A mother claims she was left humiliated after water park staff told her she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed her baby in the lazy river.
Tiffany Francis, from Georgia, took to Facebook to explain what happened at Rigby’s Water World in Warner Robins, Georgia.
The mother-of-two revealed she’d brought her 11-month-old son to the water park’s lazy river so she could nurse him to sleep because he ‘likes motion.’
However a lifeguard approached her and said she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed in the water.
After questioning this she spoke to a manager who claimed it was a ‘courtesy to other people’ that she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed and cited the park’s rules against food or drink.
Tiffany Francis, from Georgia, said she was left humiliated after water park staff told her she wasn’t allowed to breastfeed her baby in the lazy river (stock image)
In the post, which racked up over 1,000 likes, she explained: ‘I have never in my years of being a breastfeeding mother had one single negative comment made to me about breastfeeding while out in public. I’ve had supportive comments from random people, but today was a different day.
‘I went to Rigby’s Water World today with my family. My son is 11 months old and when it was getting to be his nap time, like I do every visit, I got in the lazy river to nurse him to sleep.
‘He likes motion to sleep, he sleeps well in the car or swing, so he will also sleep in the lazy river. At home he always nurses to sleep. So he was latched and a lifeguard (Caleb) told me ‘ma’am you can’t breastfeed in the lazy river’.
‘I kind of laughed because I thought he was just making a joke in very poor taste. Then he got on the radio and had a lady come and tell me I wasn’t allowed. I was trying to pull the baby off but when baby is latched, he’s latched.
‘I asked her if it was posted somewhere and she told me that it was posted in the rules out front so I got out of the lazy river, and I went to read the rules.
‘Of course there was nothing stating anything about children, except for babies needed to wear swim diapers (which he was). So I asked at the entrance to speak to a manager about it to see where I could see that it was a rule and they sent me someone from guest services so after explaining the situation to her, she said she could get the water park manager.
‘The manager Steve Brown came and told me it’s as a courtesy to other people that I can’t feed my son, so I asked it’s just a made up rule, because it’s not posted anywhere? It’s just something that they decided to say was a rule. So then he smartly said well it says no food or drinks in the water. I asked so my boobs aren’t allowed in the water?’
According to the woman, she then asked for her family’s season passes to be refunded however the park refused.
She took to Facebook to explain what happened at Rigby’s Water World in Warner Robins, Georgia
She continued: ‘So I left because my son needed to take a nap and I wasn’t allowed to nurse him to sleep.
‘Imagine all the bodily fluids being excreted into the water but they’re worried about breast milk when the baby was latched, my breast was out of the water, and the milk was only going into baby’s mouth.
‘But really it wasn’t even about him eating in the water it was about it making other guests uncomfortable. ‘As a courtesy to our other guests’. I left crying, because I was told I couldn’t feed my child which by the way it is against the law to tell a mother they can’t breastfeed their child. But sure let’s worry about offending people by feeding a child.
‘Also in the lazy river, I saw several other mothers with their kids asleep in their laps, the kids heads on their moms chests. My situation looked just like theirs, my breast wasn’t exposed.
‘My son’s face was covering everything. So without looking extra hard you’d think he was just asleep on my chest. But somehow I made people uncomfortable by doing the most natural thing I could do for my child, while just trying to let him nap. Mind you, this was also at a water park where most people are wearing very little clothing but my son and I were offensive.
‘I’m just so upset and appalled and wanted to give a heads up to all the other moms out there that this is how breastfeeding moms are treated at Rigby’s Water World. You’re also not allowed to bring snacks in for the baby, so I was told today. I guess they’d rather babies just go hungry.’
Many people rushed to the comments in disbelief and anger about the situation
According to Georgia state law, which states that the ‘breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture,’ a mother is allowed to ‘breastfeed her baby in any location where the mother and baby are otherwise authorised to be’.
Many people rushed to the comments in disbelief and anger about the situation.
One person wrote: ‘By LAW – YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BREASTFEED WHERE EVER A WOMAN IS PERMITTED!!!!’
Another said: ‘This is awful! People of all ages are urinating in the water, and they’re worried about breastmilk?’
While someone else wrote: ‘Just wanted to come here to say from what I’ve read of the story I support you 100%. I know what it’s like to try to feed in public places…it’s hard and babies just want their milk.’
According to Today, Rigby’s Water World revised its breastfeeding policy within hours of the incident and apologised to Francis for the ‘misguided’ policy.
‘We had a policy in place that didn’t allow breastfeeding in the river that was in line with the health department’s standard on no eating or drinking in the pools,’ said Steve Brown, vice president of operations at Rigby’s Water World.
‘When I was made aware of the law that mothers can breastfeed anywhere they’re allowed to be, we reviewed our policy, reaching out to other experts who operate aquatic facilities,’ he says. ‘From there, we decided to allow our guests to breastfeed in the pools, should they choose.’
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