It’s common for nursing moms to be told not to breastfeed in public areas such as restaurants, malls and parks, though they are legally given the right to do so.
But one mom in Savannah, Georgia, was told to cover up by a hospital employee as she was breastfeeding her baby in the waiting room.
Kymmie Snyder, 24, was waiting for an appointment earlier this month at Candler Hospital when she began feeding her 10-month-old son, Kylo.
Kymmie Snyder, 24, took to Facebook to post about her anger over a hospital employee telling her cover up while she breastfed her 10-month-old in the waiting room
Kylo has cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening disorder that builds mucus in his lungs and digestive system. The condition causes Kylo to get hungry very often and the mom says, ‘we nurse, and nurse a lot.’
According to Snyder, it was then that a female hospital worker approached her and put a towel over the baby’s head telling the mom that she had to cover up if she wanted to remain in the hospital.
Snyder said she told the employee that what she was doing was illegal. The worker then replied that it was ‘hospital rules’.
Her son, Kylo, has cystic fibrosis, a condition that builds mucus in the lungs and digestive system. This makes her baby hungry very often, causing her to nurse a lot
She said the worker threw a towel over the baby’s head and said it was ‘hospital rules’ that she had to cover up
Candler Hospital has since released a statement apologizing to the mother and called it an ‘insensitive incident’.
But that wasn’t before Snyder took to Facebook to post a photo of her breastfeeding her child and a caption explaining the situation. The photo makes it clear that not much of the nursing mom was revealed. She event said in the post, ‘There is NO skin showing, no nipple out, you honestly can’t even tell that I am breastfeeding if you were to look straight on.’
The enraged mom added, ‘I don’t know who you thought you were approaching this morning but I am certainly the wrong one! Cover your own damn head if you have a problem with my son eating.’
When Snyder asked to speak to the manager, she said the supervisor was very nonchalant about the ordeal, which sparked the nursing mom to post online.
A Facebook page called Breastfeeding Mama Talk re-posted Snyder’s story, which garnered 13,000 reactions and more than 1,000 shares
Candler Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, released a statement apologizing to the nursing mom and said the employee has been re-educated on the hospital’s views on breastfeeding
A Facebook page called Breast Feeding Mama Talk re-posted Snyder’s situation. That post has garnered 13,000 reactions and more than 1,000 shares.
The employee is unidentified but Snyder refers to her as ‘Mrs. Williams’ in the post.
The PR manager at Candler Hospital, Scott Larson, told TODAY the employee involved is a retiree ‘who works only a few hours per week’.
He added: ‘The individual involved has been re-educated on our views regarding breastfeeding. We have used this as an opportunity to reiterate our strong support for breastfeeding mothers with our other co-workers.’