Hello all,

It appears form the letter below that we need to continue to press the
issue about breastfeeding in Sears.

Joan MacNeil

From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Update: Sears Portrait Studios/CPI Corp

Please pass this on to the appropriate lists.

Hello all,
Here's the update on the Sears Portrait Studio situation.  I spoke with the
vice president of the Sears Portrait Studios, which is really CPI
Corporation since Sears subcontracts their portrait studio services.   So
the following is in regards to CPI's policies and my conversation with their
vp, Mr. Bud Blossfield.  I wish to make it clear that I have not spoken with
anyone representing Sears Corporation itself.  It was a fairly lengthy
conversation, but the gist of it goes like this:

Mr. Blossfield was very apologetic regarding the incident at the Madison
store and said that he wished to "ask my forgiveness for the insensitive
actions" of the employee there.  He stated that the incident caused him to
"recognize a shortcoming in their employee training".  He went on to say
that 85% of their business involved children between the ages of 0-5 yrs and
he certainly did not want to offend parents of young children.  He said that
they would be reiterating their policy on bf to all of their employees.  He
insisted that it was not the policy of Sears Portrait Studios/CPI to forbid
bf in their stores.

He then asked what it would take for them to make up for the incident, what
would make me feel satisfied that the incident was dealt with
appropriately.

I explained to him that  I felt this was such an important issue because of
the impact of bf on maternal and child health.  I mentioned briefly the many
health benefits of bf and tried to point out how prejudices such as those of
two of their employees can have a very significant impact on bf women.  I
went on to explain that, while it may have offended and angered me, the
incident certainly wouldn't influence how I feed my baby.  However, for many
women such an incident (esp. if it occurs repeatedly) might well be so
humiliating that they would no longer feel comfortable going out in public
with their bf infants.  They might even stop bf and switch to less healthy
formula feeding due to such negative attitudes.  The attitude that bf is
indecent thus has a negative impact on the health and well-being of mothers
and children.   This situation needs to be corrected with education.

I suggested that Sears Portrait Studios/CPI consider taking a more proactive
position in making bf women feel welcome and thus promoting bf.  They could
do something as simple as post a sign saying. "Breastfeeding Friendly" or
"You are welcome to breastfeed your baby here."  He seemed a little
uncomfortable with this and said he would need to check with Sears first.
He appeared concerned that an invitation like that would be controversial
and would offend the sensibilities of other nonbf customers.  I asked him to
give it some consideration or perhaps come up with another means of helping
bf women feel welcome and promoting bf in a positive and accepting way.  I
also reminded him that women have a legal right to bf wherever they are
allowed to be.

In addition to the above, I requested letters of apology from the involved
employees and from him a letter stating in precisely what actions were taken
to rectify the problem and clarify their policy.  When I asked specifically
what their policy was he informed me that bf is permitted in all of their
stores, and that when a woman is bf in the store, the employee is to
approach her and ask her if she would like to move to a private location,
but their policy is not to force her to move.   The reason given for asking
her if she wanted to move was that she might want privacy and that  they
must also take into account the sensibilities of their other customers.

While they did not expressly prohibit bf on the premises, I let Mr
Blossfield know that I was concerned that even by asking a woman if she
wanted to move to a private place, they were implicitly conveying the
message to her that she SHOULD move to a private place and that if was
improper for her to continue bf there.  I suggested that this could be
nearly as embarrassing as being forced to move and might have a similar
negative impact on bf moms.  They should just allow bf moms to bf in peace.
Again, returning to my earlier suggestion about making the store bf
friendly, I even suggested that if they wanted to continue "offering"
private rooms to people for nursing purposes, they could do so without
calling negative attention to a woman by posting a sign, "You are welcome to
breastfeed your baby here.  If you prefer a private space, please let our
salesperson know and we will provide a room for you."

He also offered me a free portrait package, since I had been dissatisfied
with my baby's portrait as well.  I felt uncomfortable accepting that and
declined.  He was very apologetic again about the portraits and tried to
convince me to accept the pictures or a refund.  I told him I would think
about it, but that that was really insignificant to me next to the bf issue
and that I preferred to focus on that.

We really didn't reach a satisfactory resolution during this conversation,
though it was cordial enough.  I don't want to give you the idea that he was
a jerk about the matter.  I sensed he was sortof perplexed though, that this
could be such a big deal to us.  I also had the sense that he might not be
personally very comfortable with the idea of bf in public.  Of course that
is only my impression.  Anyway, he told me that he would consider my
suggestions and was going to get back to me.  He didn't say when that would
be.

So there you have it.  That's the story to date.  Please forward this to the
appropriate lists where you sent my original letter to Sears.  To all of you
pro-bf people out there, I thank you again for writing and encourage you to
continue to do so.  If any of you have any other positive suggestions for
how they could make their store bf friendly, you might wish to share them.
Oh, and I almost forgot, I asked M.r Blossfield whether they would be
responding to all the people who wrote in.  He said they would probably try
to find a way to do that via the internet.   Perhaps if you all let him know
that you'd be happy to patronize an openly bf-friendly business, they would
be more inclined to become one.

Peace & health,
Catharine C. Decker, M.D.