Mother asked to leave swimming pool after breastfeeding 10-month-old son
'I don't understand how it's right... It's so embarrassing that I can't feed my baby,' says Misty Daugereaux
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Your support makes all the difference.A group of Texas mothers have held a "nurse-in" at a public swimming pool in support of a woman who was asked to cover up or leave after breastfeeding her son.
Misty Daugereaux had taken her nephew and two sons to the Nessler Park Family Aquatic Center in Texas City, and decided to breastfeed her 10-month-old when he got hungry.
Officials at the pool then asked her to cover up as it was pool policy, claiming she had both of her breasts exposed as she breastfed. Or she could leave. A police officer was eventually sought to deal with Ms Daugereaux with pool workers claiming that the mother used inappropriate language towards staff.
Police body camera footage of the incident shows a tearful Ms Daugereaux saying she does not understand what she has done wrong.
"I'm not being disrespectful, I don't want to cause a scene," Ms Daugereaux said. "When you have a 10-month-old that doesn't take a bottle you are going to feed him".
She denies having verbally abused staff. "I'm not going to cuss somebody out," she says. "I'm just going to stand up for what I believe in"
"I don't understand how it's right... It's so embarrassing that I can't feed my baby," Ms Daugereaux adds.
In the video, staff said they had received more than one complaint from those around the pool about the breastfeeding.
Under Texas law, a woman is allowed to breastfeed their child in any public location or anywhere they are authorised to be. State indecent exposure laws make no mention of non-sexual public nudity.
City authorities have issued an apology to Ms Daugereaux about how the incident at the weekend was handled and that it was under review.
"We, the City of Texas City are reviewing the nursing concerns raised at the Nessler Pool and how it was addressed by our staff.
"We apologise to Misty Daugereaux as it is clear she was offended by how she was treated at our city facility. City policies and procedures will be reviewed and revised as deemed necessary. Any deficiencies regarding our employee's actions will be addressed with further training."
A group of Galveston County mothers gathered at the pool on Monday, to make clear to management they had the right to breastfeed in public wherever they wished.
"I saw it and decided it was something that needed to be pushed even harder. We all just got together and decided to go for it,” organiser Lorna Mchone told KTRK.
Ms Daugereaux told the outlet that the protest made her feel both powerful and loved.
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