if I repeat.

It is illegal to stop someone breastfeeding in a place of service - eg what's happened here. The problem is it's civil law and very difficult to do anything about it.

Please don't anyone listen to UNICEF's praise of the "new" legislation. There isn't anything new and it still stinks as badly as it has for the last 30 years.

Going to catch up now.

WilfSell · 09/12/2009 22:03

Oh I'm so looking forward to feedback on this. I think you should get the flash mob people involved and get MILLIONS of BF women though and get the telly people there. Make it into art, maaaaaan.

In fact, if there's a MN BF campaign in general, should deffo be something like this or this or this

JustAnotherManicMummy · 09/12/2009 22:24

ooh interesting Wilf how would one go about getting something like that going? It would save having to have newsdesk numbers on standby in case of arrest...

Shall I start a new thread with the invite for people to come along? What do you think to putting it in Chat as that probably gets the most hits (except AIBU)or another here in Breast & Bottle Feeding?

So far there's me, Ali and possibly Splodge (who should definitely come along ).

confuddledDOTcom · 09/12/2009 22:26

Yikes, just caught up and for everyone who's stated what the SDA says everyone has said something different and no one understands it. TBH it's not that surprising considering even MP's don't. I would suggest that people have a look at one of those women to get more information, but below is something Morgan put in a thread elsewhere.

"In England and Wales, if a mother is asked to leave premises in which she is receiving either goods or services, for breastfeeding, she can bring a civil law suit under the Sex Discrimination At under maternity provision. There is no upper age limit under maternity provision. But it does not cover public spaces: it is only about equal provision of goods and services.

There is no provision for specific harassment of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding does not come under the public indecency laws, and therefore a mother in England and Wales cannot be criticised for breastfeeding in public.

In Scotland, it is an offence to stop a child under the age of two, having milk, in any place the child has a right to be. So public spaces are specifically included. It's milk in any form, by mother or care-giver. So this law recognises a hungry child's right to food. It's not the mother who is protected - it's the hungry child. This has meant a common understanding that harassing a mother breastfeeding will result in the police being called. The police will come, and act to protect the mother and child.

And yes, we are campaigning for similar protection in England & Wales, but without the age limit! :-)"

WilfSell · 09/12/2009 22:28

I dunno, I'm just the ideas person

You need onebat and wonk back: they know people...

AliGrylls · 10/12/2009 10:53

Hi ManicMummy, definitely get this idea going in chat is a good idea. Did you put it on? I am at home today so if it isn't on I could start a new thread now.

I think this is great. The good thing is that there are so many people that feel strongly about this and I have a feeling in my waters it could be successful.

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