Marks & Spencer cafe: breast-feeding mother asked to leave & feed baby in toilets:OK?

Doc_N

Witnessed by my wife just the other day.

A poor young mother, having to breast feed her baby in the toilets because the staff in the M&S cafe had asked her to leave and use the toilets instead. And, she said, it was the second time it had happened.

Nothing outrageous, just a perfectly nice, normal woman wanting to feed her baby discreetly in the shop that she bought her clothes from - and the baby's.

No wonder M&S are losing their trade if they manage to alienate what few younger customers they still have left. Can you imagine this happening in Waitrose?

trudiha

That's awful. I think that your wife should call M&S customer service and suggest a little 're-training' before Mum's Net get wind of the situation and no one is able to buy a pair of pants without having to get through a pitchfork wielding crowd.

[Deleted User]

Perhaps they should just relocate the cafe, and then everyone else can see how they like eating their dinner in the toilet, too.

Red_Cat

That is not OK.

Some people just don't have common sense.

bubblegumcola

Definitely NOT ok. Cannot believe that's happened. She should have spoken to a manager, or if that was a manager they need some serious retraining. Hope the woman speaks to head office.

EycplUK

It`s Terrible ! same thing happened to us in a M&S , asked to leave the store !!
Mind you , I was 66 yrs old at the time ! maybe a bit too old ?
Regards

DigForVictory

Not OK.

Staff might offer mum & child assistance relocating to a more discreet location (with a nice view & several free drinks) but packing them off to the loos is Not OK At All.

Complain, politely & if not satisfied, go to the press, the internet etc.

whitewing

The mum is probably mortified. Why doesn't your wife write to M&S with her own comments about the incident?

Doc_N

whitewing wrote: »

The mum is probably mortified. Why doesn't your wife write to M&S with her own comments about the incident?

The sad thing is that the mother just seemed resigned to it, and didn't want to make a fuss. Had it been my wife, or my daughter, they wouldn't have known what hit them!

And a small, but useful, extract from the NHS website:

"You shouldn’t ever be made to feel uncomfortable about breastfeeding in public. In fact, the Equality Act 2010 has made it illegal for anyone to ask a breastfeeding woman to leave a public place such as a cafe, shop or public transport."

I though this sort of attitude died out 30 years ago, but obviously not.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

trudiha wrote: »

That's awful. I think that your wife should call M&S customer service and suggest a little 're-training' before Mum's Net get wind of the situation and no one is able to buy a pair of pants without having to get through a pitchfork wielding crowd.

Not the first time this has happened at M&S.
MUMSNET
HITCHED

PlymouthMaid

Dreadful archaic attitude. Poor lady/bad M and S.