Mom Told to Cover Breastfeeding: 'I Got Angry'

Samantha McIntosh pushed back against Chick-fil-A
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2020 12:45 PM CST

Cover my breastfeeding? OK ... I think. A Georgia woman agreed to a Chick-fil-A manager's request Monday—seems a customer had complained—but then got upset about it, CNN reports. "As I sit there in this family friendly restaurant I start to simmer," writes Samantha McIntosh on Facebook. "I'll admit it. I got angry." Things heated up when a nearby mom supported her, the manager came back and doubled down, and soon "half the restaurant" was watching. "So I quickly packed the kids and left, all while trying to explain to my niece that I wasn't doing anything wrong by nursing and that some people don’t see it for what it is (feeding a hungry baby)," the 24-year-old adds. "Needless to say I am extremely disappointed in the way Chick-fil-A management handled the situation."

And she wasn't alone. With her Facebook post sparking thousands of comments, a group of moms backed McIntosh by staging a "nurse-in" at the Evans location Tuesday, WJFB reports. All those breastfeeding women seemed to influence franchise operator Jason Adams: "I am truly sorry for the experience Ms. McIntosh had in our restaurant," he said. "I have reached out to her to personally apologize. My goal is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all of our guests." Her reaction? "I kind of told him that the only goal here is to encourage education ... have a better way to handle this in the future." And the law is on her side: Public breastfeeding is legal in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. (More breastfeeding stories.)

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