BEREA — A manager who asked a mother to stop breastfeeding her baby Wednesday in the McDonald’s restaurant on Glades Road was not acting in accordance with the restaurant’s policies, according to a statement from the owner.
The statement from Sundae Park expressed regret for the incident.
“It has never been our policy to ask nursing mothers to leave our restaurants, and I have taken steps to ensure that this mistake does not happen again,” she said.
The mother, Jessica Denny, called the Berea Police, according to Capt. Ken Clark, to complain about an alleged violation of the state law designed to prevent interference with public breastfeeding.
An officer dispatched to the scene met Denny in the restaurant’s parking lot, Clark said.
“They went inside to sort things out,” he said.
Other customers got involved in the discussion, Clark said, some siding with the manager, others with the mother. “In situations like that, the officer is kind of like the referee at a sporting event,” he said.
When the manager again said she wanted Denny to leave, the officer said she would be cited for third-degree trespassing if she remained, Clark said.
Denny then left the restaurant.
Because the officer did not witness the breastfeeding of the baby, the breastfeeding law did not apply at that point, Clark said.
In most cases, when businesses ask someone to leave their premises, state law authorizes police to charge them with third-degree criminal trespassing, he said.
The breastfeeding law, passed in 2006, carries no penalties for violations, said its sponsor, state Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville.
“I sponsored the legislation with the support of the University of Kentucky Hospital’s pediatrics department, the Fayette County Health Department and the La Leche League,” he said.
“Research has shown that babies who are breastfed are less likely to be obese or develop diabetes. Breastfeeding also offers babies enhanced immunity from disease,” Buford said.
“The goal of the law is to promote a more healthy population by removing barriers to breastfeeding,” he said.
According the national Centers for Disease Control’s Web site, Kentucky ranks 49th among the 50 states in breastfeeding.
The Madison County Health Department does not have a certified lactation consultant on staff, but the department encourages breastfeeding, said spokesperson Christie Green.
“Whenever a woman gets a positive pregnancy test at the department, she is encouraged to consider breastfeeding,” Green said.
The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental food program administered by the health department offers food vouchers, worth up to $70 a month for a year, to mothers who exclusively breastfeed their babies, she said.
The department also has a breastfeeding team, made up of nurses, experienced mothers and others, who offer support to breastfeeding mothers.
Kentucky Health Departments have joined in the observance of August as World Breastfeeding Month, Green said.
The obstetrics and pediatrics unit of Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center also encourages mothers to breastfeed, said spokesperson Jo Helen Cloys.
The hospital also offers a breastfeeding class taught four times a year by Deanna Dennis.
The next class will be taught Sept. 15. For details, call 625-3118.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.
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