Has Amtrak, a passenger railroad service in the United States, decided that betraying women is more important to them than following the law?
In 2008, Sheri Gurock Mother of 3 shared her story about being “Busted For Breastfeeding on Amtrak”.
Sheri has said:
"The attendant, who had been so unhelpful mere moments before, now comes running over brandishing a cloth napkin at me. 'You can use this to cover yourself,' she says. I politely thanked her, bewildered by her sudden attentiveness, but decline.
A few minutes later, the attendant approaches again, clearly annoyed.
She stands in the aisle, hands on her hips and she says, 'Ma’am, you need to cover your body if you’re going to breastfeed on this train.'
I fired off a letter to Amtrak the next morning. I heard back from them by later that afternoon. I received a phone call from a customer service representative apologizing for my experience. She assured me that this is not the company’s policy, and that this attendant was acting on her own personal bias. She thanked me for my feedback and hung up the phone.”
If it's true that Amtrak’s policy for breastfeeding Mothers is not to berate, belittle and harass breastfeeding Mothers, then how can we explain what happened to my friend, Afrykayn Moon Aku, a Mother of 3 children who took a four day ride with Amtrak from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh?
Moon was not disruptive or rude, nor was she doing anything illegal. Nonetheless, she was embarrassed, harassed, and had her legal rights violated. This time, it was not only by an attendant but also by the conductor himself Robert Baker.
(Sign the petition HERE )
During this conversation she was told to cover herself on “the conductor’s train”.
To further heighten this act of offensive machismo, she was given a table cloth and told to cover herself. She was then told she would not “expose herself”.
To think that in this day and age, where breasts grace many a magazine cover, we still have this kind of behavior and blatant, unabashed misogyny.
What a stark contrast from the families at my weekly LLL meetings or even our community over at Thriving Family Project....where having a child at the breast is as normal as anything else. Why should it matter how we feed our children? Bottles, sippy cups or boobs. Not one method should be discriminated against or frowned upon.
Later, Afrykayn Moon received a phone call from Senior Manager, Office of Customer Relations, John Wojciechowski assuring her that this is not Amtrak’s policy and apologized for the treatment she received.
Doesn't this sound familiar? It mimics Sheri’s experience. Both Sheri and Moon were brought something with which to cover themselves.
(Sign the petition HERE )
Afrykayn Moon created a petition that has been signed by more than 45,000 people.
If Amtrak's written policy is to respect Mothers' rights to breastfeed, then we urge them to make their policy public. Since the petition went public, more Mothers have stepped up to share very similar stories as Moon and Sheri.
Moon received a $50.00 voucher towards another trip with Amtrak “for her trouble”.
No public apology
No education of employees
No policy changes
No acknowledgement of their employee breaking federal law by discriminating against a breastfeeding mother.
The payoff was a cheap platitude, not to mention an implied confession, to try to sweep these discriminatory events under the rug.
If you feel you'd like to be part of this movement, tell Amtrak to “respect the breast” take a moment to sign the petition and comment here. Sharing this article is a very good thing.
Photos from a recent nurse in:
I'm proud of my friend Moon for standing up for her rights as a breastfeeding mother. Check out her Website HERE and the promo for her upcoming documentary HERE
Margaux
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Margaux is the CEO of one of the most popular organic, natural, cruelty-free deodorants, “The Best Deodorant In The World”, a company she started out of her kitchen. It can now be found in stores and online world-wide. Her passion is helping families understand the importance of eliminating toxins, living sustainably and using amazing, natural products that don’t harm our bodies, animals or planet.
Margaux consults with parents on how to start a company like hers from scratch, and how to create an income while staying home with their children. She is a compassionate, heart-centred entrepreneur who works with parents and company owners, both new and already established. Operating by two very simple philosophies: “People over profit” and “Profit With a Purpose”, she has been able to follow her heart and make an impact in her client’s lives. When she is not with her husband and 3 children, much of her time is spent with parenting experts, birth practitioners, medical professionals and natural living celebrities.
She has built close friendships with many of the world’s most accomplished and respected practitioners, authors, speakers, doctors, midwives, doulas, parenting experts and celebrities in the birth, parenting and entrepreneurial spaces.
Margaux just completed a book “Ultimate Guide To Organic Groceries” with Joanne Young, who is personal chef to Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady.