CALGARY- A mother is angry after a Walmart employee told her she couldn’t nurse her newborn son in the store.
Lindsay Johnston gave birth to baby Clay just three weeks ago, and says she was trying to get his passport photo taken at the Shawnessy location on Wednesday.
An employee suggested she feed him, but said that Johnston would have to leave the store to nurse.
Get breaking National news
“I was appalled,” says Johnston. “I was told I was not allowed to breastfeed him in Walmart, and then the snarky attitude I was given for not bottlefeeding my child really ticked me off.”
Dr. Cynthia Landry runs a breastfeeding clinic, and says she can’t understand why someone would respond so negatively to a mother feeding a hungry baby.
“New moms need all the support they can get, not just with breastfeeding but with adjusting to life with a new baby,” she says.
She has advice for other moms who face the same situation.
“I don’t know that moms would get anywhere by trying to argue with the staff at that time, because obviously those people have their own mindsets. What I would do is just leave the situation and go feed.”
In a statement, Walmart Canada said:
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience the mother and baby experienced. It is Walmart Canada’s policy to accommodate breastfeeding mothers and we have addressed the issue with the associate who did not understand our policy.”
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.