Toys "R" Us Nurse-In Press Release 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please feel free to post it as far and as wide as possible.

BREASTFEEDING MOTHERS REFUSE TO BE BANISHED TO THE BASEMENT!

Nurse-In Scheduled to Demand Toys "R" Us Stop Harassing and Humiliating Lactating Women.

New York, New York - Mothers breastfeeding their children and their supporters will inundate the area in front of the prominent Times Square Toys "R" Us on Thursday, September 21, 2006 at 11 AM. Last week, several Toys "R" Us employees triggered the Nurse-In when they harassed Chelsi Meyerson for quietly breastfeeding her son while watching her daughter play. 

The family was celebrating the girl's third birthday on September 11th, 2006, until salespeople demanded that Meyerson move to the basement or stop feeding her child. When she refused, a security guard came to "deal with" her. "I have never been more humiliated and dismayed," says Meyerson. To date, no one with real authority within Toys "R" Us local or corporate management has deigned to speak with her, despite repeated requests. Management also failed to request an apology from the employees for their illegal and callous treatment of the mother.

New York law protects the right of women to breastfeed anywhere they are legally allowed to be (NY CLS Civ R § 79-e). Breastmilk should optimally be a baby's only food for six months and part of the diet for much longer, according to the World Health Organization and the America Academy of Pediatrics. Widely known benefits include lower rates of maternal breast cancer, reduced incidences of childhood obesity and asthma, higher IQs, and stronger immune systems in breastfed infants and toddlers. In addition, the act of nursing from a breast rather than a bottle promotes proper oral development and fosters a strong mother child bond crucial to healthy emotional development. 

Since their mothers' milk is quickly and easily digested, breastfed children eat frequently, making it nearly impossible for a mother to avoid nursing in public. Social stigma and fear of harassment, like that inflicted on Ms. Meyerson by Toys "R" Us employees, is a significant barrier that stops many women from breastfeeding at all. Further, ostracizing mothers and children by making them hide in a basement, "nursing room," or a dirty public bathroom while their children eat infringes on their dignity and basic human rights. 

Despite the fact that many mothers profess to have had positive experiences with Toys "R" Us, their gross mistreatment of Ms. Meyerson in this case is not only a transgression against common sense and decency, it is also a violation of New York State Law, which, as stated above, guarantees women the right to nurse their children anywhere they are legally allowed to be. Anecdotal accounts also highlight many more incidences similar to Ms. Meyerson's, although those women either were not as aware of their rights or not in states where their rights were protected; this is not an isolated incident, although it appears to be one of the worst. Therefore, the mothers and their supporters will be gathering to highlight this serious problem and to encourage Toys "R" Us to provide better training to all employees so that an incident of the nature involving Ms. Meyerson never happens again.

The nursing mothers and their supporters are coming together to support Meyerson and other mothers determined to give their children the best possible nutrition and meet their emotional needs through breastfeeding. They are demanding Toys "R" Us change its policies and better educate their employees about the legal rights of their customers so that they never again make a woman feel "humiliated and dismayed" for nurturing her child. 

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is now involved in the legal ramifications of this incident and is to be commended for bringing this important civil rights issue to the forefront and for standing up for the rights of all people. 

For more information about this event or topic or to schedule interviews with participants, please contact Ashley Clark by email at [log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html