Young mum’s anger after ‘being told by town hall worker to breastfeed her crying three-month-old son in the TOILET’
Woman said she was left feeling 'like I was being naughty'
A YOUNG mum who claims a council employee told to breast feed her screaming three-month-old baby in a toilet has spoken of her "disgust".
Earlier this week Chloe Davis, 19, and her son, Jasper, went to Lancaster Town Hall to speak about her housing situation.
She told The Sun Online: “I was taken in to a private interview room and my baby started screaming so to be polite, rather than to just pull out my boob, I said 'is it OK to breast feed'.”
Chloe said she knew she had the right to breast feed but asked permission to be polite and give the male staff member a chance to leave the room if he wished to. She was surprised when he said he would go and check.
She said: “He came back and said ‘we have never come across this before - there are toilets’.
“I explained I was not going to feed my baby in a toilet as it’s not hygienic.
“My support worker backed me up and said 'she will not feed her baby in a toilet she will do it here'.”
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Chloe said that eventually she was told she could breast feed Jasper in a private room, but by this time she said she was shaken and upset.
She said: “I felt humiliated, like I was doing something wrong and that I had been put in a private room.
“I was upset about the housing in the first place and that was the cherry on the cake. I broke down and started crying.
“It felt like I was being told off, like I was a little school child being told to go and sit in another room, like I was being naughty. I should not have to feel like that.
"It's disgusting”
After the incident Chloe posted a message on Facebook saying: “When Lancaster City Council tell you you can’t breastfeed in the town hall and to use the toilet to breastfeed! Pfft I’m fuming.”
The post has been shared more than a 150 times, with many mothers commenting messages of support.
Chloe has called on Lancaster City Council to retrain staff and said she has received support from several councillors.
She said: “I feel like I’m doing something good because some people would not have been confident enough to say no I’m not feeding my baby in the toilets.”
A spokesman for Lancaster City Council said: “Lancaster City Council welcomes anyone wishing to breastfeed whilst accessing its services to do so freely in both its public areas as well as any private areas which can be made available if they so wish.
“On this occasion, it was understood that in asking what breastfeeding facilities were available to customers, that the lady wished to breastfeed her child in private rather than in the public customer service waiting area and was offered a private interview room which she accepted.
“The use of the purpose built disabled facilities with baby changing area (available to customers on demand) was another option offered to Ms Davis at the time.
“We apologise for the distress this apparent misunderstanding appears to have caused.”
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