Local Woman Kicked Out of Church for Breastfeeding Baby

Church is supposed to be a place where you can fellowship with others and feel comfortable.

But one local woman says she was kicked out of hers-- even called a stripper for breastfeeding her baby during a service. And she's not the only woman with a story like this one. 

 “I was going to church, it was a biker church of all places, and I thought we would be accepted…”

But that wasn’t the case.  Nirvana Jennette is not a fist time mom, and in all the years of breastfeeding her children, she says she never would have expected what happened next.

“I was told to go nurse in the bathroom and was told to cover up and go away. I knew the bond and importance of breastfeeding and that’s what I decided to do for my baby.”

So she knew she needed to speak up.

“I tried many times to educate and talk to them, and let them know we are not second class citizens. We deserve to be with everybody.  It got heated he compared me to a stripper. I get upset just talking about it. He compared me to a stripper, and said breastfeeding is lude and should be covered up and put away.”

And Nirvana says she asked not to return to her church.  Since telling her story through a moms group on facebook, other women are reaching out and joining the movement; women like Cassandra Hadley.

“For some people, breastfeeding is a big part of their culture. And by shaming mothers to go hide and to shove us off to places like bathrooms - that’s shaming cultures.”

According to Georgia law, a mother may breast-feed her baby in any location where she and the baby are otherwise authorized to be.

But if an establishment is going to prohibit a woman from feeding her baby in public, an alternative location must be provided.  Nirvana says a bathroom doesn’t count.

“Do they realize the germs that are in there? Would someone else want to eat in a bathroom? If I say, ‘here is a sandwich, go on into the bathroom to eat’, that person would be disgusted! But it’s okay to treat a mother and baby like that? That’s sad.”

But not every mom has experienced backlash. Natiorka Lynch says she is one of the lucky ones.

“I was at Publix and one of the employees there told me that I didn’t have to go to the bathroom,  I could sit in the pharmacy.  It changed my relationship with my son when it was time for us to breastfeed.”

In an attempt to raise awareness and break the stigma associated with breastfeeding, the ladies are holding a statewide nurse-in protest. 

The protest will take place Monday, March 5 from 10 AM to 2 PM.  There will be five locations held across the state including right here in Savannah at City Hall. 

For more information, visit the State Nurse-in Page on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/YOURSTATENURSEIN/ or sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/establish-better-protection-for-breastfeeding-mothers

or contact: bfgeorgia@gmail.com