Chick-Fil-A is back in headlines this week after a group of breastfeeding moms staged a “nurse-in” at a Knoxville store following a confrontation with a store employee.
Jennifer Day says she was feeding her daughter when she was approached by the employee.
“Just as I was finishing up, an employee came up and told me other parents were afraid of letting their children play while I was feeding her, especially without a cover,” Day said.
In response, Day and a group of nursing moms staged the nurse-in at the restaurant in an effort to try to gain public acceptance and spread awareness about local laws, which say that breastfeeding in public is not illegal.
“We want everyone to feel safe. We want nursing mothers to feel safe because what is more family then a mother and her baby and this is a family restaurant,” said nurse-in organizer Anna Hurley. “We just want to normalize breastfeeding. We just want society to change their views.”
The restaurant owner released a statement about the incident, saying, “The manager has apologized and regrets any offense he may have caused.” They are also reportedly planning to work with the East Tennessee Breastfeeding Coalition on sensitivity training, which may surprise some after the company’s highly-publicized battle with the LGBT community last year.
For many, the issue of public breastfeeding is an uncomfortable one. But, as mom Melissa Davenport said, “If you’re uncomfortable with it you can look away. Moms are really just trying to feed their babies.”