WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — A Northeast Ohio mom said a Willoughby city employee made her feel ashamed and embarrassed for breastfeeding her infant child at a public pool.
Katie Carlson said she wanted to beat the heat of last Tuesday.
“It was a super hot day. It was perfect for the pool and a perfect place to bring the family, too,” she said.
She and her mother brought her daughters, 5-year-old Lily and 3-month-old Leilani, to Osborne Park and Pool in Willoughby.
“It’s their favorite,” she said. “I’ve been going there since I was a kid in summer camp.”
She said it started out as a perfect pool day.
“Nobody was around us. We had the umbrella around us. We had our lawn chairs, and we set up shop for the snack brigade and everything else. Lily got to go in the pool for a bit, and I nursed Lani so that she could enjoy her time, too,” said Carlson. “Being in the hot sun, we are on the baby’s schedule. So, if she wants to nurse, she has to nurse way more than if we were sitting in the air conditioning.”
Carlson said she was about 15 minutes into nursing when a pool employee came up to her and asked her to do it in a more private area.
“The manager, about 18 years old, approached me and he said, ‘You’re going to have to go in the bathroom to continue to do that. This is a family place. You can’t do that here,’” she said.
Carlson said it was shocking and embarrassing to be made to feel like breastfeeding her daughter was inappropriate.
“It wasn’t until after I left, I was like, ‘No, I am protected by the law to feed my child wherever,’ you know, all these other things were going through my head like, ‘You go eat your lunch in the bathroom,’” she said.
Ohio’s Revised Code states that mothers in Ohio have the right to breastfeed in any public location so long as they are legally allowed to be there.
Carlson took to Facebook to share her experience at the pool and to raise awareness.
The Mayor of Willoughby, Bob Fiala, said the incident that occurred was unfortunate and in no way reflects the city’s attitude or feelings toward breastfeeding mothers.
“We had a young manager that doesn't know fully the Ohio Revised Code,” he said. “ Clearly, we know what the code says. We are going to follow that code, certainly, and we're going to make sure that our staff members are better trained. That's something we need to do now,” he said.
Fiala said there will be in-service training for their employees with members of WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children which also provides nutrition counseling, parenting advice, breastfeeding support, food assistance and referrals.
“That very same day, we reached out to WIC and said, 'Clearly, we've got to train our staff better, and they need to be more knowledgeable about these things.' We're doing staff training for the specific reason, just to get everybody up to speed,” said Fiala.
He added the city’s parks director called Carlson to apologize.
“The Director of Parks and Rec. said that they will update their employee handbook. My only thought is that this law came out in 2005 to protect women breastfeeding in public, so it’s long overdue to update this handbook,” said Carlson.
Carlson hopes by speaking out, more women can feel empowered to know their rights and the overall mindset around breastfeeding will change.
“There’s no shame in doing it. You’re feeding your child," she said. "You’re providing nutrients. You’re providing a healthy meal for your child no matter where you’re doing it.”
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