Going to a museum is meant to be something fun for the whole family, or something very personal for someone who may just like going to a place where they can see all kinds of history right before their very eyes.
But unfortunately for one mother, she couldn’t quite enjoy her time after being hassled for breastfeeding her baby in the museum.
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Bringing babies to a museum doesn’t always work out as some moms hope.
Recently one mom shared the experience she had when she brought her baby to a museum with her in Cambridge. The mom was looking to just have a relaxing day with her son.
However, when it came time to feed, there were issues along the way.
While visiting the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, Fae Church, from Haverhill realized her son was crying and being fussy because he was hungry. As any mom would, she decided to stop and feed.
She walked into a private area to breastfeed.
Finding a corner of the museum that was quiet, she stopped to feed her son. “I positioned myself with the pillar to my back and my buggy in front of me, to act as a screen. I try to be as private as I possibly can with it and so I sat there,” she said .
Church shared that not only did she use her stroller as a cover, but she also used a scarf to cover herself, as well.
She shared that most people walked by and didn’t even give her a second glance during her feeding time. However, one security guard for the museum stopped and gave her a look.
At first, she apologized.
She told Cambridge Live that when the guard walked by, she gave her a confused and “funny sideways glance.” “I hope you don’t mind, I just made this my breastfeeding corner,” she told the guard when she stopped.
Turns out, he did mind.
“There was a sort of silence and she looked at me again and she went: ‘Actually, no, it’s not OK because no food and drink are allowed to be consumed in the museum,'” Church shared.
Church was shocked that the guard would say something like that.
Church shared that she stopped and stared at the female guard, nonetheless, in shock. The guard then continued to say that if Church wanted to feed her son, she should have gone to the museum cafe where food and drinks are permitted.
The mother shared that the entire situation made her uncomfortable and embarrassed.
Not only that, but it was the first time she had ever been told that breastfeeding in public is “wrong.”
Church said she felt like a little schoolgirl being called out for doing something wrong, and was even more shocked that a female guard was the one to say it.
Since the incident occurred, the museum has offered a public apology and statement.
In a statement, the museum said, “On behalf of all the staff and volunteers at the Museum of Zoology we can only apologise wholeheartedly for what happened to Fae and the way she was made to feel.”
In addition, the museum states on its website that breastfeeding is allowed.
“We absolutely allow and welcome breastfeeding and bottle-feeding in all our public spaces. We pride ourselves on being a family-friendly museum and it’s terrible that a visitor was treated in this manner,” the museum added.
In addition, breastfeeding is a “legally protected right” in the U.K.
Therefore, Church was in her right to feed her son as it is protected under the law. In addition, the museum has said that the museum guard made a “terrible mistake.”
What a whirlwind!
