IKEA Sends Mother And Infant To Bathroom To Breastfeed

The IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn is the latest retail establishment that needs reminding: Yes, women have the right to breastfeed their infants in public. No, you cannot banish them to the restroom. Yes, people will get angry when word gets out.

She posted to a local listserv:

On Wednesday I was in IKEA Red Hook in the middle of breastfeeding, fully covered, when I was told I had to stop doing “that” and go to the nearby family bathroom. The IKEA employee and security guards were extremely rude to us. I was hustled off to the bathroom and then had to wait because someone else was using it. I was humiliated, my daughter was upset from being interrupted in the middle of her feed. When eventually I gave up and headed for the car to finish feeding, the security guards who had seen the entire event insisted on checking my receipts. I’m putting together a formal complaint to IKEA. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else?

Sent to the bathroom to breastfeed AND had her receipts checked! It’s a double Consumerist indignity!

If you’re out in public and need to feed your wee consumer, know your rights. Here’s a guide to laws that apply to public breastfeeding in different states.

Breastfeeding Woman Banished to IKEA Bathroom [Gothamist]

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(Photo: jiazi)

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