‘That’s disgusting!’: New mum is publicly shamed for breastfeeding her newborn baby in McDonald’s despite being ‘completely covered’
- Sharna Weiske was at a McDonald’s in the Hervey Bay, on Queensland’s coast
- A group of teenage girls mocked her for breastfeeding her six-week-old baby
- She said young people need to be educated so they don’t stigmatise mothers
A new mother has been publicly shamed for breastfeeding her newborn baby in McDonald’s despite being ‘completely covered’.
Sharna Weiske was at a McDonald’s in the Queensland coastal city of Hervey Bay when her six-week-old baby, Elouise, started crying.
Ms Weiske began to breastfeed her daughter so she would calm down, only for a teenage girl surrounded by a group of friends to shout out ‘that’s disgusting’.
Sharna Weiske was at a McDonald’s in the Queensland coastal city of Hervey Bay when her six-week-old baby, Elouise, started crying (stock photo)
The mum, who was enjoying lunch with her family, said it was only the second time she had tried to breastfeed her daughter in public.
When she had previously breastfed her daughter, she recalled that people were very nice to her and had offered to move to allow her the space she needed.
‘It’s my second time feeding out in public and I’ve got some rude comments already,’ Ms Weiske told the Courier Mail.
Ms Weiske began to breastfeed her daughter so she would calm down, only for a teenage girl surrounded by a group of friends to shout out ‘that’s disgusting’ (pictured Hervey Bay McDonald’s)
She said she was extremely disappointed to see a group of young women making fun of a mother feeding her daughter.
‘They are just a bit immature.’
Ms Weiske said there needed to be more education in schools so children and teenagers understood that breastfeeding was completely normal.
She said she was extremely disappointed to see a group of young women making fun of a mother feeding her daughter (stock photo)
Breastfeeding advocate Elizabeth Pohlmann said the stigma surrounding breastfeeding in public needed to be addressed.
‘It’s legal to breastfeed anywhere you want – we’re not doing it to be an exhibitionist, it’s literally to feed a baby,’ Ms Pohlmann said.
The Federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 makes it illegal in Australia to discriminate against a person either directly or indirectly on the grounds of breastfeeding.