The following is from yesterday's paper version of The Washington Post. I had a heck of a time copying it -- it's getting a lot of attention. Wanted this version because I know exactly where the church is.
The Washington Post
Virginia Politics
'My rights as a mom have been violated.': Mother is asked to find private room while breast-feeding in church
Annie Peguero and her 19-month-old daughter, Autumn, at their home in Dumfries, Va. (Michael Chandler/The Washington Post)
By Michael Alison Chandler and Laura Vozzella April 26
Annie Peguero was trying to soothe her agitated 19-month-old baby in church on Sunday when she did what she often does — she nursed her. But her efforts to calm her daughter caused a stir in the sanctuary of Summit Church in Springfield.
A woman promptly asked the Dumfries mother to decamp to a private room, she said. Peguero declined and was later told that the church does not allow breast-feeding without a cover because it could make men, teenagers or new churchgoers "uncomfortable," she said. One woman told her the sermon was being live-streamed and that she would not want Peguero to be seen breast-feeding.
The mother of two left her seat in the back of the church and fled, embarrassed and in shock. The next day, she posted her own livestream video on Facebook — with her baby, Autumn, at her breast — telling viewers what happened and urging women to stand up for breast-feeding.
"I want you to know that breast-feeding is normal," she said.
It is also a legally protected right in Virginia, where the legislature passed a 2015 law that says women have a right to breast-feed anywhere they have a legal right to be.
Va. mother says she was asked to leave church sanctuary because of breastfeeding Embed Share Play Video5:04
Annie Peguero shares what happened when she nursed her baby in the sanctuary of Summit Church in Springfield, Va. (Facebook/TeamLiveLikeALion)
Now Peguero, and an attorney, are pressing church leaders to issue a statement and reverse their policy.
"I feel like my rights as a mom have been violated," Peguero said.
Officials with the church did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Washington Post. Attorney Rebecca Geller said on Wednesday that she got a call from executive pastor Tony Trayers after repeated calls to Summit Church and was told that the church was not aware of the law and would look into it. There is no exemption for religious institutions under the law.
[Judge tells breast-feeding mother, 'Ma'am, you need to cover up']
Peguero, a 42-year-old personal trainer and fitness and nutrition specialist, often posts live videos online with tips and advice about managing life with two young children. She talks about getting through the day when a spouse is deployed, drawing on her own experience as the wife of a Marine serving overseas.
The self-described "hippie mama" said she looked forward to breast-feeding long before she had children.
"I knew it was the very best thing for my baby," she said. "I wanted to give them that gift for as long as I could, and that's what I did."
Annie Peguero and her 19-month-old daughter, Autumn, at their home in Dumfries, Va. (Michael Chandler/The Washington Post)
She nursed her older daughter — now 4 years old — until she was 8½ months pregnant with Autumn. In all that time, she never had a problem nursing in public, she said.
"I have breast-fed in a few different countries. I have breast-fed all over the place," she said. "No one has ever said anything to me."
Virginia was one of the last states to pass a law protecting a woman's right to breast-feed in public.
Before passage, women in Virginia had the right to nurse their babies on state-owned property, but restaurants and other privately owned businesses that were open to the public could prohibit it.
Under identical bills brought by Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) and Sen. Jennifer T. Wexton (D-Loudoun), mothers are permitted to breast-feed anywhere they are "lawfully present." The measures cleared the Republican-controlled House and Senate without opposition and were signed into law by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D).
Albo and Wexton were not familiar with the details of Peguero's case but said the law clearly gives women the right to breast-feed anywhere they are otherwise allowed to be.
"Women don't really have a choice," Albo said. "If you have a kid, and the kid's hungry, you have to feed 'em."
Wexton said she brought her bill after hearing from a woman who had been told she could not nurse her baby in a hallway outside the children's room at her gym. Employees said she could only breast-feed in the bathroom, Wexton said.
"The fact is, women just want to feed their babies. Women are very discreet about their breast-feeding. . . . It's not in any way an indecent exposure situation," she said.
Geller, who advocated for the 2015 law, said she has seen other breast-feeding flare-ups since the law passed but that, usually, organizations are quick to reverse their policies when they learn about it.
She is "stunned" that the church has not followed suit, she said.
"Breast-feeding is hard enough for moms alone, much less when you have barriers," Geller said. "Why should she have to choose between feeding her child and being able to pray?"
Peguero said she has only attended the nondenominational church a half-dozen times, but she found it at a critical moment in her life.
She went for the first time in January on her birthday, hours after she broadcast a live video on Facebook asking for help to find her birth mother.
After the service, a friend introduced her to the pastor who prayed with her about her search. "It was beautiful," she said.
Soon afterward, she received a phone call from one of her birth mother's brothers, she said. She learned that her mother died in a car accident more than 20 years ago, but she is now in contact with her extended biological family, including 26 cousins.
She has returned to church since, often writing notes from the sermons in her leather-bound weekly planner so she can reflect on them later.
"This is a church that has brought me so much clarity," she said. "It's brought me back to my faith."
Now, she no longer feels welcome.
"I can never go back there," she said.
www.washingtonpost.com
What do you think about that situation Libby?
...or anyone else for that matter. ;D
I do not agree with her. Could go into a long explanation, but, for pete's sake, she had a captive audience. She could've brought a bottle with breast milk, or arranged for a sitter. Or, or, :rolleyes:
I don't see the problem. Breastfeeding is natural and pumping is a pain in the butt (at least for me it was). If she breastfed at church the same way she did on the video, it was no big deal. "It makes some men uncomfortable", that's their problem, not hers. She's not whipping out her breast and exposing herself. I was talking to a patron in the library and her baby was fussing (and hungry) so in one swift move she lifted her shirt, and with the baby right in front of her breast, undid the bra piece and then the baby latched on. She was so adept at it nothing was exposed. If breastfeeding is done in this matter, not making a big deal of it, not exposing oneself unnecessarily, I don't see what the trouble is. I've seen many women in public breastfeeding and I don't understand why society has such a problem with it.
Without addressing my personal feelings, at least not yet, I would like to say this:
I suspect there's more to her story. She lives at least half an hour drive from Springfield, and there are
only two ways to get to it from where she lives: head north on I-95 or Route 1, both of which are heavily travelled. To get to the church from either she would have to exit onto local roads. The church itself is at the entrance to a heavily travelled industrial park, across the road from a shopping center and a McDonalds, and less than half a mile from an exit to Ft. Belvoir. Springfield itself is a large densely populated area, plus the whole area is in fairly close proximity to National Airport, the Pentagon and the main base of Ft. Belvoir. Thus, a LOT of traffic.
I've seen mothers nursing almost everywhere I go. Doesn't make me uncomfortable, doesn't make me nervous, and doesn't bother me in any way, shape, or form. In fact, it sometimes provides me hope for the human race as I see it as a sign of the endurance of humanity.
I have several axes to grind pertaining to organized religion, and I grind them often. I now have a new one. . .
One of my daughters is nursing her child, my latest grandson. We were up there recently and took them shopping when Nathan decided he was hungry. (We had just finished eating ourselves at Portillos) Daughter fed him as we were driving to Babies R Us. No big deal. And Nathan was nicely satiated and a happy camper as we shopped for items for him and mom. . .
People are so uptight sometimes, especially the zealot sector.
Folks, Gawd isn't going to send down a plague, lightening bolt, or Gabrielle just because a mother is feeding her child; publicly or within a private room or anywhere else. And you are NOT the enforcers of the laws of any Gawd. . . So sit the hell down, shut the hell up, or get the hell out if you are offended by a child being fed anywhere, anytime, anyplace.
Just my 0.02. . . :smile:
Quote from: Palehorse on April 29, 2017, 01:48:51 PM
I've seen mothers nursing almost everywhere I go. Doesn't make me uncomfortable, doesn't make me nervous, and doesn't bother me in any way, shape, or form. In fact, it sometimes provides me hope for the human race as I see it as a sign of the endurance of humanity.
I have several axes to grind pertaining to organized religion, and I grind them often. I now have a new one. . .
One of my daughters is nursing her child, my latest grandson. We were up there recently and took them shopping when Nathan decided he was hungry. (We had just finished eating ourselves at Portillos) Daughter fed him as we were driving to Babies R Us. No big deal. And Nathan was nicely satiated and a happy camper as we shopped for items for him and mom. . .
People are so uptight sometimes, especially the zealot sector.
Folks, Gawd isn't going to send down a plague, lightening bolt, or Gabrielle just because a mother is feeding her child; publicly or within a private room or anywhere else. And you are NOT the enforcers of the laws of any Gawd. . . So sit the hell down, shut the hell up, or get the hell out if you are offended by a child being fed anywhere, anytime, anyplace.
Just my 0.02. . . :smile:
Ah, but that sweetness will most likely be lost on those of us who live here because, if the internet gets hold of it, and she plays it for all it's worth, and the media show up :no: think traffic nightmare. In addition to the shopping center and McDonald's I mentioned in my other post, there is a filling station, and behind all that, a large community of private homes. It's a prime area for people who work at the Pentagon, including a large contingent of military.
My daughter was just a few months old; I was nursing her in a room with a good friend, a nurse at Planned Parenthood, when her 13 year old son walked in. I will never forget the look on his face as he stood there, seemingly transfixed. His mother had her back to him, so did not see his reaction. I decided then and there that I would do my best not to embarrass others, especially young people.
Quote from: libby on April 30, 2017, 03:14:55 PM
My daughter was just a few months old; I was nursing her in a room with a good friend, a nurse at Planned Parenthood, when her 13 year old son walked in. I will never forget the look on his face as he stood there, seemingly transfixed. His mother had her back to him, so did not see his reaction. I decided then and there that I would do my best not to embarrass others, especially young people.
I don't understand why it embarrasses people. It's a natural thing to do and it shouldn't be embarrassing. Why aren't people teaching their children this? My nephew was 11 when I had my daughter and his mom ushered him out of the room when it was time for me to feed my daughter. I didn't care if he stayed, I was feeding my kid! The strange thing was, she breastfed his younger siblings without a problem. I even told her it didn't bother me. I think society is a bit prude on this subject.
I have a funny story about my daughter. I nursed her until she was close to a year old, and then one day she bit me, not hard but I decided it was time for a bottle. She accepted it for about 3 days, then handed it back to me. I stood there wondering what to do when she handed me a baby cup that was on her high chair tray. I put some regular milk in it and gave it back to her. It was messy, but she seemed delighted, And so was I.
Quote from: libby on April 30, 2017, 11:25:39 PM
I have a funny story about my daughter. I nursed her until she was close to a year old, and then one day she bit me, not hard but I decided it was time for a bottle. She accepted it for about 3 days, then handed it back to me. I stood there wondering what to do when she handed me a baby cup that was on her high chair tray. I put some regular milk in it and gave it back to her. It was messy, but she seemed delighted, And so was I.
Ah, getting rid of the bottle! And then the diapers! Freedom! When my daughter was 2 1/2 I knew she was ready to go without diapers. So I showed her where the diapers were kept and told her we ran out and couldn't get any more. She looked sad, but accepted it and was using the toilet without any problems in less than three days.
I wonder if Mary feed Jesus off her tit. :confused: I bet she did. :wink:
Quote from: AbbyTC on May 01, 2017, 06:57:18 PM
Ah, getting rid of the bottle! And then the diapers! Freedom! When my daughter was 2 1/2 I knew she was ready to go without diapers. So I showed her where the diapers were kept and told her we ran out and couldn't get any more. She looked sad, but accepted it and was using the toilet without any problems in less than three days.
You mean you didn't put a diaper on her for three days. :spot:
My two cents, the lady had a 19 month old kid that she had apparently been nursing the entire time, why wouldn't she have a cover? She surely could have known the child would be hungry. She needs to consider other people. I don't know about anyone else, but my son didn't see me exposed after he was a toddler and I don't think I would have been pleased if he saw another woman. Please don't tell me there isn't any because unless you have some kind of covering there is always some exposure. I'm with Libby on this one, fix a bottle, the kids not going to starve. My kids were both drinking from Skippy cups by their first birthday. Never had a problem with getting enough fluids Dow them.