Breastfeeding mum left humiliated
“This is not your home. This is an office, ok?”
By Practical parenting team
August 08 2018
A mother who was feeding her baby in a dentist’s office was told to cover up to avoid making others uncomfortable.
Staff told Suzie Ramirez, a mother of four from Moultrie, Georgia, that she had to cover up or move to another room because there were teenage boys present.
“This is Dr Patrick’s office and her policy is we try to be the best,” a staff member told the nursing mum.
“I don’t see anything wrong with breastfeeding a baby here,” Suzie replied.
The staff member responded by saying “This is not your home. This is an office, ok?”
Mrs Ramirez said that the incident left her feeling humiliated.
“I feed my baby in large public places and never have a problem,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening, especially in a dentist’s office. I felt humiliated, embarrassed, angry. A lot of feelings at once.”
When she started feeding her daughter, a woman came over to her and placed a heavy blanket over her.
“All I heard her say was, ‘I have teenagers.’ When Mrs Ramirez removed the blanket the woman wagged her finger and repeated “there’s teenagers here.”
Mrs Ramirez even asked the boys if they were uncomfortable and they said ‘no.’
“I don’t want other mothers to go through what I went through,” she said. “They should feel confident when feeding their babies.”
A spokesperson for the clinic apologised and said there had been a ‘miscommunication.’
