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Talkback: Primark says sorry to breastfeeding mum

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  • I have used the changing room in Primark to breastfeed my baby before.  Mainly baby's 3 and 4, that I can remember.  I remember letting my older  children try on clothes while I fed the baby.  Pram sat through the doorway, curtain was open, and people walked past, and I fed my baby.  I didn't mind if anyone seen me, would they have rather listened to a baby crying?

    Personally, I would rather use the changing room than stand out in the shop, as our local Primark have no where to sit, and I need to sit to feed my baby.

  • nobody has the right to ask a breastfeeding mum to leave or stop feeding.



    the LAW, is on her side,



    There is not, and never has been, any law that prohibits a woman from breastfeeding a child of any age in public, for example in a cafe.



    if a mother who is breastfeeding a 27 week old baby on a bus or in a café is asked to leave or to stop breastfeeding, she can take legal action on the grounds of sexual discrimination. If that same mother was feeding a child under 26 weeks, she could take action under the grounds of maternity or sexual discrimination.



    if the member of staff was thinking of the womens comfort and best interests then primark needs to provide better training on communication skills, and think about providing a comfortable room with a sofa and a sink, and seperate from baby changing facilities.

    a small cubical designed for trying on clothes is not suitable for breast feeding achild
  • I don't understand why the woman had to sit on the floor in Primark to feed her baby anyway - I couldn't think of a worse place.  I breastfed my daughter and I'm planning to breastfeed my baby due in 4 weeks.  I would not just sit down in any shop and start feeding, I would go somewhere where it was more suitable.

    Fortunately where I live, I fed my daughter in cafes, and mother and baby rooms and had no complaints.  But I would not just sit anywhere and do it.  I think this gives a bad impression of breastfeeding mothers.  I also don't think that you would bottle feed or feed baby food to a baby in the middle of a store so I can understand shops getting upset about it.

    If you were planning to feed your baby whilst out, you should maybe think about where it is appropriate and suitable to do it.  I know I and my friends always considered this.

  • Hi,

    Just a quick note to say thanks for ur support and the truth is I was not told to go to a change room for ' comfort', the lady did say ' take it to the changing rooms or take it outside'!

    There are alot of  people who think i was being obvious in the way that i was feeding George but I can assure you that i was being discrete and unlike the Sun have said, I certainly was not sat on the floor!! They've appologised but won't actually rewrite it unfortunately.

  • I always used to go shopping only places where i know i can find mother and baby room to feed my little one. I wouldn't do it in public as i didn't feel comfortable. I wouldn't want to use a changing room neither though as said before people will get angry for occupying a room for feeding the little one while so many queuing outside, they are small, no sitting area in some.

    I think it is just wrong to tell a mum not to feed in a store if she has chosen to do so. I also want to say that it is a big shame that they are trying so hard to encourage breastfeeding but almost everywhere you go there are no facilities for that!!! Do you have to be stuck at home all the time so you can feed your little one?! No wonder Britain is so behind in the list compared to other countries regarding breastfeeding.
  • Whenever I was breastfeeding my LOs, if I was in a cafe etc, I fed them at the table.  No-one ever said anything, but if they had, I'd have said the table was for eating at.
  • I only feed in places where I know people won't stare - my baby tends to pull back and flash me!!! My library is the best place - really breastfeeding friendly, comfortable with discrete areas. Cafes are generally very good too because you can usually get a quiet corner. I just find very public breastfeeding stressful, and don't like feeding amongst chaos - can't think of anything worse than feeding in my local incredibly busy Primark.
  • I was once in new look with a 4 week old baby who woke up hungry. The store manager asked if I'd like to take a seat behind the store counter (concesled) and feed as long as I liked.
  • I think its bad to breast feed in any shop

    .yuk it would make me want to throw up.

    please shop keepers .tell them to ge out.

    who wants to see a tit and their baby fat hanging while doing the

    shopping.
  • Wow peanut, you've revived this thread to post that ignorant and offensive comment? if you don't like it don't look. It's highly unlikely you would see boob or belly (which is what I presume you mean by baby fat) and if you do. Look away. Oh and grow up. 

  • I am 27 weeks pregnant and plan to breast feed my son. I wouldn't do it in public as I do not feel comfortable with it, but a round a applause to mothers who do feel comfortable with it. I will be feeding my son by bottle whilst out in public, and if, when he is too young to wait, he needs feeding in the middle of shopping he will get feed in the middle of shopping, simple. Young babies do not know how to wait until you can find somewhere more appropriate, they don't understand it. But companies do need to move with the times, at Morrisons and Tescos they have appropriate facilities for feeding and changing your baby. I really feel that other companies need to take note and start doing something about it, and people need to stop targeting these poor mothers and their babies.

  • Wow this story is getting some interesting feed back on a couple of the news sites, I note a couple have reviewed their articles to say that Primark haven't actually apologised to her just issued a statement.



    But would I feed in the changing room.... I have to say the cubicles are quite small, so once I have fit my pram, shopping and me in there's not going to be much room left, and I certainly would not want to leave all that outside the changing rooms, it might get stolen! And then there is the issue of getting into the changing rooms; do I join the queue its always really log at Primark especially on a Saturday, or do I push in at the front...Either everyone get cheesed cos my baby is screaming, and my little one sure knew how to scream when she was hungry, or they get cheesed cos I have pushed in whilst they have queued patiently.



    So, no I would not have used a changing room to breast feed my daughter whilst on a shopping trip, at least not one in primark!
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