Despite the fact that breastfeeding in public is very much legal in 49 states (all except Idaho), moms who choose to feed their baby publicly often risk being shamed by strangers.
Mom Avery Lane was breastfeeding her 2-month-old baby at a local H&R Block when the manager came up to tell her to "cover up." In a post to her Facebook page, Lane describes what happened after — and why she's sharing her experience.
"So I was breastfeeding my 2 month old at a H&R Block on a military post when the manager asked me 'Can you cover up with a towel or something?'" she wrote in the caption of a photo of herself breastfeeding her baby.
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Lane, shocked by the man's audacity, fired back with the ultimate mic drop.
"I was completely shocked so I raised my voice slightly and said No but I have a muslin if you would like to cover your face," she wrote. "'You must not know Georgia's breastfeeding laws.'"
Lane, who was with her friend at the H&R block, wrote that the manager then asked her to leave, since he was helping her friend and not her. Lane responded by contacting police, who told the manager that he could not ask her to leave, and that public breastfeeding is legal.
"So I then called the Military Police so they could come and inform him of them," she wrote. "I'm glad they came and informed him that he could not tell me to leave. Also one of the MPs told me that there is nothing wrong with a mother breastfeeding her child."
Since Lane posted her story to Facebook on Friday, it has received over 9,000 shares and 39,000 reactions at the time of writing. While most commenters voiced their support for her, enough of them questioned her that she posted a video to YouTube to respond.
"No, I don’t want anyone to be fired from their job, their source of income," she says in the video, addressing commenters who called for the manager to be let go. However, she wants him to understand that breastfeeding is completely normal and should be treated as such.
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