New Mother Says Restaurant Owner Told Family To ‘Never Come Back’ After She Breastfed Newborn

Sep 24, 2021 by apost team

Welcoming a new baby into the family is one of the most life-changing and delightful events in life, but it also comes with plenty of changes and new challenges on a daily basis. Constantly needing to watch a newborn baby day and night and making sure the baby is properly fed, dressed and cared for can be overwhelming for new parents.

On top of that, parents have to find a way to change their typical routines as they adapt to having a new person in their life and tending to their child’s every want and need. Everyone’s situation is different, but it’s fair to say that each parent has their own set of struggles that they face during the very early stages of parenthood.

Due to this, most parents cannot wait to get out and enjoy a nice day. Parenting is not easy, and many mothers have the added challenge of taking care of their children as well as taking care of their own bodies. Childbirth is hard on the body, and many mothers also choose to breastfeed their children, which can also come with its own set of challenges. 

Most mothers have no problem with breastfeeding, but face difficulties when other people tend to judge them for breastfeeding in public. Even though breastfeeding is a natural and beautiful thing, a lot of people continue to be uncomfortable when they see a woman doing it without any shame. One woman from Washington had a bad experience at a restaurant in September 2021 after she started breastfeeding her newborn son. 

Komo News reported that Ruby Meeden along with her husband Aaron planned to meet up with other relatives for dinner at Greek Islands Restaurant in Anacortes, Washington. Ruby and Aaron's son was merely 4 days old when the couple entered the restaurant, and by the time the couple arrived at the restaurant, the newborn was already hungry. 

“I made sure to get a good latch before we went in and then I covered and everything and we sat facing the wall,” Ruby told the news outlet. However, this did not sit well with the restaurant owners.

Aaron said that the owner seemed busy with phone orders and left them waiting for half an hour before he finally approached their table, only to tell them to get out. Naturally, this was shocking and upsetting for the couple. 

"So we were asking him, 'What's wrong? is everything ok,'" Aaron added. "And at that point he said, ‘Never come back.'" For anyone having to hear this, if shocking, and due to the terrible experience, Aaron left a bad review on social media for others to see as well. 

According to the news outlet, the owner of the restaurant responded by posting his own comment on the bad review, but he had absolutely nothing nice to say, nor did he extend any apologies. 

The comment "called our kids snot-nosed brats and to never come in and breast feed again. Called my wife an animal," according to Aaron. Unfortunately, the owner ended up just doubling down on his view and would not budge. 

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About the event, Ruby said, "My choice to breastfeed my child in that restaurant was the reason my entire family was thrown out. It sucked."

According to Komo News, the state law in Washington provides for "the right of a mother to breastfeed her child in any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage, or amusement," and anything less is considered discrimination. This certainly means that the restaurant owner did not follow the laws and throwing the mother out solely for breastfeeding was illegal. 

The actions of the restaurant incited a strike against them by angry women in the same town, and the group demonstrated outside the restaurant and planned to confront the owner, but the business switched to take-out only on the day of the demonstration and then closed several hours early. The owner also ended up removing the Facebook and Instagram pages of the restaurant. The angry mothers called the event discriminative and a disgrace. 

However, this has not stopped the group of women from continuing to hold the restaurant owner accountable. "He's going to have to answer for it one way or another because it's illegal to kick a woman out for breastfeeding," Megan Stevens, one of about two dozen nursing mothers who picketed outside told Komo News. 

Many news outlets have tried to contact the restaurant for a comment or statement but the restaurant has not yet responded. This was certainly a difficult and harrowing event for Ruby and her family to go through, but hopefully, they will never have to visit the restaurant again. 

What do you think of this restaurant's actions against a breastfeeding mother? Tell us your thoughts, and be sure to ask your friends what they think about it as well.