Mom told to stop breastfeeding in NYS Museum
 
ALBANY –  In New York, the law states you can breastfeed in any public place. But an Albany woman says a State Museum employee must not know that. Kristin Kelly is a young mother of three including a 4 month old she breast feeds.

Tuesday she says she was insulted and humiliated for feeding her baby in public even though she knew she was well within the law.

"I absolutely felt like I was doing something wrong," said Kristin Kelly with tears in her eyes.

Kelly and her three children ages 5, 3 and little four month old Zachary were enjoying an afternoon at the New York State Museum. Near the end of their visit Zachary got hungry and Kristin says she found a bench up against a wall and began to breast feed her baby.

"I sat down and made sure I was covered, three blankets over him actually, and I began to nurse, while my other two children sat beside me," she said.

Suddenly, according to Kristin all this was interrupted.

"A lady that said she was an employee of the museum they had another person report me and so I had to go to the bathroom where they had a chair set up where you could nurse or I would have to leave the museum," she said.

Kristin says was speechless when the woman with the museum ID tag came back a second time, stared at her and asked her to move again.

Zachary was finished by then but when Kristin told her husband Shaun he was so outraged he contacted the museum. Shaun says a spokesperson told him the museum allows nursing anywhere but he was not surprised Kristin was told to stop.

When Newschannel 13 contacted the museum, the museum director, Cliff Siegfried said, "the museum has no such policy prohibiting breast feeding anywhere."

As for Kristin she believes there’s a lesson here for all breast feeding mothers and those who would stop them.

"I have a right to feed my child where ever I want to feed him," she said.

The museum director also told Newschannel 13 that he was still looking into identifying the museum employee who Kristin says told her to stop breast feeding. He did not however say what action, if any would be taken if the employee is identified.

http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S352021.shtml?cat=300

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From TheFeministBreeder:  Ladies – for those of you who are first-time breastfeeding moms, please know all the laws in your state regarding breastfeeding before your baby comes.  The law in IL is exactly like the one in NY – I know that if anyone tells me not to BF in their establishment I have the right to sue them for punitive damages. 

If ANYONE ever suggests you take your breastfeeding elsewhere, don’t be embarrassed, and don’t leave either.  Shoot back with your states BF laws and tell them that you’ll be happy to speak to the manager about that employee’s behavior – and then call the authorities.  We have rights, and we need to stand up against the ignorance of others.