A mother is hitting back at her gym after an employee asked her to use the restroom to breastfeed her child.
Ruha Alford Tacey, 28, recounted her interaction with a gym employee in a Facebook post earlier this week. The Tanner, Alabama mom explained she went to Sports Fit in Athens with her daughter, who suffers from separation anxiety and was having ‘a hard time’ in the childcare room.
In an attempt to comfort her child, Tacey sat in the room with her and breastfed the baby, but when her daughter remained distressed, she resolved to leave. The mother returned to the gym the next morning, which is when an employee asked to talk to her.
Speaking out: Ruha Alford Tacey (pictured), 28, is hitting back at her gym after an employee asked her to use the restroom to breastfeed her child
Message: The Tanner, Alabama mom (pictured) explained earlier this week she went to Sports Fit in Athens with her daughter, who suffers from separation anxiety
Tacey admitted she was left ‘pretty bummed out’ by her conversation as she recounted the whole incident.
‘Yesterday I tried going to the gym (SportsFit Athens, if you’re wondering) for the first time and my daughter had a hard time in the childcare room,’ she wrote.
‘I sat there and breast-fed her to see if she would feel more comfortable in that room. She was still distressed when I tried to leave again, so we left and came back this morning.
‘When I badged into the front door, the very friendly guy at the front desk said, “Hey, can I talk to you about something really quick? In terms of feeding your child, when you need to do that, could you just use the restroom?” ‘
At that point, the mom said, she pointed out no one had ever asked her to do that before.
Story: In an attempt to comfort her child, Tacey sat in the room with her and breastfed the baby, but when her daughter remained distressed, she resolved to leave
Conversation: The mother (pictured) returned to the gym the next morning, which is when an employee asked to talk to her
‘Well, we’re a family friendly facility, you see, and yesterday while you were feeding her a man walked by the window,’ the male employee replied, according to Tacey.
‘I told him a man shouldn’t feel shame when he sees a woman breastfeeding. And especially if you’re family friendly, you should be super-pro breastfeeding!’ the mom added in her Facebook post.
The employee then told her, according to her written account: ‘I’m not telling you not to breastfeed, I just think a little discretion is in order.’
Tacey decided to terminate her membership, and said the employee was ‘pleasant enough’ and did so ‘without penalties’.
The DailyMail.com has reached out to SportsFit Athens for comment.
Account: Stacey (pictured left with her partner) explained the employee asked to use the restroom next time she needed to breastfeed her child
Action: After witnessing the wave of support, Tacey and other mothers decided to organize a ‘nurse-in’ at the gym (file picture) to help normalize breastfeeding
After cancelling her gym subscription, the mom thought this would be the end of it, but she shared her story with her breastfeeding group to cope with the ‘bad emotions’ she was struggling with after the interaction.
‘ It’s hard enough getting to the gym and trying to work out despite a child with lots of separation anxiety. I was sad!’ she wrote.
Thirty to 40 women reached out to side with Tacey and her daughter. Her public Facebook post, meanwhile, has gathered 116 likes and supportive comments.
‘So sad that the opinion of a man was more important than you and your baby’s comfort and freedom. I’m sorry that happened to you but I’m so proud that you’re doing something about it,’ someone wrote.
After witnessing the wave of support, Tacey and other mothers decided to organize a ‘nurse-in’ to help normalize breastfeeding.
She and four mothers with nursing babies, along with several gym-goers, gathered in front of the gym, Tacey wrote in a follow-up post yesterday.
At one point, the regional manager invited her inside, and the two spoke one on one.
‘He apologized on behalf of himself and the company, and said that the company as a whole is looking at this event as an opportunity to improve their employee training, especially with regards to nursing laws, and identify other interventions to make their members feel more welcome and supported in the future,’ the mother wrote.
‘I did not get an apology from the front desk worker himself, but that is OK with me because this is not about me as an individual but about nursing moms as a whole. I have been assured that the front desk worker will not be advising future moms to nurse in the restroom however.’