- May 5, 2024
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A Palm Coast mom says she left a Daytona Department of Revenue Office in tears after an employee scolded her for breastfeeding her nine-month-old son.
“She totally shamed me,” said Hammock-area resident Page Steffens. “I mean, the look she gave me. She gave me a look like I was an alien or something, like she’d never seen someone breastfeed a baby.”
The incident happened Jan. 27, and Steffens has since complained to the Department of Revenue, filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union and appeared on First Coast News to talk about what happened.
Under Florida law, mothers are permitted to breastfeed their children in any place they otherwise have a right to be — even if doing so causes a minor wardrobe malfunction that reveals a bit of breast.
Steffens said that in her case, nothing showed, and she was shocked at the woman’s reaction.
“I had a breastfeeding top on. You just kind of unhook it, and it covers everything,” she said. “And I went to feed him, and the lady gave me this nasty look, and she said, ‘Is that what you always do?’ And I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And she said, ‘Is that how you feed you baby?’ And I said, ‘Yes, this is how babies are fed!’ And she said, ‘No, babies are fed with a bottle. That’s not appropriate in this office. I have male colleagues and I don’t want a phone call, because that’s inappropriate for this office.’”
Steffens said she almost stopped, but decided not to because she knew she had a legal right to breastfeed her son.
“It’s still the law that I can breastfeed, and there are no repercussions if anything should happen to show,” she said. “It’s wrong to tell someone they can’t feed their hungry baby.”
A few days ago, a similar incident happened when a Delta Air Lines employee told a mother through Twitter that she wouldn’t be allowed to nurse her child on her upcoming six-hour flight, according to ABC news. Delta has since apologized.
Steffens has created a Facebook page, facebook.com/lawsonbreastfeeding, to raise awareness of moms’ right to breastfeed their children.
Florida law states: "The breastfeeding of a baby is an important and basic act of nurture which must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child health and family values. A mother may breastfeed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether or not the nipple of the mother's breast is covered during or incidental to the breastfeeding."
